What is The Lithium Writer?
The Lithium Writer started as a way to explore my own writing techniques and share what I’ve learned over the years. While getting my degree in writing and English did improve my writing, being a good reader has helped in exponential amounts. It helps by allowing me to look at my own writing more critically to find what works and what doesn’t work.
Fun story: By third grade, I had figured out the basic plot structure of almost all the Nancy Drew books. When asked by my mother if I wanted more Nancy Drew books, I said, “No. They’re all kind of the same. There’s a problem. Then, Nancy Drew gets involved, she looks around for clues, and then she solves the mystery.” (My mother still likes to tell this story.)
Why mental health and writing?
I started this blog in 2020. At the time, I was still going through electroconvulsive therapy. Because I live with Type I Bipolar Disorder with psychosis, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and social anxiety, writing became an outlet for me. I could write when I was depressed. I could write (a lot) when I was manic. Hallucinations, delusions and paranoia? No problem — just focus on writing. Okay, maybe it’s not quite that easy, but it certainly helps.
I have been on the receiving end of stigma surrounding severe mental illness, such as people giving me “advice.” (Have you tried yoga? Have you tried going for a walk outside? Have you tried a mantra? Have you tried sacrificing your soul to the devil incarnate?) I have had people tell me to kill myself for talking openly about my experience with shock therapy. I hope to raise awareness surrounding the issues we face as people with severe mental illness.
Allison Williford
Professionally, Allison works as a copywriter specializing in SEO. She has worked in the marketing industry since 2018 after graduating summa cum laude with her B.A. in English and Creative Writing.
In her spare time, she writes mysteries and romantic suspense. While no books are currently available, she offers editing, critique, and content creation services.
Allison is also an advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. She has participated in several Out of the Darkness walks to fundraise for AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) and has given local interviews about her experience with treatment for mental illness.
About Allison Williford
As a writer, my main genres are mystery and romantic suspense with a sprinkling of women’s fiction. My focus is to relay the intricacies of human relationships, trauma, and how the world affects us as women — and how we react to the world. (All while trying to solve mysteries, of course.) With mental illness playing a massive part in my life, it’s only natural that themes of mental health come through in my work.
I studied English and creative writing with a concentration in fiction, but I also specialize in SEO and content creation. Currently, I work full-time for a digital marketing and branding agency.
The Days Without You
Kylie Lewis enjoys her quiet, rote (and very much single) life. But when she accidentally meets Adam Bell while at a concert, her emotions are tangled up with her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis. Can she learn to love despite her inevitable loss?
The Sound of Snap Dragons
It’s the tenth anniversary of her father’s disappearance. But when a series of murders seem to involve a man who resembles her father, can Kylie solve the mystery of the Manhattan Butcher?
Upcoming Releases from The Lithium Writer
Current Writing Updates
I readily admit that I am terrified of publication because publication means I’m vulnerable to criticism and bad reviews. I’ve published two books in the past, both within the same universe (and featuring the same characters, Kylie and Adam). Because of my innate perfectionism when it comes to my books, they’ve been taken down. I am reworking bits of the first book in their story, The Days Without You, and reworking the interior and the cover of The Sound of Snap Dragons.
I am also working on my eighth manuscript — I currently have three first drafts that have been sorely neglected — a romantic thriller (currently untitled) involving a young college freshman who is left to try and solve the mystery of the boy she’s interested in and how he may be connected to a student’s murder.