Learning Together: 4 Fun At-Home Activities For Building Life Skills by Kat Kronenberg, award-winning author of The Live Big Trilogy

Albert Einstein says, "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

My favorite natural fact is that we are all made of “star-stuff.” It lives above us, around us, and within us all. It is from the beginning of time with the power to overcome darkness of any kind! Just think about that for a moment: we are all made of stardust. I play on this fun truth in my books, The Live Big Trilogy, and use our beautiful world as a mirror to show us our lives, our choices, and the ways we relate to one another. 

These books are ones that I needed as a little girl. Books can help lay an emotional and social foundation so that when life gets dark or scary, children have the tools to find the light. We can do that at home, now, together. 

While we are all stuck in quarantine, let's have some fun with our hearts made of stars and the fact that every one of us is precious! Here are four fun and easy activities to make the most of this uncertain time, along with fascinating scientific facts to accompany them:

1. CREATE YOUR CATCH-M (YOUR SMILE!)

In my Live Big Trilogy, CATCH-M is the name the African animals have given a smile and the power it has to change our day and make it better all along the way. So take this time to get to know your smile: draw it on paper, socks, shirts, or your thumbs for thumbs-up-fun with CATCH-M. The possibilities are endless!

Draw your CATCH-M on the sidewalk for neighbors to enjoy, put it in your mailbox to encourage your mailman, send it to health care folks with an encouraging note, or even to your amazing teachers.

You can send your CATCH-M on an adventure by mailing your CATCH-M to a loved one and having them mail your CATCH-M on to the next person. Then create a map to keep track of all the places your CATCH-M went and all the friends it got to meet and make happy. You can make a CATCH-M filled mural, where you put everyone's CATCH-M’s together, either at home with your family, or do a project with your class to create when you all can come together again. 

The point of spending time together with our S.M.I.L.E. is it’s a way to See Miracles In Life Every day.

(Science: Stars, for the most part, are simply two hydrogen atoms fusing to make helium. In my Trilogy, our smiles are how we invite the hydrogen atom either above us, around us, or within us to come party with the star stuff in our heart, the second hydrogen atom. We have a heart full of these brilliant treasures just waiting to light up our lives. So use your smile to build fortune-filled treasure chests for all! :)

2. CELEBRATE THE 3 G'S - GOALS, GRATITUDES, & GIFTS

To learn to live our best lives like the animals in my Trilogy, we can take this time to get to know ourselves better. Each of us was born extraordinary, with gifts only we have to share with the world. You are the only you who will ever be. We are all kings and queens meant to lead and share our gifts with the world.

So take time every day to get to know you. In the morning, set a Goal, to know all your different smiles, to learn something new, play a new game, try a different skill, read a new book… the list goes on! To make it fun and find success on your Goal Quest, we need to use the other G's too. 

The next G is Gratitude. Grab a box, a can, or another container (we made a "Love Can" out of an old can of beans that we decorated). At the start of every day, fill it with a card that you write with your child about what your family is grateful for and your child’s goal for the day. Aesop said, "Gratitude turns what we have into enough." Gratitude is our reminder to never strive from a place of fear, need, or want. 

The next G is Giving. Each night, fill the container you created with another gratitude. Help your child identify their best individual act of giving for that day, and your family's best gift to the world for that day. There is a gift in giving, a fullness of heart experienced.

3. THROW AN ABUNDANCE CELEBRATION

There is nothing better than a party to build connection, communication, and cooperation – three things that we can all use more of right now! For your celebration, first have your family create a Coat of Arms, which is a fancy term for your family's symbol that represents who you are, what you like, where you live, etc. Get the kids involved in creating this!

Add your Coat of Arms to homemade crowns (any type will do!) to remind your children that they are the only them there will ever be. You are a King! A Queen! You are extraordinary, full of possibilities. You can also add them to capes (try a shirt tied around your neck or a ripped up old sheet) to remind children that one person can change the world – and it can be them.

During the party, everyone can decorate the 3 G box, make drums, pom-poms, write songs, create riddles, write encouraging notes, or play games like:

1. Dung Beetle's "What Do You Do With A Do-Do Dilemma Game" 

(Science: Dung Beetles are born in doodoo, and instead of complaining, they "do good" and have fun making balls out of the poop. As a result, they become leaders, heroes of the savanna because they fertilize the grass so the animals can eat).

This game is like Duck, Duck Goose, but you play with different key phrases. Instead of "Duck," you say "You Can." Instead of "Goose," you say, "Do Good!"

2. Kudu's "No Bad Buts Game" 

(Science: Kudus are born with nothing on their heads, but as they mature, they grow two fabulous twisting horns that represent the good choices they made when faced with hard twists in fate.)

This game is like Simon Says, but you play with different key phrases. When the leader playing Simon says the phrase, "YES, I can… stand! YES! I can sit," everyone should follow. If Simon says, Yeah, but I can't… stand. Yeah, but I can't sit." The people who follow these instructions are out. This game builds confidence in kids while having fun.

3. The Honey Bee's "A-Bun-Dance Game" 

(Science: Honey Bees show us abundance is an attitude as they shake their booties in gratitude. They dance to celebrate life, create connection, and communicate so they can work hard together to build a home filled with a "sweet" treat called honey. Their booty dance create maps to tell their hive, where to find flowers to collect nectar to make honey.

Honey Bees are vital to our world's survival. I think it is because they celebrate ABUNDANCE together every day. So let's play “The A-Bun-Dance Game" to fill our homes with "sweet" memories, not fear or misery! To play wear capes, crowns, fun clothes, pound drums, shake pom-poms, sing songs, and get as silly as possible with your booty-shaking “a-bun-dance.” Make drum circles, choreograph a family dance, and to end the game come together and shout out, "Our lives are full of A-BUN-DANCE!" We can't help but laugh and remember that abundance is a choice and a gift. 

4. WRITE STORIES: CIRCLE UP AND SHARE

At your family party, circle up and share stories. There is no right or wrong way to do it: You can use a pen and paper with words, you can tell your story with drawings, sons, dance, a musical instrument, or by acting it out. 

Next try telling Mythological Fables, origin stories with a takeaway. Have everyone pick their favorite animal and research the animal to find out as much information about them as possible: where it lives, what it eats, its qualities, characteristics, social etiquette, and more. Then create the story of how and why the first animal of its kind came to live its best life. You can use the framework of The Hero's Journey in the “Learn” Section of my website or write it any way you choose.

For the last round of writing or storytelling, you can also tell your Memoir Backwards. Walt Disney says, "First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare." If we take time to think about and write out our best life, who knows what great things we can accomplish – especially if we share our dreams so that others can help us along the way. I know I would not be writing this without having dared to share my dream with my family.

Home is a place where we can learn to light our heart stars, lay a strong foundation to help us live our best lives together, make some great memories along the way together while we’re in quarantine. For more fun activities, educational worksheets, writing exercises, fascinating scientific facts and more, visit www.katkronenberg.com. 

Kat Kronenberg’s life story and ability to inspire audiences has positioned her as a coveted keynote speaker, presenter at schools, and Austin Business Journal’s Profile in Power Winner, Central Texas Women of Influence. She is also a Mom’s Gold Choice Award Winner, Family Choice Winner, Writer’s League of Texas Discovery Prize Winner living in Austin, Texas. 

THINK BIG (Greenleaf Book Group) is now available for preorder from Amazon, Book People, and booksellers nationwide, and will officially be available for purchase on May 12, 2020. Part of the proceeds from the book will support WE, Grameen America, and teachers who want to bring classroom dreams to life via Donors Choose.

Kronenberg is available for virtual speaking opportunities. More information can be found at www.katkronenberg.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

Moving Beyond Trauma by Ilene Smith

In my early forties, after a career in banking and real estate financing, I returned to school for a master’s degree in mental health counseling. I truly had no idea that this path would lead me to my greatest passion in life thus far. 

During my internship to complete my degree, I was introduced to Somatic Experiencing for trauma healing, a modality developed by Peter Levine, PhD. What distinguishes Dr. Levine’s work from other trauma-informed therapies is the importance of bringing the body into the therapeutic process. I had spent years in talk therapy, which was effective in bringing awareness to my issues and their origins, but I still felt an underlying dysregulation in my nervous system. I was anxious and continued to battle my eating disorder demons. 

When I incorporated SE techniques into my own life and my clients’ therapeutic processes, I saw our nervous systems move towards more balanced states in only a few sessions. Marriages improved and depressions lifted. As a result of less stress and anxiety in my body, my eating disorder behaviors began to quiet. 

SE uses a “clinical map” to access the physiological states of survival known as fight, flight, and freeze and helps release the self-protective and defensive responses we hold in our body. It includes talking, but the talking is used to track body sensation and meaning attached to experiences, rather than bring the individual back into the event of the trauma. 

I wanted to bring the possibilities of Somatic Experiencing to a larger audience; I wanted more people to understand that while our perception of trauma and healing is often associated with cognition, in order to heal on a cellular level, we need to invite the body into the process. And so, the task of creating Moving Beyond Trauma: The Roadmap to Healing from Your Past and Living with Ease and Vitality began. 

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I knew that if I was going to impact the audience, I needed to empower people to take charge of their own healing. As my ideas took shape, I realized it wasn’t enough to explain the benefits of SE. Readers needed a way to customize the information to meet their unique needs, and so the book evolved into a roadmap for healing the nervous system and creating a personalized healing lifestyle. 

Almost a year-and-a-half after I began work on the book, I answered my doorbell to find the box of 50 author copies of Moving Beyond Trauma on my doorstep. As I opened it, adrenaline rushed through my body. I was overcome with excitement, but also fear. I believe the book carries an important message about trauma and healing, and I also know that any time we stick our necks out for our beliefs, criticism often follows. 

However, my desire to carry the message of this work outweighs my fear. I believe the general public doesn’t have enough information about the mind-body connection in the healing process and many aren’t aware of how small changes can bring the nervous system back into balance. 

The book includes six assessments to help the reader better understand how trauma impacts their nervous system and day-to-day functioning. Many psychologists focus on “fixing” patients’ problematic or maladaptive behaviors. Researcher Sarah Melancon, PhD, and I set out to develop tools that assess the current functioning of a patient’s nervous system so that they can create their own intentional plan to increase its health and functioning, which will “fix” the problem behaviors organically. 

Dr. Melancon and I spent months developing these assessments, along with detailed instructions on how to use the information. After finishing the book, we took our work one step further and went on to complete a study on SE and eating disorders, which we hope to see published later this year. 

For those struggling with mental health issues, I hope that Moving Beyond Trauma motivates them to take charge of their healing. After they complete the book, I anticipate that they will begin to feel differently and more grounded in their physical experience, or “embodied.” When we feel the physicalness of our bodies we can be more present. Presence allows us to be more curious about ourselves and the world around us. It gives us a richer experience of life and a deeper sense of safety, both of which are key for creating a sustainable healing lifestyle. 

The process of birthing a book is like no other, and it has certainly been one of my greatest challenges thus far. It asked me to uplevel my self-care. I had to slow my nervous system down even further. I minimized my travel schedule, recommitted to my yoga practice, and made sure I sought support from trusted friends. Routine, discipline, and connection with friends and family were key in helping me stay in my creative flow. 

Creating Moving Beyond Trauma required me to use all the tools I write about! I am pleased to report they worked as well as I imagined they would. I hope that you’ll invite me into your own healing journey and pick up a copy of Moving Beyond Trauma should you feel so called. 

About the Author

Ilene Smith is the author of Moving Beyond Trauma: The Roadmap to Healing from Your Past and Living with Ease and Vitality. She is a certified professional coach and Somatic Experiencing practitioner who is passionate about helping others explore life with curiosity and exuberance. Her research into Somatic Experiencing and eating disorders has contributed to the importance of Somatic Experiencing and body-based therapies in recovery. Ilene has also worked extensively with patients suffering from addiction. With master’s degrees in exercise physiology and mental health counseling, Ilene blends talking, touch work, and movement to create synergy between a client’s body and mind. In addition to her private practice, Ilene has developed a series of trauma healing workshops and lectures, which she hosts worldwide. She lives in Arizona. For more information, please visit http://ilenesmith.com/ and follow Ilene on Facebook and Instagram 

Q&A with Lillian Brummet

What inspired you to become a writer?

People often ask me that and over the years of thinking about this very thing, I realized that I have always been drawn to the written word. I have this connection to it that is hard to explain, perhaps it has something to do with my analytical and introspective nature. I struggled in my younger years with switching numbers and words and letters… and thinking so fast that my words can’t catch up. Writing has helped me slow down, relax, explain then review what I’ve written. Oh I’ll rush out the idea, pounding out the basic thoughts before I forget them; that does happen, but the act of methodically writing, double checking, rewriting and editing - all those aspects of the career have helped me personally. When I was young I wrote powerful stories with emotionally charged scenarios, and in my youth I poured out pain and angst through poetry. After being involved in a pretty bad car accident in ’98, I was jolted into knowing the fragility and uncertainty of life. As time went on I became chronically depressed from the pain and loss of a business I had run successfully for 6 years. I needed, really needed, to feel like my life had purpose. Writing has given me that. It also opened new doors to me – such as hosting the 2 online radio shows several years ago and doing live interviews, things I would have never considered doing before.

What type of books do you write?

As writers, we specialize in non-fiction: 2 books of poetry, 2 books on ways to reduce waste, extend the budget and make a difference for the planet. We also have a book offering writer’s advice which is very popular with PR agents and educators because it walks authors through the process of promoting their writing business, running it efficiently, and standing out in a crowd like a purple snowflake in a snowstorm… thus the title: Purple Snowflake Marketing. Our most recent endeavour is a cookbook celebrating garden harvests that offers interesting trivia and teaches eco-friendly and waste-reduction habits. This manuscript is currently in Dave’s capable hands.

For readers to get to know you better, what kind of author would you describe yourself as? 

I would call myself: passionate, motivated, tenacious, organized, concerned and proactive. Writing, for me, is a way to create positive change in the world. The feedback from our readers inspires me to no end! Their personal life changes help me feel like I do make a difference and these urges to do more grow inside me with each positive comment. Their stories of the volunteer work they became involved in, how dedicated they became to composting, how they have taken up gardening or composting, how their local schools are so grateful for receiving items they can reuse in the classroom - these stories have encouraged me. Readers of our poetry books tell us they have been encouraged, felt the compassion we offer and felt empowered after reading them. When I look back at the last 20 years in this world of writing I get a little positive thrill, knowing I’ve helped make a little ripple of change. What is really cool is that Dave is a full on partner in this and I think that has also strengthened our relationship. 

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I’m glad you mentioned that, I saw that you work with your husband and I was curious about your collaboration…

We definitely work as a team. We hold many brainstorming sessions that inspire us with new ideas and the direction to take. In some of those sessions we come up with new book or article ideas, other times we are discussing current marketing activities, we might talk about office issues or duties we need to split up, and goals or dreams of the future. My talents lay in gathering the information, organizing, office work, managing the blog, arranging for beta tests, networking, marketing and promotional activities and creating the draft manuscripts. Dave manages the technology, tax prep, machines and computers. He does the final checks, edits and any rewrites, the proofs and layout, design, formatting, graphics and cover image. That is his specialty. After publication we often meet in the middle too. I’m making connections and arranging for exposure, he provides the images, ad creation and manages the website. If something has to be done in person – Dave’s the one they see. Otherwise I’m often the one dealing with media and other people in general. 

What is your favorite book and why?

How can I possibly choose?! I have so many favorites… from Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings series to Star Tide Rising (D. Brin), to The Sea of Trolls (N. Farmer), and Dan Brown’s adventure-fantasy books and of course Northlander (M. Burdan) … However if I really have to pick one favorite it would have to be it would have to be Trevanian’s book Shibumi..

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Be respectful and do not make anyone wait for you. Be prepared well in advance and have contingency plans. Be proactive – you have chosen this career and it needs to be treated as any other business. Take courses and study on how best to run a business, create strategic business and marketing plans and keep detailed records.

About the Author

Lillian and her husband Dave are the team behind Brummet Media Group, high-fiving cheerfully as they pass each other on the way from checking off one item or other from their long to-do list. After moving to their dream location (in the Kootenay Region of BC, Canada) 10 years ago, they have been methodically converting the abused lot over to the little park it has become – and in doing so have gained certification with bee, pollinator and wildlife organizations. Their home, too, has become eco-friendly via the many upgrades they have done. Their business includes Dave’s music studio and percussion accessory development, graphic design work, numerous award-winning non-fiction books and a popular blog. 

Connect:

BrummetMedia.ca

FaceBook 

Blog

Amazon.com Author Page

Amazon.co.uk Author Page

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Q&A with Annie West, Revelations of a Secret Princess

Did you always want to write romance novels?

From an early age, I wanted to write, but I thought that was a daydream rather than a real career option. When, in my teens, I started reading romances, these were the ones I read and loved. Harlequin Presents has always felt like my home, so when I finally took the leap and tried writing my own stories, that’s exactly where I wanted to be published. And now I am a full-time career author – Yay!! I’m currently working on my 42nd Presents story.

Share in your own words what it means to experience That Harlequin Feeling:

No other books give me the same emotional experience as a good romance. When I’m deeply immersed in a Harlequin Presents book in particular, I actually feel the emotion, like a punch to the heart. I love opening a book and being taken on a journey to somewhere far away, where the characters seem so different to me, but experience the same strong emotions. Reading Harlequin is a feel-good experience but so much more too – cathartic, refreshing and always leaves me feeling optimistic.

Can you share a recent book you have read that you would like to recommend?

I just finished Their Royal Wedding Bargain by Michelle Conder from Harlequin Presents. It starts with a proposal for a fake relationship that becomes real. This time though, it’s the heroine who’s after a pretend-fiancé for the short term. That was a hook from the start, and then there’s the ever-increasing tension between hero and heroine, all in the hothouse world of royal expectation.

Q&A with Brenda Janowitz, The Grace Kelly Dress

You write that you've always loved wedding dresses. What fascinated you about Grace Kelly's dress in particular, and how did you come up with the idea for this novel?

Ever since I first laid eyes on this iconic garment, I’ve been in love. To me, Grace Kelly’s wedding gown is the ultimate dress. Beautiful, elegant, and refined-- what more could any bride want?

My agent sent me an article from The Today Show about a wedding dress that had been passed down through eleven generations. The moment I heard the story, I knew that I had the idea for my next novel.

Once I decided to write about a wedding gown, there was only one thing I envisioned: Grace Kelly on her wedding day. So, when it came time to describe what this heirloom dress looked like, I found myself describing Grace Kelly’s gown-- the lace sleeves, the cummerbund, the full skirt. I quickly realized that the characters in the book should be as enamored of this design as me, and The Grace Kelly Dress was born!

You alternate between three characters' stories. Did you focus more on one before turning to the others, or did you write the novel in the order in which it appears?

I like to write in a very straightforward manner, and that usually means writing each chapter in order, from beginning to end. So, I approached this book in this same way, at first. 

But then, I realized that in order to make each story have the meaningful arc I was looking for, I’d need to focus on one story at a time. So, I broke the book apart into three different documents, and worked on one timeline at a time. This enabled me to fully immerse myself in each protagonist’s life, as well as the time period I was exploring. 

Once I’d completed all three timelines, the real work began. I wove the book back together, and that was when the book took its true form, as I made sure that the different timelines all spoke to each other in a meaningful way. It certainly made the book take longer to write, but I think that by working on each timeline separately, I was able to do the individual stories justice.

Tell us a little about your story and the story world you've created.

The Grace Kelly Dress is the story of three generations of women, and the wedding dress that binds them together. It’s a story about love, friendship, and family, and it’s entirely different from anything I’ve ever written before. I hope that readers will join me on this journey, and come to love these women as I do.

Tell us a little about how this story first came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else?

When my agent sent me a clip from The Today Show about a wedding dress that had been passed down through eleven generations of a family, I knew that I had the idea for my next book. It had everything I love to write about in one place-- multiple generations, a wedding dress, and lots of room for friction. The image of a wedding gown is one that is so incredibly powerful to me. The way one chooses to dress for her wedding day says so much about that person, and how she wants to present herself to the world.

The book is set in the New York area and in Paris. How important is setting to you in your writing?

Setting is so incredibly important! Where a character lives and how she interacts with her environment says so much about who she is. Rocky, our protagonist in 2020, lives and works in Brooklyn, and it says as much about who she is as the tattoos she proudly wears all over her body. Joanie, in 1982, lives a sheltered life on Long Island, but when she goes into New York City, she finds a world much larger than the one she was living. And Rose, in 1958, is in Paris, but as a poor orphan, lives a different type of sheltered life, working in a highly regarded atelier during the day, and doing not much else.

What kind of research did you do for this book, and did you learn anything especially surprising?

I’ve never written in a timeline other than the present, so there was a ton of research to be done! I had to research the two different time periods, 1982 and 1958. Even an innocuous detail like the brand of watch that a character is wearing can throw a reader out of the narrative if the author hasn’t gotten it just right. 

The most enjoyable research I did was about Grace Kelly herself, and, of course, her iconic gown. I read Kristina Haugland’s incredible book, Grace Kelly: Icon of Style to Royal Bride, and then had the opportunity to speak with her as well. I loved learning every detail I could about this beloved dress, but by far the most interesting thing I learned was this: Grace Kelly’s gown consisted of four separate parts, each of which needed to be put on separately. What a wonderful secret for a bride to have on her wedding day!

What are you working on now?

I’ve loved writing about an heirloom item and the family that owns it, so I’m doing it again! I’ll be focusing on another family and another heirloom that has been passed down. Heirlooms are so incredibly important to me-- I wear one of my Grandma Dorothy’s rings every day, and I love having a piece of her with me as I go through my day to day. 

How did you get the idea for this novel?

The idea came to me when my agent sent me a clip from The Today Show about a wedding dress that had been passed down through eleven generations. I couldn’t get over how incredibly special that was, and I immediately started to think about what it would mean for a family to have an item like that. How would each woman change the dress to fit her personality? How would the time she was living in have an effect on those choices? And what if one woman didn’t want the dress?

What is one of the biggest challenges you have in a story like this that spans different times in history?

One of the biggest challenges for me, was the massive amount of research. When writing in another time period, I underestimated how carefully every sentence would have to be researched. The characters needed to sound like they lived in the time period I was presenting, and every reference needed to be spot on-- from what the characters were wearing, to the types of music they listened to, to the way they styled their hair. Is it any wonder that my current work in progress will take place in the present?

What is the significance of the title: The Grace Kelly Dress?

The Grace Kelly Dress refers to the wedding dress that is handed down through three generations of women. The gown in my book was initially created in 1958, and at that time, the bride wanted the dress that everyone wanted at that time: something that looked just like what Grace Kelly wore when she married Prince Rainier in 1956.

Are any of your characters based on real people you know? 

They say that your first novel is all about you, that each and every character is you, and I think that was true of my first novel. (First two novels, perhaps!) But this is my sixth novel, so at this point, all of the characters are products of my imagination. That said, everything inspires me, so parts of real life always have their way of making their way into my work. So, I suppose a better way to answer this question would be to say: no, not on purpose.

Which character was most challenging to create? Why?

I found Joanie, in 1982, to be the most challenging to write. I first created her character while working on the 2020 timeline, at which point we only know her as Rocky’s mother. It took a lot of thought to figure out who she would be at age 20, and how she would grow into the woman we see in 2020. Additionally, since we meet her mother in the 1958 timeline, it was important that the reader see a connection there, too. 

On the first round of edits, I completely trashed the original 1982 storyline and re-wrote it from the ground up. I think that I needed the first draft to truly learn who she was, and how to create her story.

What message do you hope readers take away from your story?

The main thing is that I want readers to really enjoy the story and have a great reading experience. As for a takeaway, it’s been really moving to have readers reach out to me to discuss the role that heirloom items have had in their own life. I always tell my kids: it’s people who are important, not things. But I do believe that certain things, like these heirlooms that are passed down, have meaning. They show us where our family has been, and each one has a story connected to it. Stories are powerful, and the stories about where we come from are so incredibly meaningful.

Q&A with Debra Webb, The Darkness We Hide

How did you decide on the location for the series?

My husband, family and I lived in the Winchester area for fifteen years. We have family and friends there and adore the area! The town of Winchester is historic and has that “old west” feel and it felt perfect. Particularly since the old, old funeral home there is totally inspiring!

What is your favorite genre to read, and why?

Psychological or domestic suspense!

What do you use to inspire you when you get Writer’s Block?

A long ride in the countryside. Great music. Good movies!

Best TV or Movie adaptation of a book?

Outlander!

Do you plan your books in advance or let them develop as you write?

I plan to a degree and then let the story take me where it will.

What has been the hardest thing about your publishing journey? What has been the most fun?

The hardest thing was an injury in 2010 that left my right arm and hand basically paralyzed. Three years of physical therapy was required for regaining partial use of the arm and learning to even write my name. But I never stopped writing. Slowed down a bit, but didn’t stop! The most fun without question has been reaching a place where I could write the books of my heart rather than what had a better chance of selling to a house.

What is the significance of the title?

Very important to suspense and mystery are the things a character doesn’t know or doesn’t see coming. The secrets, the lies and even the darkness can trickle into the lives of most people. Most people have secrets, most lie occasionally—if only to protect feelings—and we all have feelings sometimes that aren’t happy or light or maybe nice. Thus the titles, The Secrets We Bury, The Lies We Tell and The Darkness We Hide!

What were the key challenges you faced when writing this book?

Making sure the body preparation and tasks of a funeral director were accurate. 

What would you tell a hopeful content creator about trying to break out in publishing?

Focus your work and never stop trying!