Yes, I read most of my book reviews. There are so many factors that can influence others' opinions of my book, and I try to consider those factors when reading their reviews. For every good review, I’m so grateful and often times elated that someone enjoyed my writing. When I write a book, I'm putting my mind out there for the world to judge, which can be terrifying. So, when a good review comes in, it’s so special to me since I poured my heart and mind into the book. The bad reviews always feel like a blow to my gut, but I take the review a step further, and I wonder what was going on in their lives that could have affected their opinions (I’m sure my degree in clinical psychology comes into play here!), and I try to find value in their criticism. I choose to find the “good†in their bad reviews. It’s not always an easy task, but for me, I always want to choose to find the silver lining in the bad reviews.
As an author, I will forever be grateful for every person who reads my book and takes the time to review it.
I’ve always loved to write. For me, writing has always been an outlet to express my inner world. My love for writing became the central focus of my life when I was in the third grade. I can remember plucking away at my parents’ keyboard staring at the jumbo monitor wide eyed and wrapped up in my first story that would be submitted in a local writing contest. The contest was titled “My favorite older person.†I won third in the state and received a $50 savings bond, and from that moment a new passion was lite within me. I’ll never forget the pride and joy on my grandmother’s face. Even at a young age, I saw the impact that writing could not just on me but on others too.
My dream goal that I want to achieve before I die has nothing to do with writing, but it has everything to do with love. My dream would be to have the opportunity to mentor others in need and to let every individual know that they’re worthy of love and that they were created for a purpose. I see the beauty in brokenness, and I believe it’s a common link amongst most individuals. There’s usually some aspect of another’s life that has elements of rejection, criticism, and/rejection, and my dream is to reach those individuals and to remind them of just how valuable they are and that the lies of their past don’t define them.
Over the Borderline was loosely inspired by significant and tragic events in my life that had a huge impact on me. There are two main events that forever changed my life and my view of the human mind. The first event was the heinous murder of my cousin and her unborn child. Sitting through the trial was one of the hardest things I have experienced. I can remember vividly all of the details and photographs shown. Once the trial started and the gory details of her death were revealed, I remember my aunts and grandmother softly sobbing and the judge asking them to leave the courtroom due to their crying having an impact on the jurors. I remember the huge lump in my throat as I tried to remain strong for them, forcing my own tears and quivering lips to be still. I had a job to do at the trial, to support my family. When the trial was over, I found my voice in writing.
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The second life changing event was when I worked at a local Florida prison. I have worked firsthand with murderers, psychopaths, narcissists, and borderlines. In this setting, I explored the minds of notorious killers and obtained an insider’s view of their secrets as they recounted their darkest hours. It was in this prison setting that I would encounter my first stalker, be trapped in a room alone and encircled by a large group of male inmates, and have an inmate, who was pending an early release, threaten to kill me. Since this was my job and required training for my doctoral degree, quitting was not an option. Driving to the prison each day knowing that I had a death sentence over my head was torture. It was in this setting that the idea of understanding the mind of a killer really started to become a central focus of my study.  Like the trial, I had to hold in my emotions in an attempt to be professional and to project an image of confidence and strength. Writing gave me a voice that had once been silenced. Writing allowed me to have control and, in some way, make sense of the pain and terrifying events that I had to endure. It is these experiences, the murder of my cousin and working in a prison that influenced my first novel, Over the Borderline.
