Lyndsey D'Arcangelo

Sports reporter. Copywriter. Blogger. Novelist. Lyndsey's profession has always been about the written word. It's also been the silver lining that followed years of secrecy and alienation as a closeted gay teen—a subject that has inspired three novels for this author so far.

Lyndsey's first novel received the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Debut Author.Lyndsey“I've been writing my entire life,” says the Buffalo, NY, resident, who landed a job at The Buffalo News after graduating from Randolph-Macon College. And it only made her want more.

“Seeing my name in print gave me the confidence to branch out to other things,” she says.

“I started sending clips to magazines and other publications.”

Lyndsey left The News in 2009 to pursue a mix freelance writing, public speaking and authorship.

Her first novel, The Trouble with Emily Dickinson, won the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Debut Author. It tells the story of Josephine Jenkins, a high school senior who falls in love with a popular cheerleader. It's a theme close to Lyndsey's heart, because she knows first-hand the anguish of living in the closet in high school.

“Knowing that I help kids feel normal and proud of who they are, simply though the written word, is an awe-inspiring thing,” she says.

A second novel, The Crabapple Tree, deals with a similar theme. Lyndsey also recently completed the sequel to The Trouble with Emily Dickinson, which is being reviewed by a publisher at the moment.

“I'm hoping it will be released in 2011,” she says.

Her inspiration as a writer of teen fiction? Judy Blume.

“She became my hero the very moment I read Otherwise Known as  Sheila the Great,” she says. “From then on, I knew I wanted to be a writer.”

In between novels and freelance writing (where she operates as “D'Arc Light”), Lyndsey somehow still finds the time to take on speaking engagements, including a date this April in Rochester, where she'll join the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley for its Day of Silence observances.

“I love speaking with GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) teens, because I can serve as a positive resource for them,” she says.

“I'm grateful every day, because I do what I love to do for a living.”

See more: www.lyndseydarcangelo.com

Say hi: Fldark21@yahoo.com

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Gay teens are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to The Trevor Project. In fact, nine out of 10 teen GLBT students have experienced harassment at school. Following a rash of teen suicides in late 2010, including six gay youth in September alone, the It Gets Better Project inspired thousands of people to create videos with personal words of ecnouragement to gay teens. Here is Lyndsey's story.