Pleasure to Purpose follows a sex worker raised in a family torn apart by mental illness who, after a traumatic experience, adopts a horse, starting her on the road to becoming politically active in sex worker rights and discovering that love is not out of her grasp. Where did the idea for this novel come from?

My friend massages horses, and Scarlett’s rescue horse, Franco, was one of her clients. When my friend told me about a prostitute/dominatrix who rescues horses, my first thought was how kind and compassionate she must be…not just to rescue horses, but to be a dominatrix. During our first meeting I mentioned that to Scarlett, and she thanked me for understanding. I wasn’t sure where the conversation would go after the initial meeting. In fact, I decided not to follow through on writing her story. But when I reached out to her, Scarlett told me she’d just had to euthanize Franco, and we stayed on the phone for an hour. That led to weekly conversations that eventually made me realize there was a book among my thirty-five pages of notes.

What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?

Humans are perfectly imperfect. We’re organisms who, for the most part, strive to learn, to grow, to become better than we were yesterday. It’s the cracks, the imperfections that form a base for a story, and the striving that pushes the story along.  In my opinion, humans are stories in and of themselves, and every single one should be told in some form.

Did you find anything in your research of this story that surprised you?

BDSM (bondage, discipline, sado-masochism) was not part of my world prior to meeting Scarlett, so it was a little surprising to learn about it. Additionally, differentiating the reality of sex work versus what is sold to us through the media was a steep learning curve for me, and Scarlett was patient and incredibly forthcoming in educating me. But what surprised me the most is on a psychological level. Two things actually. After spending three hours with Scarlett at our first meeting, I went directly to the music school where I teach classical voice primarily to children. The juxtaposition of the two worlds (hers vs. mine) rocked me so hard that I felt physically ill. That surprised me for sure. Also, Scarlett made it very clear to me at her first meeting that she had not been abused, she is not a victim in any capacity. I took her at her word…until I read her medical records from the time she was 3.5 years old. As I got to know her better, I gently approached the subject, telling her that from what I read in her medical records, she was abused. She became quiet, then acknowledged it to be true. Having said that, I agree that Scarlett is not, and never will be, a victim. She’s a fighter and will go down swinging. I love that about her. 

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

I am currently re-writing a 13-story children’s book series by R.E. Lynch. His widow asked if I would rewrite them with an eye toward today’s 8-10 year-olds. The first story, Eliot Higgenbottom & Grace Cohen Adventures: King Solomon’s Mines, is out with beta readers now and is looking good! I’m not sure when the series will be released, as I’m shopping for an agent.

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