When Alex Rivera started a blog in 2019, they had no intention of becoming a novelist. The blog, which chronicled their experiences as a first-generation college student, was simply a way to process a disorienting time.

"I wrote for an audience of maybe ten people—mostly friends from home," Rivera recalls. "It was a way to stay connected to where I came from while navigating this new world."

But the blog's raw honesty struck a chord. Within a year, Rivera had thousands of readers, and literary agents started reaching out. Their debut novel, 'Between Worlds,' draws heavily on those early posts, transforming autobiography into fiction.

The book became an instant bestseller, spending fifteen weeks on the New York Times list. More importantly, it sparked a conversation about class, belonging, and the hidden costs of upward mobility.

Now, at 28, Rivera is finishing their second novel while teaching creative writing at their alma mater. "I try to tell my students that there's no right path," they say. "Every writer has to find their own way in."