Beaten In Love
Tell us about your latest book.
Beaten in Love is not for everyone, graphic and raw, it chronicles a time in my life when I became a victim of domestic violence at the hands of someone I thought I loved. It is a brutally honest memoir of how I became trapped in the cycle of abuse. As someone who struggled with low self-esteem and a proclivity for alcohol, I often confused sexual attraction for love. My hope in sharing my story, is to help other young women avoid this trap.
Who are your favorite authors?
I have many favorite authors but looking at my bookshelves it’s easy to see my preference is for V.E. Schwab, Simone St. James, Ruth Ware, Freida McFadden, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Neil Gaiman, John Marrs, Jay Kristoff and Stephen King.
What advice do you have for other writers?
I think we all dabble a little with writing; if not, we should be. It’s good exercise for the grey matter. Journaling became my obsession over many years, until a dying marriage lead me to blogging. It was a way for me to purge, in real time, all the emotions I was experiencing day-to-day and to get feedback and advice from others simultaneously. If you are writing, keep it up. If you’re not blogging, you should be, and never give up your dream to be published if that is your goal. It took me almost ten years. Anything is possible if you believe in yourself.
What's the best thing about being a writer?
When you are in the zone and you read back something you’ve written and think…wow, where did that come from!
What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?
Sitting in front of an empty screen watching a blinking cursor for hours or feeling like there is not enough time in the day to get something on paper. I feel like writer’s block is a cliché, but it happens.
Where can people find out more about you and your writing?
www.reasonwrites.wixsite.com/blog/
Reasonbee.blogspot.com
Imnotcrazyitsmenopause.blogspot.com
Facebook.com/reasonwrites
How long did it take you to write your book?
Once I got going, I could barely keep up with the memories as they unfolded. I was finished in about a year. I might have been done sooner, but I went through a divorce right in the middle of it.
Where can a reader purchase your book?
Beaten In Love is available on Amazon in paperback and digital formats, also on barnesandnoble.com
What are you doing to market the book?
Years ago, I took a writing class, Shocking Real Life by Hollis Gillespie who is an acclaimed writer from Atlanta and local celebrity. When any of her students are published, she showcases the book on her social media platforms. I have other writer friends who can help spread the word and I can get the word out on my platforms as well. My blog receives, on average, about 85% viewership on Facebook.
Who inspires you?
My daughters. They are my greatest joy, my one done right and the best of everything in me. Being their mom is a privilege and I don’t take one single second with them for granted.
Do you have another work in progress? Tell us about it.
I'm working on a book about my years being married to an alcoholic, narcissistic, pilot ex-husband, tentatively titled, Ladies and Gentlemen, This Is Your Captain. We met while both working for a start-up airline called ValuJet. Incestuous flight crews were notorious for partying hard and routinely ignoring the bottle to throttle rule. Our fragile marriage crumbled when he was arrested in Las Vegas in 2005 for trying to fly under the influence. It made national headlines.
What are your thoughts on self-publishing verses traditional publishing?
I knew from the beginning of this journey that I wanted to go traditional. I wanted my book in the hands of professionals who knew what they were doing and could offer valuable advice along the way.
Who or what inspired you to become a writer?
J.K. Rowling. When I heard her story, it gave me chills. Like me (and so many others), she suffered domestic abuse, a failed marriage, single motherhood, depression, thoughts of suicide and poverty before changing the world with the written word. I admire her greatly.
Does your family support you in your writing career? How?
My daughters are my biggest fans, although they have not read my book (by choice because of its content), only my blogs and short stories. I think most of my extended family view my writing as a cute hobby, not a “real job.” Boy, would I love to prove them wrong!
What are you currently reading?
E Squared by Pam Grout. It speaks to my love of quantum physics and the nature of reality in a way that is every day relatable. She has inspired a yet to be written short story called, “Yellow Cars and Butterflies.”
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
I spend time with my family. I read, and I take pictures. Photography is my flip side to writing. Sometimes a picture can capture a moment in a way that make words superfluous.
What is your favorite line from a movie?
I’m an admitted movie junkie, so picking one is impossible!
“You sold a reverberating carbonizer to an unlicensed cephalopoid, Jeebs, you piece of shit.”
-Men in Black
“These are the Cubans, baby. This is the Cohibas, the Montecristos. This is a kinetic-kill, side-winder vehicle with a secondary cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine RDX burst. It's capable of busting a bunker under the bunker you just busted. If it were any smarter, it'd write a book, a book that would make Ulysses look like it was written in crayon. It would read it to you. This is my Eiffel Tower. This is my Rachmaninoff's Third. My Pieta. It's completely elegant, it's bafflingly beautiful, and it's capable of reducing the population of any standing structure to zero. I call it "The Ex-Wife."
-Ironman 2
“Katie you expect so much.”
“Oh, but look what I’ve got.”
-The Way We Were
When you walk into a book store, where is the first place you go?
I like to take a deep breath first, because I love the way books smell, then new releases, then journals.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Bad drivers, hands down.
