Geneva Rioz is a passionate poet and artist whose creative journey intertwines deeply with her personal experiences and resilience. Through her website, Poetrywithme.com, Geneva invites readers into a world where poetry and art serve as powerful outlets for expression and healing. Balancing the roles of a single mother to four children and a dedicated student, Geneva’s work is a testament to the strength found in embracing one’s passions despite life’s challenges. Her story is one of transformation, showcasing how personal hardships can fuel creativity and lead to a profound connection with others. In this interview, Geneva opens up about her artistic path, the impact of her experiences on her work, and her vision for the future, offering an inspiring glimpse into a life shaped by art, love, and perseverance.
1. Can you share the story behind the name of your website, Poetrywithme.com?
The name came to me as I was writing out all of my poetry in a word document. I was thinking to myself how can I make this website easy to find and to understand what it was about. I also looked up the domain name and no one has used it in this way. While there are many that say poetry with me plus some other annotation I feel that makes it harder to find the right site. It’s simple cute and to the point.
2. What inspired you to start writing poetry and creating art?
To be honest I have “written” poetry my whole life. My mother had a beautiful voice and always was writing and singing and my father was an artist who stopped painting after highschool. I found art to be a way for me to express myself and to diminish my anger as a teenager. I play out scenarios in my head and use poetry to guide my thought process and have used art to put all of my anger and sadness on the canvas versus lashing out against the people in my life.
3. How have your personal hardships and heartbreaks influenced your creative work?
All of my work has a story behind it. Almost every poem I wrote in my book “I Gave You My Heart” is about my childhood sweetheart. I found that putting the good and the bad down on paper has helped me to finally move on after 20 years of back and forth. Writing music and painting has helped me cope with loss and I have had so much loss in my life from my mother at a young age to my grandfather as a teen and then my grandmothers, father, and cousin. It has helped me to channel that negativity and sorrow and be able to leave that pain on the medium of my choice.
4. Can you describe the journey of writing and publishing your poetry book on Amazon?
Writing and publishing on Amazon was not an easy feat. I had most of my poetry on a word document but I also used canva to create a better looking version of it and then had to download it and crop it into the way that you see my book today. Not only that but putting the book on kindle became it’s own mini nightmare that I worked and worked on week after week until the book finally met the standards required. I wish I could say it was quick and easy but it definitely wasn’t. However, I love that I was able to get an ISBN directly from the site, though I would suggest to use a desktop computer and not try and do it on a tablet since there is so much editing and reframing that will be needed. This time around I’m using google docs to see if that helps smooth out the process.
5. How do you balance your creative pursuits with being a single mom to four children?
Balance, well to be honest my children are just as creative if not more so than me! We paint and draw together and they will allow me time in the afternoons to paint when I tell them I need some focus time. They even help me with music when I am asked to feature on a song. They truly are like little pieces of myself all the best pieces and they are so understanding to my need for my own time and space as I am for theirs. I do utilize my calendar alot. When I am at work that is my focus time for work, as that is how I pay our bills. However, during my break for lunch I write whether in my notebook or on my phone in my notes app I just write whatever comes to mind and let the stories unfold. I am also in college working on my bachelor’s in communication and writing and balance is definitely key. Fridays are our days to just hang out and bake together and play games. We call it game night and I don’t do any work, school or otherwise I just spend time with my kids.
6. What was it like dealing with the loss of your parents while pursuing your artistic goals?
Losing my mother was the worst thing that ever happened to me as I was not even a teen yet and forced to move away from my family and friends. It was when I truly lost myself, I was already very introverted but with her loss I became even more so. I hated everything and everyone. Art was the only thing that helped me find solace. It was the only way I found that I could express myself without being hurtful to others. I lost my father many many years later we weren’t extremely close but I cared for him and losing him was by no means easy but the loss of my cousin actually spurred my need to get back into art and to start my poetry blog. She had been telling me that I needed to find myself again. That I would regret never doing it. And she was right. I feel a sense of peace now that I didn’t have before. It’s almost like the years I spent not doing art were wasted and are gray in comparison to now when I am almost fully emerged in my artistic abilities.
7. How has the experience of discovering that you weren’t the love of someone’s life impacted your writing?
Learning that the love of my life did not love me back was heart breaking. It was life changing but it was the clarity I needed to finally move on. While I loved this person with all of me writing down everything we were going through helped me see how much this person did not ever actually love me no matter what their words said their actions were always the opposite. At this time in my life I’m redirecting all the love and understanding I gave to them to now give to myself. It’s been a hard lesson to learn. But I am working towards each day to learn to love myself and stop doing so much for someone who only used me so that I could fill their cup. I realized that they stayed in my life or within orbit so they could remind themselves that someone loves them no matter how they treat others. But that isn’t fair to me. So for now I am not pursuing a relationship with anyone and I am focusing solely on my children, work, school, and art. (I have enough on my plate.)
8. What role does mental health play in your creative process?
Mental health is a key aspect of my art, as I mentioned before I was angry for a long time after losing my mother. What I didn’t mention was that I was suicidal, severely depressed, and that my anxiety kept me from achieving alot of what I wanted to do. In writing my book I realized how much of this behavior was tied to this other person. They brought back alot of the emotions I thought I had worked through but in them coming in and out of my life I realized my abandonment issues were unresolved and i was falling back into old mindsets and patterns. I have always struggled with survivor syndrome since losing my mother in a car accident. Putting it in my writing has helped me keep those demons at bay but as you can see in my poem Anxiety and my short story Anxious Attachment and me those feelings are just below the surface. I feel that writing about them opens the door for my mind to work through and process those feelings.
9. How do you find motivation and inspiration during difficult times?
My motivation honestly comes from my children and my inner monologue. Sometimes I will just be sitting working and words start to flow in the back of my mind and I have to stop and write them down. While they’re not always the best phrases i find a flair for life when I’m writing. It’s as if someone turned the lights on and I’m no longer standing in the dark. Getting out of the dark and mundane is my motivation. My children inspire me and tell me constantly that we should paint more and so we do. They are the light in my darkness.
10. Can you share any specific challenges you faced while querying your books?
I have not begun to query my books but I am starting the process I am in the final editing stages for my book If tomorrow never comes and I am hoping that it will be trad published but if not I will use Amazon and promote it as much as I can.
11. What advice would you give to other women who are juggling personal struggles with their creative ambitions?
Advice I would give is to start with 5 minutes. We may not all have tons of time to spare. I know I definitely don’t, but start with 5 mins. If you don’t make time for yourself no one else will either. I know as women we pour into our children and our partners but we also need to pour into ourselves. You are a whole person not just a mom, and not just a partner. You had goals and dreams once too you can’t make your whole life about others it has to be about you too. You are important too! We tend to forget that as women. We make time for things we love and if we don’t we become a shell of who we once were. My children see me as a provider, an artist, a musician, a painter, a traveler, a singer, and a mom. I am not just their mom. Don’t just be one thing. Be all the things you want to be. Include your family or take time just for you. But do it for you.
12. How do you manage self-doubt and stay confident in your work?
Self doubt is hard for me. I tread lightly between my thoughts and reality. Creating a what is real list helps me, it’s very much like a pros and cons list but it indicates is this in my head? Was this feedback I was given or am I making it up? I also ask for advice when I need it. My friends and family are a great support system and my sister who is Mom Reads on Tiktok reads and helps me edit all of my books. My friend, Kascie, who is a great mom and the lead singer in a rock band, Sleep when we’re dead, has been a great listener and she also is an avid reader. She helps me with ideas and allows me to be my true authentic self. Literally never stop laughing with her. All of this is to say that my support system helps me quiet the voice in my head that says I’m not good enough. Because you know what? I am. And so are you.
13. What have you learned about yourself through the process of writing and creating art?
I have learned some very interesting things about myself in the writing process for one I do not like smut! I know I know it is a huge hit with women these days but I love the idea of love. Romance real romance the deep longing in your eyes the light or faint touches that lead to nothing more than just being held and listened to and loved. Those moments are key in all of my writings. I have learned that femininity is not a bad thing it is what is desired and that masculinity while it means strength it can also mean learning to be vulnerable with one partner. The truth in your heart will always come out no matter how much you try to mask it and cover it with other things when something is not meant to be it will not be. I live vicariously through my characters and my new book which I haven’t named yet will actually be the most vulnerable version of me as it will show some truth to all of my past relationships the behavior the feelings I went through and if it wasn’t for writing I would not have had a way to channel all of that pain and sadness nor would I have anywhere to explain the love and desire I once had.
14. Can you discuss any techniques or practices that help you cope with the emotional toll of your experiences?
Therapy. Therapy has helped me so much since I started this writing journey. She allows me to express myself in a way that may not be seen through art or through writing. I feel a sense of peace now when I write versus a sense of dread. I am very empathetic and I feel like I am going through the same thing over and over again when I write but therapy has honestly helped me work through those emotions so I am not drowning in them while I’m trying to write about them. It did happen. I am not crazy. I was not imagining the things they said and or did. but I need to process them so that I can get them out of my head. I am a dweller and i will relive conversations and moments for years after they have happened. Therapy has helped me silence those doubts and those thoughts. Now I can push the unwanted ones away. I also created an Anxiety journal that includes grounding techniques I use and have used along with a depression journal that helps me to determine whether or not the feelings I have are warranted. Sometimes they are but writing them down especially the ones that I am ashamed of it helps me to work it out and in the long run describing what I’m feeling makes me a better writer.
15. How do you see your creative work evolving in the future?
As I continue to write I am hoping to develop series’ to my books and to my art. I want to work on just becoming better and better. I also want to find other artists who would like to gain traction and add them to my blog. I want to feature as many artists as I can, with my main focus on single parents who may not have the capability to constantly display their work or who haven’t gotten the traction needed to start selling their art. I would love to feature them in my blog whether it’s poetry, short stories, or art. I want to grow a community of artists so that we can build eachother up and help each other become better and maybe one day help others on their journeys to become writers and artists in their own era. I’d even love to be a beta reader for people and display their books on my site. However, I would need them to send me the books to read as I can’t afford to purchase them all. Once I get my degree I am hoping to get into editing and become a full time editor and writer. I guess I will just have to see what the future holds, but I will never stop working towards my goals.
IG, Pinterest and TikTok: @poetrywithme0313
Blog: poetrywithme.com
