In Shaken, an exhausted and overwhelmed young mother gives in to the frustrations of raising a toddler and makes a regrettable decision that could change the course of her life. Where did the idea for this novel come from? 

The idea came to me about 17 years ago when I saw a poster that said, “NEVER SHAKE A BABY” at the doctor’s office. At the time, I hadn’t heard of the Shaken Baby Syndrome (SSB) and found myself wondering, “Who would shake a baby?” But then I realized there had to be people out there who did, otherwise there wouldn’t be a whole campaign about it. I couldn’t help but think how horrible that would be — to lose control and hurt your baby like that. Later that afternoon, I wrote a scene where a young mother snaps and loses control, shaking her baby without realizing what she was doing. I didn’t know what to do with that character and scene at that point in time, so I shoved it aside to work on other things. When I needed something to present to my writing group in the summer of 2019, I dug out that chapter, read it to the group, and watched as everyone at the table exploded with extreme emotions: horror, shock, disgust, confusion, sympathy, and so on. I realized that if I could evoke such a wide range of reactions, this was a novel worth bringing into the world.

What was the inspiration for Sally’s traits and dialogue? 

After I had my own kids, I went to various playgroups and parent-baby classes. There, I observed the put-together moms, the hot-mess moms, and everything in between. As hard as we moms all tried to do the best we could, I soon realized there’s no such thing as the “perfect mother” — you might have it under control one minute, then be a sobbing mess the next. I wanted to take the overwhelm that my mom friends (and myself) had felt during those early years and to amplify it to the extreme, showing how everything could change in one awful moment. Although nobody in my social circle ever abused their baby, plenty of moms expressed their frustrations and how close they got to “going over the edge.” 

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

I’m intrigued by those intense, dark moments in life where one bad thing happens, someone reacts to it and makes a bad decision, then another one, and before you know it, their whole life has come undone. Like in the movies when someone finds a bag full of millions of dollars hidden in the woods and they think they can get away with just keeping it, but it’s never that easy. And yet, you can’t help but wonder, “What would I do?” Would I go to the cops? Or keep the money?

With Shaken, I wanted people to really think about what would happen if they actually snapped and lost control — because, deep down, we all have the ability to lose control. Would you try to cover it up? Come forward and share the truth? Run away? What if Sally was your wife, sister, next door neighbor? What would YOU do? Although we tell ourselves we would make better choices if we found ourselves in the same exact situation, there’s no way to know for sure until it’s really happening to you.

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

I’m currently revising a young adult mystery about a teen girl, Olivia, who believes her parents didn’t die in an accident but were in fact murdered. As her twin sister fights for her life in the hospital, Olivia rallies the help of two new friends to uncover the truth, but the more secrets they discover, the more Olivia begins to realize her own life might be in danger. This book has been through one round of beta reading with great feedback, so I’m working on fixing remaining plot holes and tightening things up. I hope it’ll be available sometime in 2026.

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