CARLA BIANCA RAVANES-HIGHAM
I remember the first time I met Elydia Reyes. It was the year 2008 and we were both in our early 20s, ready to explore the world. I was the overly energetic hyper employee while Elyds, as everyone near to her calls her, was the reserved and quiet one. We bonded over our love for boy bands (excuse us 90s kids), television shows, corny jokes, our faith, and yes, the written word. We were the biggest bookworms in the world and we both loved to write. But what resonated with me the most about Elyds, even after 10 years of friendship, is her kind nature.
Elyds, unlike me, doesn’t react to negativity or when she does, she still does it in a positive manner that elicits the correct response. During my temperamental outbursts at work, I would often look at Elyds and wonder how she remains calm through the many atrocities of life.
It is safe to say that Elyds and I have remained close friends long after the job (she has stayed and soared with the job in a way that only she can). Elyds has always been a writer but for a time, it took a backseat to work, school, and other responsibilities. However, in recent years, through social media, I have seen her blossom into the writer that she has always wanted to be in an unexpected portal – Wattpad.
“I started writing when I was in high school,” recalls Elyds, “I also had a cousin who always asked me to write love stories for her and poems. This encouraged me to take up Mass Communication in college where I was given the opportunity to write for a radio drama show as a scriptwriter. I continued to pursue the craft even after graduation as I felt like this was my ministry because people from all over the country can hear stories about inspiration, hope, faith in the Lord, and love.”
It was in 2015 that Elyds moved from radio to the Internet through Wattpad, a community of readers and writers where one can discover user-generated stories, spanning across different genres, including classics, general fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, poetry, spiritual, and other stories. Currently valued below $400 million, Wattpad continues to be a favorite of writers and non-writers alike. Elyds shares the story behind her joining the famous site, “I felt that it was God’s way of reaching even more people and sharing His word. I felt this was my calling and so I pursued it.”
Elyds, who has written many tales on Wattpad has gained her own audience and she believes it’s because her stories are easy to relate to, “My characters in the stories are people who are broken, bruised, and who
eventually find their way back to the Lord.”
Her stories have won her the famed Wattys2016 and a single story alone has garnered over 300,000 readers.
Her stories also feature romance which she believes is a universal language, one everyone can relate to. It speaks of losing one’s self, finding who we are in God, and relishing in the love that we have been blessed with through the many trials of life. Her books, just like Elyds herself, make you remember the goodness of God and is a great relief from the sometimes chaos of life.
Today, Elyds has transitioned from simply posting her tales into self-publication where she hopes to reach out to more readers, “I recently teamed up with MATERICA, a commercial printing house to share the story of ‘Hello David.’ I did this mainly to help a friend who is undergoing kidney treatment, proceeds of the book will aide her treatment.”
For Elyds, writing has become a way to connect to people and this can be seen in the many messages she receives from those who were inspired by her many tales.
Elydia Reyes
“I am inspired to write because I know that through my stories, I also get to give inspiration which is evident in some of the comments I received from the readers. It’s a way of reminding them that they are loved by God and that the best is yet to come,” she intones.|
For more on Elydia and to purchase her books, you may contact her at elydia.reyes@gmail.com.
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