Can you share a little about your recent book –
With Angel’s Wings is a true medical drama/unconventional love story. It is a memoir focusing on my unexpected introduction to and intense initiation into the world of special needs parenting.
Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
I think my second daughter, Sarah (“Hannah” in the book), was probably about 6 months old when I began writing therapeutically. In what felt like the blink of an eye, I had gone from being a young woman wrestling with a temperamental marriage to a single mother of an asthmatic, autistic toddler and an epileptic infant in heart failure. There was suddenly an overabundance of OMG moments, WTH moments, and “just hold your head in your hands because you can’t even remotely believe this is happening” moments. It all felt so surreal that I thought maybe writing it down would help me sort out my feelings and help me better cope with it all.
Other people (specifically nurses and therapists who were in our home, working with the girls) began to read what I had written. Multiple people said things like, “Wow, I’m working with another family right now, and I’m certain the mom is struggling with the feelings you wrote about here, but she doesn’t seem comfortable sharing her thoughts. I think she’s ashamed of her feelings or afraid to open up, and I think reading something like this would really help her to know she’s not alone…that the way she’s responding to what life is throwing at her right now is only natural.” After many similar comments, I decided to take a deep breath, close my eyes, and bear my exposed, bleeding heart to the world. I figured if sharing my tale would help just one family facing similar challenges, my fear of criticism from the rest of the reading world would all be well worth it. Meanwhile, anyone at all curious about our very different “lifestyle” would have an opportunity to take a few steps alongside me in the early days of my journey.
How long have you been writing? And how long did it take you to get your first major book contract?
Because I had no intentions of publishing, I had no reason to rush with my writing. Once I made the decision to share our story, however, it took me about a year to finish it up and prepare to send it to a publisher. I found a website called “Pubmatch.com”, where publishers list what types of works they are looking for and their requirements for consideration. I was extremely lucky to find a fantastic editor/publisher right away, and the rest of the publication process took about a year from that point.
How long does it take you to write a book?
To directly answer your question, this book took 18 years from start to finish.
What’s your writing work schedule like?
I just wrote whenever I had a moment. Sarah had a pretty bad sleep disorder, so there were plenty of wakeful wee hours of the morning, in which writing helped to keep me awake. After that, I became a pediatric nurse and I worked the 11 PM to 7 AM shift. Once again, whenever things got slow, writing was a good way to keep me [awake and] occupied while my patients slept.
Do you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?
Nope. I don’t even really see myself as a writer. I’m just a mom who had a story that I couldn’t keep contained. I simply write from the heart. That being said, however, I’ve found the best way to think about what I want to write in my monthly blog and how I want to write it, is to go out for a brisk 3 to 4 mile walk. All my best ideas are found out on the roads.
What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?
A mother of a toddler boy who happens to share the same diagnosis as my second daughter reached out to me via social media a few years ago. She happened to stumble upon my book and read it throughout one of her son’s many hospitalizations. She said that before she read With Angel’s Wings she thought for sure nobody could possibly understand how she was feeling. After reading it, she went out and bought more copies to hand out to her family, in hopes that if they could understand me in the book, they’d better understand her. That was my first response to my book from a fellow special needs parent, and it was exactly the type of response I had hoped for. We still keep in touch.
What has been your darkest moment(s)?
Well, I don’t think anything about the writing process could have even come remotely close to matching the darkness of the days I wrote about. There are sections that still make my stomach roil when I read, sections I still can’t read without crying.
Which of your books is your favorite?
Pretty easy to answer this one, since there’s only one! I must say, though, that I’m really having fun writing my monthly blog, which is something of a continuation of the book’s epilogue.
Who is your favorite author to read?
Boy, there are so many amazingly talented authors out there – all of whom I LOVE to read – that I don’t think I can narrow my favorite down to just one. Right now, however, I am a massive fan of A.M. Manay, author of the supernatural November Snow trilogy, (book one is “She Dies At The End”). I could geek out for hours discussing the genius of that series!
What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have listened too?
My number one advice to any new author is to invest in a REALLY good editor. Trust me; it’s money well spent. Beyond that, I would suggest getting involved in author support groups. There’s lots of GREAT advice out there from very supportive, seasoned authors that any new author can benefit from.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2qIzVr6
Author Bio:
As it is a memoir, anyone who reads With Angel’s Wings (along with the epilogue included on the book’s website and my blog) will have a pretty good idea about who I am. I am a mother of four. Catherine (“Emily” in the book), 24 has high-functioning autism with mild to moderate cognitive delay. Sarah (“Hannah” in the book), 21, has a rare genetic disorder, Wolf-Hirschorn Syndrome (history of 7 heart defects, non-verbal, non-ambulatory, incontinent, exclusively G-tube fed, seizure disorder, and profound mental and physical delays – she weighs 50 pounds and is the cognitive equivalent of about a 6 to 9-month-old). Will, 14, has severe ADHD and dyslexia, and Ellie, 10 – who I described for years as my [finally!] “typical” child [albeit with something of a princess complex] – was diagnosed in the third grade with ADHD/dyslexia (although, a significantly milder case than Will’s). I have a 4-year degree in psychology and a 2-year degree in nursing. I worked for approximately 10 years as a registered nurse on the medical unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital, but gave up my career to focus on the growing needs of my family. When I was 40 I set out to get rid of the 10 souvenir pounds I had collected from each of my 4 pregnancies. In the process, I found my inner jock, and I now love to walk, run and I’m addicted to Zumba. Other than that, I read every minute I can.
