After dropping out of pre-med, Nicole Cheng found their true passion for writing. As an English major, and with a BA degree in English, Cheng went on to reading novels by their favorite authors as well as writing their poetry, short stories, and even novels of their own. The main themes in their books focus on certain societal issues, the Asian-American community, and the LGBTQ community. Cheng is non-binary and they go by They/Them pronouns. Their goal is to express their thoughts about life, personal experiences, and the everyday lives of Asian Americans.
About the Author
“Everybody has their own flaws. Instead of perfecting our flaws, we should embrace them, and not worry about being perfect.”
“People with glass bones and paper skin are stronger than you think.”
“Even though my destination is still unknown, this is where my journey begins.”
“Life is short, but we have such a long way to live for.”
Featured Books
No Turning Back
Ricki Shi is only sixteen years old when she ran away from home. She needed to escape from her abusive stepmother, Lori Diaz, and be free from the pain she has been giving her for years. With no place to go or stay, Ricki lives her new life as a homeless runaway youth. From there, she gets the help she needs after falling victim to a brutal gang-rape and struggling for survival. When the help she's getting isn't working out for her, Ricki makes a drastic choice that can change her life for good.
Don’t Stay
Gwen Jing has been having a lot of trouble when it comes to love. After finding out that her childhood best friend, Vanessa Castle, who happens to be the love of her life, belonged to somebody else, Gwen finds a new love that changes everything. However, as time flies by, Gwen's relationship with Damien Luke turns abusive. She's afraid of leaving him and she's afraid of being alone until she dies. Will her toxic romance with Damien be eternal or evanescent?
Dreams and Nightmares
Nicole Cheng has always been a dreamer every night. After they dream, they would recall everything they dreamt of and then turn these dreams and nightmares into a different reality by altering these vivid and vague night imaginations into short stories. Some can be romantic. Some can be horrific. Overall, Cheng sought inspiration from whatever they imagined in their sleep at night.
This collection of short stories is based on Cheng’s real-life dreams and nightmares. Now, they have turned into different realities in miscellaneous creative writing.
Glass Bones and Paper Skin
In this journal, Nicole "Nix" Cheng talks about the difficulties of their life growing up. Diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, PTSD, and bipolar disorder, they talk about the origins of the source of their mental health issues, starting from childhood to adulthood. From manic episodes to self-injury, from depression to having unwanted thoughts, they talk about coping with their mental health, as well as moving on from the past to the present, and how these experiences have turned Cheng into the writer they are today. Along with journal entries about their personal life experiences, Cheng also incorporated their own fictional short stories that they never dared to publish yet and hoped that their viewers would be the first to read them. Cheng's intention with this journal is to hopefully bring awareness to those who suffer from mutual mental health issues as they do. With glass bones and paper skin, Cheng succeeds in becoming stronger than most people think.
Leave Me Alone
Wendy and Brandy Lan have been close sisters since day one. One day, they go on a trip to Atlantic City from Brooklyn, New York, for the weekend. On their way there, Wendy ends up texting and driving… in which it leads to a disastrous car accident.
Eight months later, Wendy’s life changes drastically. She never knew what happened to Brandy on that fateful day. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from the car accident and from hearing phones ringing. While she attempts to overcome her triggers from the aftermath, she escapes her abusive ex-boyfriend, Greg Rosales, by finding a new love with her new neighbor, Celeste Russo. As she moves on to the next chapters of her life of survival, coping with trauma, and being with Celeste, Wendy finds out what truly happened to her sister, Brandy.
Treat Myself Better
Several years ago, Zoey Wu ran away and disappeared. Now, she has returned as a new student in Kennedy High. With her day going, she bonds with a group of the school's most popular guys, also known as Jacob 5x. Everything seems to be going great for Zoey. However, high school drama arises when five girls have been feeling suspicious about her. Not only have they planned to get back at her for bonding with Jacob 5x out of jealousy, Zoey is hiding a dark secret that may have been the reason why she disappeared in the past.