I am about to publish my second novel, Silence, Please, a story of political corruption in a small California desert city, and how it affects the lives of the residents, three women in particular. I’ve worked on this book for over three and a half years and now feel as if I’ve earned another college degree. It’s fun writing novels, but it’s also very hard work.

As I decide on the type of book I want to write, I try to steer clear of imitating one of the hundreds of plots I’ve read over the years. When I started writing my first novel, My Doormat Days, a major concern was that I might be repeating storylines that have been used time and again. I almost let this fear put a stop to my writing. Thanks to my husband, that didn’t happen. He told me that if I write from the heart, my novel will truly be unique because no one else has lived my life or experienced my emotions. I continued with the novel and poured my heart into it. Today I feel that my novels are an extension of myself.

I’m always surprised whenever a book drives me to tears. When that happens (as it did with Take This Man by Brando Skyhorse, for example),  I know the author has succeeded in drawing me into his/her story. The author gave a piece of her/his heart in the creation of the book.

I hope that Silence, Please will gain an audience of readers because it has something important to say about the resilience of humans, and the importance of speaking out against the abuse of power, be it political or sexual. It also gives the reader a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in public libraries, valuable institutions that are too often underappreciated. My goal is not to make big bucks off this book (though that would be a great bonus). My goal is to share this story so that readers might enjoy and relate in some way to the message it is conveying.