Today, my debut novel, Click here, releases from Kunati Books.

Today is both gratifying and terrifying. Why terrifying?
Because it's "telling."

Even though Courage in Patience is not an autobiography or a memoir, it's "telling." It's drawing back the curtain and revealing what it's like to be in that place-- you know: THAT place.

Way back in January, when I filled out a sixteen-page biography for my publisher, I was adamant that I did not want to talk about my own experiences as a survivor. In fact, in my official bio-- the one on the back of my book-- it says that I "drew on my experience working with abused children as an English teacher in writing Courage in Patience," and that I "wrote Courage in Patience to give hope to survivors of abuse."

I read that now and feel ashamed that I was hiding behind my day job as a teacher. I spent thirty-odd years of my life in hiding of one sort or another, and my natural tendency is still to head for a small dark place (even if it's inside my own head), when I am overwhelmed and not remembering the "basics" that keep me sane, or at least the approximation of sanity that I represent most of the time.

"Drew on my experience working with abused children…" ?

Well, I can say for a fact that I have taught abused children over the years. I teach 'em every year. It's an epidemic created by shame and secrecy, and it's not going away anytime soon, sadly. In my capacity as a teacher, I have tried to stop it and I continue to try to stop it but the sad truth is that as long as families and society continue to foster a climate of lies, child abuse will continue. It thrives in lies. I know I'm not telling any of you anything new. If you're reading this page, if you're on this site, you're likely aware of child abuse in one way or another. Aren't we all?

My bio wasn't fooling anybody. And I have learned, as I have inched my way out of the shadows and into what is an increasingly growing area of public illumination, that even trying to conceal what I am-- for whatever personal reasons-- is futile. Anybody who has been in-- you know-- THAT place-- can read the story of Ashley, the protagonist of Courage in Patience, and know without a doubt that the person who brought her to life has experienced sexual abuse first-hand.
My ultimate goal is that readers will also be able to tell that there is hope for all of us-- yes, sexual abuse survivors--but-- for ALL of us who have to face what scares us most and find out what we are made of in the process.

Ashley is guided by a very skilled therapist who insists to her that she can and must come out of hiding in the closet-- the real one in her bedroom, and the figurative one in her mind. As Ashley tiptoes hesitantly toward the light beyond the door in her mind, she is supported by her biological father and his wife, a survivor of sexual abuse herself-- one who has made it through the treacherous mountain passes of recovery and can say, "You can make it. Keep going. Don't give up." That is the message I hope to give readers of Courage in Patience.

Steady on.