Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Scout’s Honor is the first novel I’ve ever written and the first I’ve had published. I am originally from New Jersey, graduated college with a History degree, served as a Military Intelligence officer in the US Army and have been working in the legal field in North Carolina and raising my daughters since 2000. When my youngest daughter went to college back in 2014, I decided to sit down and write my book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is Scout’s Honor. It is about a young teenaged girl, coming of age in the 1980s, who is taken advantage of by an older man in a position of trust. Many years ago, I read an article by an anonymous girl who told about this happening to her. The man was in a leadership position within her church and the man’s wife was spreading rumors about the girl trying “to steal” her husband. I was intrigued by this reaction at the time, considering the girl’s age and her claims, and now that I’m older, see how it happens all the time. In 2016, the way we communicate just makes this kind of thing easier. The girl did not tell about what really happened to her to anyone in authority, and the man got to sacrifice the girl’s honor in order to save himself, his own image, family, and reputation. This has been happening to young girls throughout history. Now, we just hear more about it. I always wondered what happened to this girl and how such a traumatic event at such a key time in her growth, affected the rest of her life. When I had the idea to write the story, I was very young myself and tried to write it, several times, unsuccessfully. I think I simply had to live more, live longer, go through more of life’s hardships myself in order to fully understand how such a story could unfold. That was how I created Scout’s story.
There was another event in my own young life that inspired this book. It included a friend of mine who was married off at 14 to a 29 year old man she did not know. She was from a different culture and I could not understand how and why this happened in the United States. To me, I felt like she was being enslaved to cook and clean and have babies for some perverted businessman when she was just out of the eighth grade. I always wondered what happened to her as well.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think that my habits are any different than other writers. I write when I can and sometimes I force myself to do it. When I’m in the throes of writing a story, I enjoy having conversations with my characters in the car to and from work. That helps me connect with them.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The books that have most influenced me are Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. There are so many books out there that have influenced me, but I’d say that those three are the biggest ones. I also love Malcolm Gladwell’s books. He writes about interesting things that I think about sometimes but can’t articulate myself. He does and does it well.
What are you working on now?
Other than launching my novel, I am now working on two more books. The first one is called Good Buddy, and it is about a young criminal defense attorney who falls in love with a widow and helps her raise her child. He becomes a step father to her. Tragedy strikes, and he is left to confront his own dark past while dealing with a custody situation. The purpose of this book is to highlight the real value of step fathers in our society. They have none of the rights but all of the responsibility. They play such an integral part in a child’s upbringing and are rarely appreciated for how challenging that can be.
My second book is going to be a coming of age tale about a special relationship between a sheltered, troubled girl from the Appalachians in North Carolina and a Scottish boy on his Gap Year before starting University. The girl is going to run away from home to accompany him on this right of passage trip, and in doing so, heals her own tragic past.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still trying to figure this out. I use many platforms and am trying to use as many free outlets as possible in order to create the stationary content. Awesomegang.com is one of many great websites out there. I receive the weekly author emails.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to forget the rules. There are none. Look into small independent publishing houses to share your work. You have more freedom and control over your own branding and you also keep more of your royalties. You are going to work very hard no matter which way you go, so you should try to get paid for it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This is a quote attributed to Helen Mirren. Please excuse the language. Helen Mirren has said that she was too polite to men in the past and would advise her younger self to be less accommodating. “‘At 70 years old, if I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to use the words ‘fuck off’ much more frequently.” Amen and amen. I have indeed imparted this wise advice to my own daughters. I wish someone gave that advice me to me when I was young. Would have saved me a lot of heartache and stress.
What are you reading now?
I am reading Antiartists by Ralph Pullins. This is a pre release copy. This book comes out in the middle of May. Be on the look out for this dark but charming writer. (He likes when I’ve called him that, but I think it fits.) There are lots of ridiculously talented, unknown indie authors out there like Ralph. I have met several this past year. Check them out!
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have been writing poetry and also working on my next two books, as shared earlier. With Scout’s Honor’s launch, I will be focusing on not only the message within the story but also spreading the word about colon cancer and the need for earlier screenings in younger people. A portion of the sales of my book will be going to colon cancer research and awareness efforts. This is a cause that I was thrown into due to my husband’s recent devastating diagnosis of colon cancer – it is really the only way I have been able to cope with its impact on my life and my family’s life. Scout’s Honor is dedicated to his fight. He deserved better than this from those who make screening and healthcare decisions.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, so I can reread why I need to survive a desert island. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks so I can believe that there is someone out there who loves me enough to not give up on me and also build me a house with blue shutters. (OK, that’s a joke but I would need a little romance on a deserted island) Lastly, I’d bring a book of poems by Robert Frost.
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