In A Twisted Sense
Ragnar is a provocative psychological novella about a privileged Swedish businessman whose obsession with power, status, and control masks deep childhood wounds, exposing the masculinity and insecurities beneath his image of success. What sources informed this novel’s development?
Ragnar is an integral side-character in my novels In Every Mirror She’s Black and Everything Is Not Enough, who epitomises unchecked white privilege. Having lived in Sweden for over 15 years, the character is informed by bits and pieces of people I’ve met, recognize, or interacted with in various settings.
Ragnar vows never to become like his father, yet reproduces destructive patterns. How did you approach exploring this painful contradiction?
I wanted to show the real impact and damage that generational trauma can cause. Not only for the person themselves but for those around them, for example, Ragnar’s wife and child. Without therapy and tools to guide healing, people are bound to repeat the same patterns they’d observed before them because it is familiar and in a twisted sense, comfortable. Children don’t do what we say, but what we do.
How does Ragnar’s position within wealthy Swedish society shape his attitudes toward race, gender, and entitlement, particularly in his relationships with independent women?
For a man whose self esteem has been built based on proximity to power as a sense of worth, it was inevitable that Ragnar was going to bring to distorted lens into any relationship, especially when going head-to-head with the opposite sex who society already frames as weaker. So to meet strong independent women to him means (in Ragnar’s world) to break them down and put them back in their place.
By telling Ragnar’s story from his own perspective, you invite readers to understand him without excusing his behavior. How did you navigate that tension?
Every character I create is messy, nuanced, complex, and deeply human. So through my fiction, I always want to highlight the source of a character’s personality or delusion, instead of simply focusing on the symptoms and simplifying my readers’ interaction with them on the page. I want to challenge readers to understand how a person might be navigating the world from a completely foreign lens and holding space for that without reneging on their own values or not holding them accountable.
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At sixteen, Ragnar Pettersen promised himself that he’ll never become a “weak” man after witnessing years of domestic turmoil.
From a teenager battling self-worth in a world that judges upon sight, to the quintessential hedonist as an adult building his own modern Roman empire brick by brick, Ragnar is wild, abrasive, and confident.
Albeit, thinly.
Is Ragnar so steeped in privilege and meritocracy that he’s become entitled to everything and everyone he desires regardless of consequences?
Or, is he a man finally facing himself in the mirror and what he’s let himself become? An emperor with no clothes?
Spanning three decades, this coming-of-age story dives into the ego-driven dark mind of one of the most despised characters in Lola’s gripping book series – Ragnar Pettersen.
The Suitcase Summers: The Lost Crown of the Isle
What if an ordinary family vacation turned into an adventure you’d remember forever? That’s the delightful premise behind The Lost Crown of the Isle by Laura Doyal, a children’s fantasy adventure that combines family traditions, magical discoveries, and the excitement of exploring somewhere new. Eight-year-old cousins Stephen and Ty Wilde look forward to their annual summer reunion, especially since this year’s destination is Hawai’i. Surrounded by siblings, cousins, grandparents, and plenty of vacation chaos, the boys are ready for a memorable trip. But when a mysterious old suitcase appears in their hotel room, their summer takes an unexpected turn. The suitcase holds a secret that transports them to the enchanting Isle of Noniluna, where an extraordinary adventure awaits. With its inviting premise and blend of real-world travel and imaginative fantasy, Doyal creates a story that captures the feeling of childhood summers when even the smallest discovery can seem magical.
Stephen, affectionately nicknamed Pie, is thoughtful, organized, and happiest when he has a plan. Ty is energetic, spontaneous, and almost constantly thinking about his next snack. Their contrasting personalities create some genuinely funny exchanges, and their playful banter feels like the kind of teasing you’d expect from cousins who’ve grown up together. Doyal gives both boys distinct personalities, allowing readers to recognize their individual strengths as they navigate unfamiliar territory. Their relationship is also the emotional center of this middle grade fantasy adventure. As they encounter challenges, their different approaches to solving problems become increasingly important. Young readers will likely see a little of themselves in one or both cousins, whether they prefer thinking things through or jumping into something exciting.
Noniluna is a mysterious island filled with towering trees, shimmering butterflies, ancient ruins, and a landscape that seems to have a personality of its own. There’s an intriguing sense that something important has been forgotten, and the boys soon discover that the island’s future is connected to a lost crown. A mysterious Keeper introduces them to the island’s history and the challenges ahead, setting the stage for a quest filled with discovery, suspense, and opportunities for personal growth. Doyal’s descriptions bring the tropical surroundings to life, from the humid rainforest to the sounds of rushing water. The black-and-white illustrations complement the storytelling and give younger readers another way to connect with the characters and their surroundings. The book also includes a helpful vocabulary section and an explanation distinguishing its fictional magical world from real Hawaiian culture, adding an educational touch to this children’s magical adventure.
The Lost Crown of the Isle is a story about family, friendship, courage, and learning to appreciate the strengths of the people closest to us. Doyal weaves these themes into the adventure through the cousins’ experiences, allowing their relationship to grow alongside the excitement of their journey. I especially enjoyed how the annual family vacation provides a meaningful foundation for the fantasy elements. The Wilde family’s summer traditions give the story warmth, while the magical suitcase opens up possibilities that will appeal to children who love imagining what might happen beyond the everyday world. With eight approachable chapters, engaging illustrations, and a balance of humor and adventure, this children’s fantasy book is a welcoming choice for elementary-age readers who enjoy magical quests, family-centered stories, and imaginative travel adventures. It also makes an appealing read-aloud for families looking to share a little magic together.
Pages: 73 | ASIN : B0HK7X2SNL
Something on his mind.
The Square follows a recovering alcoholic writer who returns to his hometown to investigate a sinister cemetery, only to uncover an ancient supernatural evil threatening the community. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
My inspiration to write The Square came from my love of vampires as well as the love for the fantastic book Salems Lot by Stephen King. My approach on writing The Square was basically a vision of what I think a vampire story should be like (spooky, mysterious, bloody). I wanted to keep the plot in Massachusetts. My home state ❤️
How does Andrew Cummings’s struggle with alcoholism influence his determination to confront the supernatural forces and unresolved memories of his childhood?
Alcoholism is a major struggle for some. For Andrew Cummings, his struggle with alcoholism has made him stronger, brave, and more disciplined. He uses those pros as a method of feeling accomplished. Sometimes our life struggles can make us stronger.
Andrew also knows that the cemetery has always been a mystery to him. Something on his mind. While he struggles with alcoholism, Andrew finds relatable thoughts from the mystery of the cemetery as well as the supernatural evils within his home town. Both are relatable by causing trauma.
Sometimes having more than one thing on your mind can cancel out one another. I’ve learned this myself. Past memories of pain can lead to modern bravery.
What drew you to traditional vampire mythology, and how did you approach incorporating its familiar elements into a contemporary Massachusetts community?
What threw me to traditional vampire mythology was my love for the fictional creatures. Vampires, as well as ghosts, were my biggest childhood fears. I used those fears to create something that would become a modern pleasure to write about.
Massachusetts has a lot of history with the supernatural. I thought that this state would be a perfect plot for a vampire novel.
Why was it important to explore the unfolding mystery through characters like Laura, Maggie, and Denise rather than focusing exclusively on Andrew?
Having multiple characters in a story makes it more interesting. I wanted the story to show how a community of people would’ve reacted in a certain scenario.
To focus the story only around Andrew would’ve taken away the community aspect of the town.
Questions for Werewolves: A creative nonfiction of madness, witch and daimon
Forrest Wolfe’s Questions for Werewolves is a personal and haunting exploration of mental illness, spirituality, mythology, and the mysterious workings of the human mind. Blending memoir, poetry, philosophy, and travel writing, Wolfe recounts his experiences with bipolar disorder and severe depression while examining how those experiences shaped his understanding of reality. Beginning with his childhood and moving through his struggles as an adult, he introduces readers to a world where dreams, memories, religious symbols, and everyday encounters carry extraordinary significance. His journey takes him from the streets of Los Angeles and New York to Haiti, Taiwan, and other places rich with cultural and spiritual traditions. Throughout the book, Wolfe asks fascinating questions about consciousness, suffering, identity, and our relationship with the divine. What makes his account especially compelling is his willingness to explore some of his most frightening experiences with remarkable vulnerability, intellectual curiosity, and an enduring desire to understand the forces shaping his inner life.
One of the book’s most interesting qualities is how naturally Wolfe connects his personal experiences to mythology and religious traditions. Greek figures such as Persephone, Artemis, and Dionysus become important companions in his exploration of depression, transformation, and spiritual awakening. The Black Virgin, a mysterious divine feminine presence appearing in different cultural traditions, becomes a particularly meaningful figure in his search for understanding. Wolfe also draws from Christianity, Haitian Vodou, Eastern philosophy, and the writings of thinkers such as Julia Kristeva and Carl Jung. These connections give the memoir an unusual richness, encouraging readers to consider how ancient stories might illuminate contemporary psychological experiences. There’s also something fascinating about Wolfe’s background in filmmaking and photography, which influences his attention to images, shadows, colors, and visual symbolism. His descriptions can be remarkably vivid, capturing the unsettling beauty of dreams and the emotional intensity of memories that continue to shape his life.
Wolfe’s writing is lyrical, introspective, and frequently experimental. He moves between straightforward recollections, fragmented poetry, philosophical reflections, and dreamlike passages that reflect the shifting nature of his experiences. At times, the prose feels almost hypnotic, particularly when he describes the boundaries between waking consciousness and the dream world. His recurring images of wolves, darkness, roses, and fire gradually develop their own emotional significance. The book also offers intimate glimpses of family relationships, lost love, friendship, grief, and the difficult realities of psychiatric treatment. These personal moments help ground its more elaborate spiritual explorations in recognizable human experiences. Some sections demand patience, especially when Wolfe moves through intricate mythological references or extended philosophical arguments. His associative style encourages slow, attentive reading, and certain passages are worth revisiting to appreciate their connections. Still, there’s a genuine emotional urgency beneath the elaborate language that makes his reflections feel deeply personal.
I’d recommend Questions for Werewolves to people who enjoy unconventional memoirs, literary explorations of mental health, and books that examine the intersection of psychology, religion, and mythology. Anyone interested in dream interpretation, comparative spirituality, or the philosophical questions surrounding consciousness will find plenty to think about here. Readers who appreciate poetic prose and narratives that follow the movement of memory and imagination should also connect with Wolfe’s distinctive voice. The book’s frank discussions of suicidal depression and psychological distress can be emotionally demanding, but they’re presented with seriousness and sensitivity. What stayed with me most was Wolfe’s determination to search for meaning within experiences that are often confusing, painful, and difficult to put into words. Questions for Werewolves invites readers into an unusually intimate exploration of the mind, offering a memorable perspective on the ways suffering, creativity, faith, and the search for self-understanding can become intertwined.
Pages: 296 | ASIN : B0FH1Q6VLJ
That’s Your Space
A Thousand Touches follows an Iranian American teenager who is the star of his school’s soccer team as he prepares for his senior year while navigating a demanding father and cultural expectations. How did the idea of following an Iranian American teenager through his senior year in small-town Kentucky first develop?
They say “write what you know,” and well, that’s what I did. The novel is set in my hometown, and as an Iranian American, I thought it was best to tell my story from there. More importantly, I wanted the complex, layered narrative to be accessible to a lot of different readers, so adding the sports element (I did play high school soccer, though not anywhere as good as Cyrus) will help, because so much of small-town America revolves around the high school sports season. Coincidentally, Bardstown High’s current soccer team is making its deepest run in history, reaching the final four. (Check back in after Wednesday to see where they are).
Then, of course, you can’t talk about Bardstown without talking about bourbon.
That said, this was the outcome of an exercise my writing coach pushed on me. I was originally working on another manuscript set in 2017, in the weeks after Trump was inaugurated, with Cyrus returning to Bardstown after living and working in DC for the previous decade. My coach suggested there should be a backstory, something of a reflection. And that turned into the novel I’m publishing with Atmosphere Press.
So, I guess this is me saying there’s a part 2.
What aspects of Cyrus’s experiences do you believe will resonate most strongly with readers navigating the transition from adolescence to adulthood?
Obviously, the most powerful parts are the relationships with Isabella and his father. Isabella’s relationship is finite, but it still deeply impacted him. And a lot of us remember our first love, our first real love, losing it maybe before we’re ready for it to end, and that sort of defines everything from there on out.
With his dad, especially for folks like me with a parent or father who is an immigrant who keeps things closed off, finding ways to both accept where you are while yearning for more is a common theme I’ve both heard and read about from others like me. I know it’ll land with hyphenated folks and likely others too.
What parallels do you see between the challenges Cyrus faces on the soccer field and the decisions he must make in his personal life?
I think I kept the soccer field as a refuge for a reason. That was the spot where he had control. He could escape and be himself. The kids I used to coach will likely remember that that was one of the things I always told them. Once you step on the pitch, that’s your space to be who you want to be. But I also wanted it to be a place where Cyrus would learn to let go. There are a few scenes where he does that, and as he does, things start to clear up a little.
What do you hope distinguishes A Thousand Touches from other coming-of-age novels exploring family relationships, sports, and first love?
The obvious thing for me is just how many layers there are. I mean, who’s written about the Iranian American experience in rural Kentucky using bourbon and soccer as a backdrop? The tagline Friday Night Lights meets The Kit Runner, set in Kentucky’s bourbon country, threads that needle for a reason.
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In Bardstown, Kentucky, the Bourbon Capital of the World, Cyrus Soltani is used to standing out. He’s the star of his high school soccer team, chasing a state championship in his senior year. He’s also the son of an Iranian immigrant father who expects more than victories on the field and of a town that never quite lets him forget he doesn’t fully belong.
As the season intensifies, so do the pressures at home and in the stands. Then Isabella arrives-an Italian exchange student who sees Cyrus clearly and challenges him in ways no one else does. What begins as a bright, consuming first love quickly becomes entangled in everything Cyrus is trying to outrun.
In the end, growing up isn’t just about leaving-it’s about deciding what you carry with you.
Distinct Flaws and Virtues
Of Inklings and Willowpillars follows five young adventurers who follow an eccentric professor through a mysterious portal where they discover a world of magical creatures, dangerous kingdoms, and ancient secrets. What inspired you to create Of Inklings and Willowpillars, and how did the idea for The Chronicles of Ber’Ebrin first take shape?
The original spark for the novel began with one of my favorite philosophical questions from Plato’s Republic regarding the Ring of Gyges. Gyges finds a ring of invisibility, cloaking him from responsibility. What does he do? He slays the king and beds the queen, acting on his base desires. The question it presents is: What makes a person good? If you are given a ring of invisibility that removes all consequences from your actions, do you still choose good when no one is looking, and no one will ever find out? I wanted to test this exact philosophical dilemma through an ensemble of children whose distinct flaws and virtues would collide under pressure.
That single question quickly demanded an expansive canvas. It grew from a simple character study into The Chronicles of Ber’Ebrin, a multi-book epic that I originally penned between 2005 and 2011, and have spent the years since honing and refining. I wanted to combine the classic, illustrated storybook wonder I devoured as a child in the 1970s and 80s—like the worlds of Baum, Carroll, and Lewis—with my real-world observations as an immigration attorney. Every day in my legal practice, I witness real human stories, labyrinthine systems, and the profound weight of personal choices. The fantastical settings of the polycosmos became the perfect way to strip away everyday distractions and test fundamental truths about human nature, morality, and systemic power.
How did you develop the five Inklings as individuals, and what makes their personalities work together as an adventurous group?
I build characters from the ground up, from their background, vulnerabilities, needs, wants, speech patterns, and even clothing preferences. In an ensemble like the Inklings—Mary, Charlotte, Edgar, Charles, and Jules—it was vital that they never feel like a monolith. Each child carries a distinct verbal register and a unique way of processing emotion, whether it be fear or temptation or desire.
To make their interactions meaningful, I layered in the real, heavy internal and external issues a child of the late nineteenth century might naturally face—from losing parents in industrial accidents to facing poverty, loneliness, and first love. For example, eight-year-old Edgar desires to be taken seriously, wondering if he is brave and courageous. He pretends to be a bear. When realm-traveling, he is changed into a willowpillar, testing his character. Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Mary is caught between the freedom of childhood imagination and the rigid expectations of impending Victorian adulthood. When these varied psychologies clash and reconcile in times of crisis, their rivalries, humor, and deep loyalties reflect the messy, beautiful reality of real-world friendships.
How does the idea that Ber’Ebrin can only be found by the worthy connect to the novel’s larger exploration of character, humility, and personal growth?
In the lore of the Polycosmos, Ber’Ebrin—the Beautiful Place—is built upon an intentional paradox: it can only be entered by the worthy, and it can only be found by those who are not actively seeking it. This comes from one problem that has always bothered me in religion: that people do good because they will be rewarded with Heaven. Ber’Ebrin is not such a place. In addition, this concept is directly tied to the series’ core belief that goodness is not a passive, innate state, or something you pursue for a reward; it is an active, courageous choice practiced in the face of peril—and without promise of reward.
When travelers chase Ber’Ebrin as a prize or an escape, it slips away from them, leading to realm madness. True worthiness in this world requires humility and a focus on the immediate moral choices in front of you. The portals themselves only open and draw children in when something within them is unfinished—a fear to face, a truth to learn, or a friend to save. By making the world react immediately to their choices—where a mistake can lead to a run-in with slavers or a physical transformation—the characters are forced to grow. They learn that they do not prove their character by reaching a destination, but by choosing responsibility and loyalty when doing otherwise would be much easier.
As The Chronicles of Ber’Ebrin progresses into darker and more mature territory, how do you envision the characters and the series’ themes evolving?
The series is built to grow older and darker alongside the characters as they journey deeper into the spaces of the Polycosmos. While the story begins with a tone of old-fashioned, whimsical adventure, it is not a gentle or uncomplicated journey. The landscape inherently contains elements of captivity, exploitation, and supernatural corruption. One arc explores a path to utter depravity and what can lead a person to this choice. The next arc seeks to explore if the person can be redeemed from those choices.
Because all 21 books are written, the roadmap for this evolution is already set. As the series progresses, the narratives transition from childhood fairy tales into complex cross-generational struggles. We will explore heavy, mature thematic territory: unrequited love, ill-fated romance, mental health breakdowns, addiction, the agonizing despair of losing hope, and the literal paths of falling into corruption and fighting for redemption. The villains force the characters to confront sophisticated questions about consent, free choice, and sacrifice. Ultimately, the overarching arc tests the protagonists to their absolute limits, demonstrating that passivity is never an option and that true courage is forged only through fire.
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It is 1877 in Vanover, New England. Five young adventurers—the Inklings—gather around the eccentric Professor Augustus Peabody, who possesses a map of impossible worlds, six mysterious key-coins, and a mystery of his own: his father disappeared years ago searching for a place that may not exist.
The friends expect adventure.
They do not expect the door to open.
Beyond it lie the Colorless Kingdoms: black sands beneath a merciless sky, pirate skiffs sailing desert seas, ancient temples, enchanted objects, strange creatures, and rulers whose hospitality is not always what it appears to be. When one of the Inklings is seized by slavers and carried toward the dreaded Black Citadel, the others must follow.
Their rescue leads through realms of drakes, toad-goblins, fae intrigue, hidden magic, dangerous bargains, and perils stranger than anything they imagined at home.
But something has followed them through the portal.
A force of darkness has chosen one of the Inklings for a purpose more terrible than death: not merely to destroy her, but to persuade her to choose corruption for herself.
Meanwhile, Edgar has become a willowpillar. Charlotte has changed as well. Professor Peabody is keeping secrets. And somewhere beyond the known worlds lies Ber’Ebrin—the Beautiful Place, said to be found only by the worthy, and only by those who do not seek it.
Of Inklings and Willowpillars is the first book in The Chronicles of Ber’Ebrin, a darkly whimsical Victorian portal-fantasy series for teen and adult crossover readers. Blending classic storybook wonder with quirky humor, danger, moral choices, strange worlds, and long-hidden mysteries, the series begins with young adventurers—and grows older and darker as they journey deeper into the Polycosmos.
Mind the first step. The realms beyond have been waiting.
Content note: Contains fantasy violence and death, child peril and enslavement, alcohol and gambling, supernatural corruption and coercion, and non-explicit older-teen romantic themes.
Families Are Complicated
What She Stole follows a seventeen-year-old who is caught shoplifting, causing her to spend hours alone in a mall security room where she relives painful childhood memories, forcing her to confront a troubled family history. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
This is a case of “write what you know,” and so this part is autobiographical. I really did try to shoplift a sequined purse from the mall when I was seventeen! However, I don’t recall anything else about the ordeal, and so the ensuing scenes are imagined. While a lot of Eloise’s voice and character came from my own childhood, there is also a lot that is fictional to make up her troubled world. My goal was to make a troubled teen lovable, even though her actions and things that happen to her are often unlikeable and wild.
How did you develop Eloise’s distinctive personality, particularly her sharp humor, sensitivity, and impulsive behavior, and what role do her observations of the world around her play in revealing emotions she struggles to express directly?
Eloise is based on every teenager I knew in high school, and she’s also a little bit like me. My brain is always running, and so in this way I put my own associations into Eloise’s characteristics. As a character study, I wanted the style of the novel to show the reader a “narrative of revelation,” as defined in Tracy Kidder’s Good Prose:
“The most important conflict often happens within a character, or within the narrator. The story begins with an inscrutable character and ends with a person the author and reader understand better than before, a series of events that yields, however quietly, a dramatic truth. One might call this kind of story a narrative of revelation (Kidder, 15).”
In this way, I thought revealing Eloise’s emotional arc through her own observations about the world would best reveal her quiet truth.
How does the novel examine the ways childhood experiences can shape someone’s understanding of love and personal worth?
In this novel, Eloise comes to the realization that her experiences in childhood set her up with a dysfunctional view of love and warped sense of trust. From early on, she was neglected and abused, which taught her that love hurts, and that she can’t count on anyone. But she also realizes that she can love herself, and give herself what she needs to survive, and to thrive. She starts off with low self-esteem, but she grows into her own sense of self by the end of the novel.
How do you hope Eloise’s experiences contribute to conversations about emotional needs, family dysfunction, and the lasting effects of childhood experiences?
This is a great question. Families are complicated, and everyone will come away from reading about Eloise’s family with a different perspective. Did Eloise behave badly because she was abused at home? Or was she disciplined and punished at home because she behaved badly? As the American Psychological Association points out: “We know that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as various forms of abuse and neglect, increase the risk of misconduct.” So we can see that Eloise is acting out in accordance to her adverse childhood experiences. I hope that readers of “What She Stole” gain more empathy for children and teens and perhaps judge them less harshly when they show problematic behavior. And I also hope readers see that healing is possible, as Eloise heals through her later-in-life experiences with massage, gentle-touch chiropractic, and therapy.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website
Seventeen-year-old Eloise Goldstein gets picked up for shoplifting at the local suburban mall and spends hours waiting for her narcissistic mother to pick her up. As the security guard locks her in a holding room, she sits with nothing to do but “think about her actions.” Alone, repressed memories emerge, bringing her childhood–growing up with a schizophrenic father and depressed mother–into new light.
From the author of the award-winning poetry chapbook “Birth of a Daughter” comes a lyrical coming-of-age novel about a young woman who struggles to feel loved and find her voice among a chaotic and abusive household. “What She Stole” explores how one woman, shaped by the dichotomies of memory and trauma, uses writing, mothering, and bodywork to heal.
Interview Template
Wickedly Branded® empowers established women entrepreneurs to rethink their professional identities, challenge expectations, and reshape their brands and businesses around their ambitions, values, and lives. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I wrote Wickedly Branded® because for years I quietly believed something was wrong with me. I could answer a client email from a parking lot while I waited for my oldest son to finish camp, take a call from the bleachers, and still remember what he needed for the next day. I pushed lunch back for one more email and sometimes put off using the bathroom to finish one more thing. Apparently food, water, and basic bodily functions had joined the list of things I would get to right after this one last thing. I woke at 3 a.m. and checked my phone over and over. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I looked at my life and thought, “I don’t just need help. I need a wife.” I didn’t mean a romantic partner. I meant someone whose brain could remember the permission slips, the soccer sign-ups, and the dog’s vet records. Then one day, while giving a client direct advice about simplifying his marketing, I caught myself thinking, “Beverly, when are you going to do this for yourself?”
That question made me look at the structures around me instead of my own effort. I was born in 1975, one year after the Equal Credit Opportunity Act made it illegal to deny women credit because of their sex. As late as 1988, some women still needed a male relative to co-sign a business loan. Women my age grew up with those doors already open and built real companies. Now we’re reaching the middle of them, with few women ahead of us who made the same choices at the same stage. I wrote the book as a map for the women I work with, for myself, and for my sons, so they can see what it looked like when their mom built a business on her own terms. What we normalize now, the women behind us will inherit.
How have your experiences with military family life, motherhood, health changes, and neurodivergence shaped your understanding of authenticity in branding?
I became an entrepreneur at 36 because I married an Army soldier and needed work that could move with us. During training and deployments, I handled almost all the logistics of daily life. I answered client emails from school pickup lines and took calls from the bleachers. When our youngest son came to us through foster care as a newborn, there was no maternity leave. He slept on my shoulder through Zoom meetings, and we later had the enormous joy of adopting him.
At 48, I was diagnosed with AuDHD. A major hip injury, and now perimenopause, added limits of their own. For years, I filed it all under personal failure. The diagnosis explained why I could rarely finish a thought before another responsibility came looking for me. Once I could name it, I could see how much of the work world assumed a brain I didn’t have and a life I wasn’t living.
Those years changed what I mean by authenticity in branding. For a long time I kept myself in two boxes, one labeled professional and one labeled personal. I edited out the military moves, the foster care, the sparkly ballet flats, and the pink bedazzled microphone. My AuDHD brain connects six ideas before everyone else finishes taking notes on the first, and that same habit lets me hear the thread running through a client’s twenty years of work. I did not get less strategic when I wore sparkly ballet flats. More of me was showing.
Your book connects everyday decisions about pricing, availability, and boundaries to professional identity. Which of these changes do women entrepreneurs often find most difficult, and why?
Availability is usually the hardest, which surprises people, because pricing gets most of the attention. Raising a price is uncomfortable, but it is a number. She can research it, test it, and practice saying it out loud. Availability is tied to how she earned her reputation. For many established women founders, dependability built the business: answering quickly, taking the extra call, and remembering what every client needed. Over the years, that responsiveness quietly became part of the product, although nobody ever wrote it into the actual offer.
So when she considers stepping back, it can feel like taking away the very thing clients trusted her for. Being needed can feel remarkably similar to being valuable. I lived this. My availability expanded with my business until almost every question, task, and decision came through me, and my inbox took up 3 a.m. instead of my sleep.
The three decisions reinforce each other. If her website still describes the business she ran ten years ago, prospects hear support when she is selling strategy. The price needs a paragraph of explanation, and clients assume they are buying personal access to her. When her methods and her point of view reach people before she does, they understand what they are paying for before the first call, and she can decide when to be generous with her time.
What inspired you to explore the disconnect between a woman’s growing professional expertise and the business structures that may no longer serve her?
I first heard it from my clients, and then I recognized it in myself. Women come to me with fifteen or twenty years of client results, referrals, and opinions they have tested on real projects. Then I look at their homepage and find the business they started a decade ago: the original service list, the old job title, and prices set when they had a fraction of the judgment they have now. On a call, a woman will say something that makes me stop and write it down, and none of it appears anywhere a prospect could find it.
I call that gap the translation tax. She pays it on discovery calls, rebuilding the doorway by hand. She pays it when referrals arrive with kind, familiar words that are too small. She pays it in proposals that need a paragraph of context before the price makes sense. I paid it for years, from BeverlyCornell.com to BC & Associates Marketing to Wickedly Branded®, and for a long time I called the frustration personal failure.
Then I looked at the structures themselves. Much of the way we price, schedule, and stay reachable came straight from corporate assumptions we brought into entrepreneurship without ever questioning them. The women I work with have the judgment and track record to write different operating rules, and Wickedly Branded® helps them build those rules into their brand, their offers, and the way their business runs.
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Claim Your Voice, Visibility, and Authority in a World Not Built For WomenWhat if the life you’re trying so hard to build… was never actually yours?
Many women spend years pursuing goals they were taught to want, only to quietly lose themselves in the process.
They check every box.
Build successful businesses.
Take care of everyone else.
Keep pushing toward the next milestone.
Yet beneath the accomplishments is a question they can no longer ignore:
Why doesn’t this feel like enough?
In Wickedly Branded®, brand evolution strategist and founder of Wickedly Branded®, Beverly Cornell reveals that the greatest obstacle to visibility, leadership, and lasting success isn’t a lack of strategy.
It’s carrying expectations that were never yours to begin with.
Through unforgettable metaphors, deeply personal stories, research, practical frameworks, and decades of experience helping entrepreneurs uncover their Brand Magic™, you’ll learn how to:
Escape the Tornado of Overwhelm and stop reacting to everything demanding your attention.
Unpack the Should Suitcase and release expectations you were never meant to carry.
Recognize the Flying Monkeys of fear, perfectionism, comparison, and self-doubt before they steal your confidence.
Break free from the Vanishing Finish Line and redefine what success actually means for you.
Discover the Shimmering Thread running through your life—the experiences, strengths, and values that have been preparing you all along.
Uncover your unique Brand Magic and build a business that reflects who you truly are.
Develop calm authority that attracts the right opportunities without pretending to be someone you’re not.
Create sustainable systems that protect your energy, amplify your impact, and ensure your work outlives you.
Inspired by the timeless journey of The Wizard of Oz and the courage to embrace your own “green” from Wicked, this book invites you to stop searching for permission behind the curtain and discover that everything you’ve been looking for has been within you all along.
Because branding isn’t just about your logo, your website, or your marketing.
Branding is identity work.
When you know who you are, your message becomes clear.
When your message becomes clear, your confidence grows.
When your confidence grows, people begin to trust you.
And when people trust you, your influence, your business, and your legacy expand naturally.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, creative, consultant, coach, nonprofit leader, executive, or woman standing at the edge of your next chapter, Wickedly Branded® offers a method to claim your voice, shar your visibility, and lead with authority so that the business finally feels like your own.
You don’t need to become someone new.
You simply need to become unmistakably yourself.
