What makes your book stand out within your genre?

I use a lot of medical terminology and anatomically correct phrases. I think it brings depth and interest to the story.

I have to agree with you on this as well. Medical terminology, proper use of it that is, makes the story feel more real.

Could you share a small excerpt that is not in the blurb?

If the door won’t give her freedom, she will take it from the dirt floor. She kneels on her legs, bent over with one person’s horrible ending hopefully assisting in another person’s escape to a beginning. She labors with the makeshift tool, all the while squelching fear of the unknown about what she will do an encounter on the outside. She only knows that she must make it there because death is the only gift she will be given on the inside. So she digs until the hole looks large enough for her to crawl through, and she lies on her back and begins the arduous task of wiggling underneath the wall of her metal prison into the unforgiving, compacted sand. She now smells the outside desert wind, which is almost as stale and arid as the air within the shed. With a few more kicks of her feet, she frees her whole body from the cell, rolls over onto her knees, and stands up.

Wow, that is one intense scene. I hope your readers know what they are in store for.

Now, being a NICU nurse, how much inspiration came from your experiences? Is that where the idea for this novel originated?

The idea came from an investigative news show, but I have first hand knowledge of the ins and outs of working in the professions, so it made it easy to describe those scenes in the hospital.

I love that you were able to use your real-life experiences to help with your novel. An investigative news show sounds like a place where many get wonderful crime novel ideas!

Could you share something with your readers that they wouldn’t know about you?

I read BOY by Roald Dahl as a kid and begged my parents to send me to boarding school in England as a result. I wasn’t successful.

Darn!

 
Code Pink is your first novel. Could you tell us a little about some of the ups or downs you experienced while writing it? Was there ever a point where you felt it would never be finished?

I think one of the hardest parts of writing for me is forcing myself to sit in a chair and write for hours. Sitting for long periods of time is very difficult for me. I never worried about finishing it, because I’m a little obsessive when I do things. I work until they are completed. The thing I did worry about was word count. Brevity is my gift/curse, but it
turned out to be a good length.

I also have difficulty sitting for long periods of time. I often take breaks, getting more water, snacks, going to the restroom, etc. I love your work ethic, I hate leaving things unfinished also.

If you could pick one disease to cure, which would you choose and why?

My knee-jerk reaction is cancer, but the more I think about it, the more I believe I would cure mental illness. We have made so many strides towards curing cancer, but we haven’t even begun to find a cause for mental illnesses, much less a cure. There is treatment, but the illnesses themselves are often resistant to treatment. It is devastating
for a lot of families.

Cancer is something my family is all too familiar with on too many occasions. I think mental illness is a great choice. I am happy to see it discussed more openly now and I hope to see more research and treatments options.

If you would live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?  Could you share an image of your dream home’s ideal location?

I would stay right here in Texas. The large live oaks, pecan trees, the
lush greenery of the area I live in, are interwoven into the fiber of my
being. It’s home to me.

It sounds beautiful. I would like to live in Texas someday. I currently live in Western NY.

I imagine being a NICU nurse and writing a novel is tough. It is hard enough writing your first novel, let alone handling a job such as yours. Could you share some advice for aspiring authors who have lives and struggle to sit down and actually write?

I work part-time, two twelve hour shifts a week, so that leaves me a good amount of time to devote to writing. My biggest advice would be to force yourself to do it. Set a goal and stick to it. Daily word goal, page goal, scene goal, whatever it is, just do it. Don’t wait for inspiration, force yourself to start writing. Once you’ve written
something, you have something to work with.

You cannot edit a blank page, as much as you plan…until you write there is nothing for you to do. I think the daily goal is a wonderful idea. Even if you don’t meet that goal, write…just a sentence or paragraph…just write.