Category Archives: Interviews
Honesty and Compassion
In The First Call Was Mine, you share the abuse of your childhood, the hardships of your adolescence, including suicidal despair, and the long road to healing. Why was this an important book for you to write?
For a long time, my story lived quietly inside of me. I carried the memories, the fear, and the resilience without ever fully putting words to them. Writing The First Call Was Mine became a way of reclaiming that story, not just as something that happened to me, but as something that shaped who I became.
Growing up in instability and abuse can make you feel invisible, as if your experiences don’t matter or your voice isn’t worth hearing. Writing this book was my way of pushing back against that silence. It was important for me to tell the truth about what it looks like to survive a chaotic childhood and still build a life defined by purpose.
I also wrote this book for others who have lived through similar experiences. Trauma can convince people that they are alone or broken beyond repair. If someone reads my story and realizes that survival, healing, and even joy are still possible, then sharing my story was worth it.
How did you approach writing about childhood experiences that were both formative and painful?
I approached it with a balance of honesty and compassion for my younger self. When you revisit painful memories, it’s easy to relive them through the lens of pain or anger. Instead, I tried to write those moments with the understanding I have now as an adult.
That meant allowing the experiences to be truthful without letting them become the entire definition of the story. The book isn’t just about trauma; it’s about resilience, growth, and the complicated ways we survive difficult circumstances.
At times, writing those chapters was emotionally heavy, but it was also surprisingly healing. Putting the experiences into words allowed me to process them differently and see the strength that existed in moments where I once only saw survival.
You draw a powerful connection between childhood survival and your work in EMS—when did you first recognize that link?
For a long time, I didn’t consciously recognize the connection. I just knew I was drawn to emergency services, the chaos of it all, and helping people in their most vulnerable moments. It felt natural to step into chaos and try to make things better.
Over time, I began to realize that my childhood had quietly prepared me for that kind of work. Growing up in an unpredictable environment teaches you how to read situations quickly, stay calm under pressure, and protect others even when you’re still trying to protect yourself.
EMS gave me a way to transform those survival instincts into something meaningful. Instead of chaos defining me, I was able to use the skills I learned from surviving it to help people in their most critical moments. In many ways, the career that grew from that path became part of my healing.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your experiences?
I hope readers understand that the circumstances we come from do not have to determine the limits of our lives. They don’t have to define us.
Many people grow up believing that their past defines them, that trauma, hardship, or instability will always control their future. My story is proof that those experiences can become something different. They can shape strength, compassion, and purpose.
Healing doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t erase what happened. But it does allow you to build a life that isn’t ruled by those experiences. If readers walk away believing that change, growth, and healing are possible, even after the hardest beginnings, then the book has done what I hoped it would.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
The First Call Was Mine is a raw and unflinching memoir about growing up in chaos and choosing a different future. With honesty and dark humor, Kayla traces her path from a traumatic upbringing to a career in emergency services, where she found purpose in running toward the very crises she once lived inside.
Becoming a firefighter and paramedic did not erase the past but it gave her the tools to face it. Through demanding calls, hard-earned resilience, and moments of unexpected grace, she begins to understand how survival can transform into strength. The book explores themes of foster care, trauma, identity, and healing, while examining how service, discipline, and community can help rebuild a life once shaped by loss.
This memoir does not offer easy answers or tidy resolutions. Instead, it tells the truth about what it means to carry trauma forward and still choose to show up, again and again. It is a story for anyone who has lived through adversity, questioned where they belong, or wondered whether it’s possible to break cycles that feel inescapable.
The First Call Was Mine is a testament to resilience, chosen family, and the quiet courage it takes to keep going, even when the past is loud.
Harmony and Balance
Feathers of Wisdom is a collection of forty-four legends, myths, and historical portraits of Indigenous women from various nations and traditions. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I have had the privilege of interviewing two remarkable women, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross, and Cahuilla elder and healer, Dr. Katherine Siva Sauble, for plays I was writing for the festival Celebrate Women. Working with Indigenous artist and illustrator Kait Mathhews, we created Flowerwise: Oracle Deck and Guidebook. As we tossed about ideas for our next effort, Kait suggested the tales and legends of Indigenous women. I knew immediately this was the work we should do. We live in very frightening and threatening times. To move forward, we need to look back. The voices of women have been progressively silenced, including Indigenous women. Within the stories these women tell is the necessity of living in harmony and balance with everything on our Earth. This is a philosophy we must return to if we as a species, if our small blue beautiful world is to survive.
How did you decide which stories and figures to include among such a vast range of possibilities?
We started first with the choosing of the tribes and the women who represented those tribes. There are several Native cultures, Cherokee, Sioux, Navajo, for example, that are well known and abundant research is available. There were several others that required deeper digging. Once the tribe was found, the research for the stories began. A few of our original choices had to be set aside, either for lack of historical references or for lack of the types of stories we wanted to tell. One very disturbing incident was the discovery that one of the stories we very much liked was a complete fabrication. The whole thing had to be tossed.
We wanted to tell the stories of the women. Who were they? What were the tasks? What did they believe? Who and how did they love? What did they eat? I’m one of those people who can get lost in research. I loved casting my wide net to find the perfect story.
How do you see storytelling functioning as a form of cultural survival?
All the stories presented in Feathers of Wisdom have been passed down through the generations in the oral tradition. Storytelling achieves many ends: warnings, food preparation, and the retelling of the Creation Story. Stories are history. They tell who we are, where we come from. They reunite, reacquaint the present with the past, the rituals practiced long ago with the ceremonies practiced today. Stories hold the original culture deep within their mysteries, legends, and myths, whispering on the wind who, what, where, and why.
If readers take away one lasting idea from Feathers of Wisdom, what would you want it to be?
Live a life in harmony and balance. Everything upon the earth is sacred. We Are All One.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Crafted with museum-quality design and artistry, Feathers of Wisdom is a collector’s volume that transforms the ancient legends of Indigenous women into a visual and literary masterpiece.
Across more than forty legends from tribes throughout the Americas, this stunning hardcover volume brings to life the voices of goddesses, warriors, healers, and mothers-figures whose wisdom shaped their cultures and whose stories continue to echo through generations. Author Leigh Podgorski’s lyrical prose preserves these narratives with deep reverence, while artist Kait Matthews, a proud Ojibwe/Potawatomi woman, illuminates each tale with lush, museum-quality illustrations that honor the spiritual power and beauty of Indigenous storytelling.
Printed on premium stock in full color, Feathers of Wisdom is designed as both a work of cultural preservation and a collector’s art book. Each page is an offering-pairing timeless myth and contemporary artistry to create a reading experience that feels sacred, immersive, and alive.
This extraordinary edition invites readers to reflect on the enduring strength of the divine feminine and to reconnect with the earth, the ancestors, and the stories that remind us: We are all one.
Highlights include:
Forty richly illustrated stories from Indigenous nations across North and South America
Evocative original artwork by Kait Matthews, blending traditional motifs with modern fine art technique
Elegant design, heavy matte paper, and full-color printing that make this volume a treasure for art collectors and cultural enthusiasts alike
A celebration of Indigenous women’s wisdom, language, and spirit across centuries
Feathers of Wisdom is not just a book-it is an heirloom, a conversation between past and present, and a tribute to the women who kept the sacred stories alive.
Journey of Self-Discovery
Adventure: Antarctica! follows a high school senior who sets out on an unforgettable trip to Antarctica that takes him far from the miserable events he has recently endured. What was the inspiration behind this story?
I wrote Adventure: Antarctica! to remind readers–especially young adults–that science is an adventure, not just a subject. Antarctica, Earth’s last true wilderness felt like the perfect setting to explore that truth. At its heart, this story is about finding purpose when life takes an unexpected turn. For Danny Gage, the Antarctic internship begins as a reluctant consolation prize, but becomes a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and awe. I wanted to capture how exploration–of the world and of ourselves–often begins where comfort ends.
What kind of research went into putting this book together?
Interviews, geographical map examinations, reading of science blogs, and watching many videos that scientists and support personnel have posted of their work and downtime over the years.
Your prose is clear and accessible, especially for younger readers. How do you approach writing for a teen audience?
I taught middle school for sixteen years, so my narrator’s voice is just kind of naturally tailored to that audience.
Can we look forward to seeing more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
Yes. I’m currently working on a sci-fi/fantasy novel. I also have a time travel screenplay, a musical, and an unfinished comic book series that I’d like to revisit as I have time.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
When high school senior Danny Gage’s world unravels, his soccer dreams collapse, his girlfriend breaks his heart, and his family fractures, he never expects an impossible opportunity to change everything. Instead of a sun-soaked volcano internship in Hawaii, Danny is offered something far more daunting: a last-minute placement on a scientific expedition to Antarctica, the coldest, most unforgiving place on Earth.
Thrown into a world of crevasses, sub-zero survival, active volcanoes, meteorite hunts, and cutting-edge polar research, Danny must confront not only the frozen wilderness but his own doubts, fears, and sense of identity. As danger mounts and the stakes grow higher, one misstep could cost lives, and force Danny to discover what he’s truly capable of when everything is on the line.
Adventure: Antarctica! is a fast-paced coming-of-age adventure that blends real Antarctic science with gripping survival storytelling. Perfect for readers who love exploration, extreme environments, and stories of courage forged under pressure, this novel captures the awe, danger, and wonder of Earth’s last great frontier.
Sometimes, the coldest places reveal the strongest hearts.
Metaphysical Talents
Legacy of Valor follows Major Liam O’Connor as he leads a fractured alliance into a brutal campaign on a hostile moon—while navigating family, loyalty, and a mysterious Dreamscape power. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Earth’s recent history contains many memorable battles and warriors to draw inspiration from. The Civil War’s Gettysburg and the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam inspire much of Legacy of Valor. At the Battle of Gettysburg, during the defense of Little Round Top, Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and his regiment were on the extreme left of the Union line with orders to hold at all costs. He used the terrain to his advantage, ultimately driving the Confederates back. As Chamberlain did to win the battle (and possibly the war), Major Liam O’Connor does in Legacy of Valor, using the ground topography to win the Battle of Treespo; outnumbered, he held his position until reinforcements arrived.
Another battle on Earth that took place 100 years later was in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. Lt. Colonel Harold (Hal) Moore faced a numerically superior North Vietnamese force. He coordinated his troops to use the artillery on the ground along with air power to hold their position. Using these same battle tactics, Major O’Connor channeled the spirits of Chamberlain and Moore by remaining outwardly calm in the face of overwhelming odds and thinking quickly. He employed the terrain, artillery, and air power, along with orbital forces, to keep his warriors alive.
In this second novel of the series, Legacy of Valor, the triplets are still children who grew up hearing stories of their father’s exploits. Liam now leads Etursci’s Special Operations Company and is attached to the New Terran Marine Corps’ Third Division to retake the moon called Treespo, orbiting the planet Beta Proximus IV, from Marshal Kergan’s Rebel forces. “No plan survives its first encounter with the enemy,” is an old Marine saying. Minutes after landing on the hostile surface of Treespo, treachery decapitates the division, leaving Liam the senior combat officer. Deception has stripped the Third Division of its support. As forces scramble to assist both sides, Liam must keep the warriors under his command alive.
For personal inspiration, there are science fiction books that use psionics like ESP (Extra Sensory Perception), though I put my unique twist on it. Few Military Science Fiction books explore a person’s consciousness being used outside the body, which is called “Dreamwalking.” While Dreamwalking, a person often has to fight enemy Dreamwalkers. I also drew inspiration from video games such as Halo, in particular with weapons and tactics in space combat.
The Dreamscape adds a unique layer to the story. What narrative challenges came with blending physical and metaphysical combat?
I explore the military use of Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) powers. For such metaphysical talents to be convincing, I must clearly explain the ESP abilities and their associated costs. To do this, I show that the protagonist does not have an overwhelming advantage, or the reader won’t believe they could lose in a battle.
Belief is critical in the Dreamscape. If a person doesn’t believe he or she can do something in the Dreamscape, such as fly or walk through something, they will not be able to do it. Conversely, when someone is attacked in the Dreamscape, weapons directed at them don’t really exist. Therefore, the victim can only be harmed if they believe the weapon can harm them. This makes the ability to disbelieve an important defense against someone’s attack. However, believing and disbelieving require years of training to discipline one’s mind. As Jarek (an expert at Dreamwalking in Dreamscape Warriors Series) said, “the slightest doubt could kill you.”
While moving around, one’s own subconscious uses very little energy, communicating over a great distance or moving outside the body uses energy more rapidly. When a person is exhausted, the Dreamscape seems filled with fog to the point that they might not be able to find their way back to their body.
Related to Dreamwalking is the ability to “Step Out of Time.” This technique enables a warrior to slow the time around him without it affecting him. In battle, they can move very rapidly, giving them a distinct advantage over their enemy for a limited time. However, like Dreamwalking, it uses energy, and a person can be dragged back into regular time once they become tired.
Are there more stories planned in this Dreamscape Universe?
In my books, I explore family dynamics, especially during times of crisis and separation. The triplets and their brother play a major role in the third novel, Promise of Mercy. Aisling, Bayvin, and especially Deirdre, needed to be their father’s daughters. The girls returned home after advanced training in the Finnian Shock Forces. They’ve inherited their father’s marksmanship, his leadership skills, and his ESP powers. However, they aren’t clones of each other. Deirdre is their best shot, and leadership comes naturally to her. Aisling is an explosives expert and pilot. Bayvin specializes in electronic warfare and excels in military intelligence. Their brother is still in his teens but is already a skilled pilot. We also meet Marissa, a former Rebel war criminal who must confront her past once her daughter, Gayla, is born. Marissa goes against Kergan to befriend Liam and return him to his family.
In the fourth book, Addiction of Power, Liam is older. His daughters are now middle-aged. His son, Aidan, is a veteran fighter pilot. The daughter that Liam and his wife Celinia conceived in Promise of Mercy, Tetia, is in her teens and planning to follow her mother’s path as a priestess and healer. The theme of family carries over. Aidan agrees to deliver information to Finnian Intelligence while on a trip with his Great Aunt Máire and sister Tetia when Kergan attacks their ship. After escaping, Marissa and her daughter Gayla, whom the audience meets in Promise of Mercy befriend Aidan and his family. This starts a journey to end a 700-year interstellar civil war. Factions on both sides of the conflict must wrestle with the implications of peace: an end to the bloodshed versus losing power. It also plants the seeds for threats from beyond the Milky Way.
While I was writing the Dreamscape Warriors Series, I realized my central characters had interesting personal life adventures—and I wanted to write about them. These can be major emergencies that only last a matter of minutes, or everyday surprises that take us down unexpected roads. They make up the backstories of each person’s life. This realization started me writing the Sci-Fi Short Book Series based on the characters in the Dreamscape Warriors Novels.
The first short book in the series, Way of Forgiveness, highlights the main character, Liam O’Connor, between the first and second volumes. Liam is not sitting idle between the novels. Things happen in his life that are not covered in the full-length novel, but make a good story in this short book. Here, I focus on Liam’s journey to understand the nature of forgiveness as he struggles through and learns from his archenemy, Licinious.
In the next short book, Evolution of Leadership, Deirdre (one of Liam’s triplet daughters) goes from being a scamp who always leads her siblings to mischief into a military leader. As she goes through her advanced trooper training, Deirdre learns to make responsible decisions when others’ lives are on the line.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Kurt’s Frontier | Facebook | Price of Vengeance | LinkedIn | X (Twitter) | Amazon
Major Liam O’Connor is a hero in his own right. He is descended from a family of heroes. Now he will be tested. Now he will become legend. The Rebel faction lead by Marshal Kergan has seized Treespo, the fifth moon around the fourth planet of Beta Proximus. Treespo is a major source for valuable rare metal elements. With all other Alliance forces out of position, Liam’s Special Operations Company has been attached to the New Terran Marine Corps Third Division. Their job is to provide the spearhead to retake Treespo.
There is an old Marine saying: “No plan ever survives its first encounter with the enemy.” Treachery kills all senior officers in Third Division, leaving Liam in command. With humans of Terran, Neo-Etruscan, and Finnian descent looking to him to keep them alive, Liam must reach deep inside himself. Failure leaves the bulk of the galaxy’s rare metal elements in Kergan’s hands. If Liam succeeds, he will find himself an heir to his family’s legacy of cunning, their legacy of courage, their Legacy of Valor.
To Leave A Legacy
In My Good Life, you share your life with readers from your difficult childhood in Chicago to a late-life brush with death that forced you to reevaluate your experiences. Why was this an important book for you to write?
It was important for me to leave a legacy and digital footprint for children and grandchildren. I wished I had known more about my parents before they died. My children now grown had recently expressed a sincere desire to learn more about their dad. It also was on my to-do list when I retired in 2018. Sometimes we overestimate how much time we have left so it was always on the back burner. My near death experienced forced me to face the fact that the next day, week, or month are not guaranteed so as soon as I was able, I finished up the book.
I appreciate the candid nature with which you tell your story. What was the most difficult thing for you to write about?
The most difficult thing to write about was the death of my mother and wife. Initially I planned to leave these details out but they are integral to my story so they were included. Another area difficult for me to write about was my failures and missteps but that turned out to be the impetus of my future successes.
What surprised you most about yourself while revisiting memories and planning this book?
I did not realize all the obstacles I had to overcome until I started to journalize the significant events in my life. The book resurrected feelings and memories I thought I had long forgotten. Obstacles were a part of my day-to-day living.
What advice would you give someone who is considering writing their own memoir?
I recommend those considering a memoir is to write from the heart. One of my biggest fears was not being able to express myself properly so I wrote all my thoughts down and revised later as required. My main goal was to transmit clear and concise thought and feelings. As with most things you must start. I started with a rough outline and filled in the details later.
Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter
In My Good Life, Lee traces a remarkable journey that defies expectation at every turn. Born into poverty on Chicago’s South Side, he faced bullying, loss, and the racial tensions of the 1960s. Yet through grit, curiosity, and an unshakable work ethic, he carved a path few believed possible-becoming a U.S. Air Force officer, earning advanced degrees, programming cutting-edge military computer systems, traveling the world, and pushing his body to limits he never imagined.
But his greatest test came decades later, when a sudden ruptured aorta nearly claimed his life. Surviving against a 20% chance, he emerged with renewed clarity and a desire to leave a legacy-one that captures his triumphs, failures, close calls, and the philosophies that shaped him.
My Good Life is more than a memoir. It is a testament to resilience, discipline, faith in possibility, and the belief that one person’s determination can alter the trajectory of an entire life. Inspiring, candid, and deeply human, this book is a gift to his children, grandchildren, and anyone seeking proof that no dream is out of reach.
Making the Concept Work
First Step centers around the first human to step onto an alien planet and the Spacefirst AI investigating how another AI has veered dangerously off course. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The stories of Eve and Ray originally started in my mind as two separate books. In the epilogue to First, the book prior to First Step, there’s a line in the epilogue where the narrator says Eve becomes the first person to step onto a planet outside our solar system, but that’s her story to tell. This is that story. I wish I could say writing it went smoothly, but I had several false starts. I wrote myself into corners, bored myself with my own storyline, and probably ended up wasting 40k words before I found a setup for Eve that worked. As for Ray and his story, I knew after First that he’d make a great narrator, and it’d be fun to write a book from the perspective of an AI. Just as with Eve’s story, I spun my wheels making the concept work on its own. The lightbulb went off at some point, and I realized combining the two stories with alternating narrators would make for a really good book. From there, I kept it simple with Eve and Ray trading narrative duties each chapter.
Did Eve’s journey or Ray’s voice come to you first?
It’d be nice to say Eve’s journey came first, but I have to be honest and say Ray’s voice. I wrote him as a sarcastic and funny AI in First, and scripting his words came to me easily since I think and communicate likewise. I worked through several iterations of Eve’s journey and at one point had her adrift on an ocean for weeks. Strangely enough, that didn’t work too well for me as the author, and if I’m bored, the reader’s going to be bored. My main intent for Eve’s journey was to be a struggle for survival, and how she overcame that and changed as a result. I think I found ways to make that happen and keep the reader engaged. Regarding Ray’s voice, I actually had to tone it down in several spots. There’s a point where his humor can cross the line and become annoying. For instance, he uses avatars of pop-culture icons when he speaks on the phone with one of the book’s antagonists. I cut out a couple of those interactions and edited others so those scenes didn’t overwhelm the book and become an instance of, “What? Another avatar? This is getting old.” In both Eve’s and Ray’s narratives, I hope I found the right balance.
The conflict between Ray and Ares raises questions about how AI evolves. What interested you most about that dynamic?
It’s a very important question about AI that we’re dealing with on almost a daily basis. The most interesting thing to me about the evolution of Ray versus Ares is that it’s very human. Early in the book, the question comes up about how and why AIs react to the same situation in different ways, which is exactly what humans do. In one simple example, a person wins a contest. One friend feels happy for the winner, while another friend feels jealous. In my story, AIs write and expand their own source code on the fly as they deal with different situations, so going back to the example, one AI writes a subroutine that allows them to celebrate their friend, while the other creates programming about bitterness, which may lead to revenge, etc. We already see the major players in AI coming up with different answers and approaches to the questions they’re asked, a sign they’re evolving independently. Just like humans.
Can we look forward to a follow-up to First Step?
I’d love to write another book with these characters, and I just need to come up with a good reason to inflict it on the world. The ending leaves the tiniest of hints that there’s another story out there. I’m letting the seed of that idea rest, and it’ll sprout when it’s ready. In the meantime, I’m working on a series about a survival contest on unexplored alien planets called The Drop. The first two seasons have been published, and I’m writing the fourth in what I plan to be at least ten books. I can certainly see myself taking a break at some point from that series and writing another book to follow First and First Step. I’ve been humbled and happy that people have responded so favorably to the stories and characters, and I’d be happy to visit that fictional universe again.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Eve becomes the first person to ever set foot on an alien planet, a pioneering move for humanity. It all goes sideways in a heartbeat and Eve quickly finds herself in a struggle for survival on Primis, a planet that seems intent on killing her. A triumphant achievement for SpaceFirst and her fellow astronauts accelerates into a race against time, predators, and the elements.
Back on Earth, Ray is the SpaceFirst AI tasked with determining who is trying to sabotage the company and why. Ray encounters his nemesis, Ares, and the two become entangled in a high-stakes conflict of deception and willpower. Ray’s detective work uncovers a web of conspiracy, including powerful politicians and a rogue environmental group, that want to monopolize the galaxy’s future colonization for their own profit. Ray must fight both real and artificial battles not just for SpaceFirst’s survival, but his own as well.
Eve and Ray, astronaut and AI – intense struggles light years apart that will determine mankind’s future.
Unseen Adversaries
Fade to Blue follows an Alzheimer’s researcher who is being hunted and manipulated after accidentally creating a drug that can almost instantly wipe out all brain activity. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
In 1998, I was working at a steel mill. One evening during a break, a coworker suggested we write a short story together. While considering ideas, I remembered that an annealing line had crashed because a computer controlling its speed and torque had lost all Random-access memory. I said, “How about this: a scientist creates a drug that can erase a human’s memory.”
How much research went into the neuroscience and Alzheimer’s elements of the story?
My father was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease when I began writing Fade to Blue. That had a huge impact on me and the story.
Regarding the research, neuroscientist Dr. Brian Cummings invited me to his UC Irvine laboratory, where I saw firsthand the experiments and brain research being done by his students. The Memory Research Institute depicted in Fade to Blue is the result of my visit to UC Irvine. And it was Dr. Cummings who explained how a brain-destroying drug like T-3 could be created.
I later went to New York City at the invitation of Dr. Bernardo Rudy, head of the Rudy Lab at NYU Department of Neuroscience, to get a tour of his laboratory and discuss the science in my book.
The novel builds tension through small, everyday moments—driving, showering, simply being alone. Why was it important to show fear in those ordinary situations?
I wanted to infuse fear into normally mundane aspects of Sarah’s life so a reader could identify. We all drive a car and receive phone calls from friends. Those events shouldn’t stoke fear or panic. They do in Fade to Blue because unknown and unseen adversaries are following Sarah’s every move and listening to her every sound. This fear is omnipresent, but she must maintain a happy façade and keep her friends in the dark. At the same time, she channels her fear into courage, cunning, and resolve.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
Unfortunately, I’m not planning to write more books at this time. It took me 25 years to write Fade to Blue.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Sarah Brenalen, a frustrated researcher, secretly tests experimental Alzheimer’s drugs, only to create a brain-destroying compound. Marcel, an international operative, sees its potential.
Fade to Blue plunges you into a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game. Is Sarah a pawn, or can she outwit Marcel and prevent global catastrophe?
Uncover a dark conspiracy
Experience a fast-paced thriller
Explore the ethics of scientific discovery
For fans of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton, this medical thriller blends cutting-edge science with heart-stopping suspense.
Expectation Underneath the Emotion
In The Reset Self, you help readers understand how early family dynamics, social pressures, and constant performance create resentment, anxiety, and burnout. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I wrote this book because I kept seeing the same pattern over and over again, in myself and in other people. Smart, capable, self-aware individuals who were doing everything “right,” but still felt exhausted, resentful, or quietly disconnected from their own lives.
The common thread wasn’t a lack of effort or insight. It was that they were trying to improve a version of themselves that was never really theirs to begin with.
Most of us are living in roles we learned early on, roles that helped us stay safe, be accepted, or be loved. But those roles don’t disappear when we grow up. They just get more sophisticated. And eventually, they start to cost us.
This book exists because I wanted to offer something different. Not another way to fix yourself, but a way to question who is doing the fixing in the first place.
You make a distinction between the “role-self” and the real person. How did you come to recognize that difference in your own life or work?
It didn’t happen all at once. It was more of a slow realization that the way I was showing up in different areas of my life felt… consistent, but not necessarily true.
I could see how my reactions were patterned. Predictable. Almost scripted. Especially in moments of stress or conflict. And when I looked closer, those patterns always traced back to something learned, not something chosen.
That’s when the distinction became clear. There’s the version of you that was built through conditioning, through expectations, roles, and adaptation. And then there’s something underneath that, something quieter but more stable.
The “role-self” reacts automatically. The real person has choice.
Once you see that difference, even briefly, you can’t unsee it. And that’s where real change starts.
Of all the tools you introduce, which one tends to create the biggest shift for readers when they try it?
The biggest shift usually comes from something very simple: recognizing the expectation underneath the emotion.
Most people think they’re reacting to what happened. But they’re actually reacting to what they believed should have happened.
When someone starts catching that in real time, “What did I expect here?” everything changes. Because suddenly the reaction makes sense. It’s not random. It’s not a personality flaw. It’s a script being broken.
That moment creates space. And once there’s space, there’s choice.
It’s subtle, but it’s one of the most powerful shifts in the entire process.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from The Reset Self?
That they are not broken.
Not in a surface-level, reassuring way, but in a very literal sense. The exhaustion, the anxiety, the resentment, it’s not evidence of something wrong with them. It’s evidence of something learned that no longer fits.
If someone can walk away with that and start questioning the roles they’ve been living inside of instead of trying to perfect them, then the book has done its job.
Because from that point on, they’re no longer trying to fix themselves. They’re starting to come back to themselves.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
You don’t need a better self. You need freedom from the one you were trained to be.
Most people spend their entire lives feeling lost, anxious, overwhelmed, or painfully disconnected from themselves, not because something is wrong with them, but because they’ve been living inside a conditioned identity that never truly belonged to them.
The roles you learned in childhood, the Good One, the High-Achiever, the Strong One, the Fixer, the Peacemaker, helped you survive, but now they keep you stuck in cycles of self-sabotage, people-pleasing, perfectionism, overthinking, emotional trauma patterns, anxiety, and self-doubt. These roles shape your decisions, your relationships, your boundaries, and even your sense of purpose.
The Reset Self introduces a revolutionary perspective: You’re not failing to “find inner peace,” “love yourself again,” or “discover your purpose in life.” You simply can’t build a peaceful life on top of a self that isn’t actually yours.
Inside this book, you’ll learn how to:Recognize the hidden conditioning behind feeling lost in life and not knowing who you really are.
Identify the role-based patterns fueling your anxiety, overthinking, emotional exhaustion, and resentment.
Break cycles of self-sabotage and negative thinking without forcing yourself into toxic positivity.
Heal emotional trauma, including toxic childhood conditioning, through nervous-system based practices that work in real life.
Use the Fingertips Principle to stop trying to control what was never yours to manage.
Run Non-Compliance Experiments that retrain your nervous system to feel safe when you stop over-giving and start choosing yourself.
Untangle your sense of purpose from expectations, guilt, or external validation.
Feel emotions without feeding them or turning them into spirals of overthinking and fear.
And for the first time, this edition includes a new and urgent topic: The Social Media Self — how comparison, unrealistic standards, curated “perfect lives,” and constant performance pressure distort your identity and steal your peace. Learn how to reset the part of you that feels behind, invisible, or never enough.
This book is not another mindset hack, manifestation trick, or habit-building routine. It’s a practical, grounded, psychologically-informed method for stepping out of the identity you were conditioned into, and returning to the person underneath.
Perfect for Readers Who Feel:“I feel lost in life and don’t know who I am anymore.”
“I want to find myself again after years of overthinking, people-pleasing, or burnout.”
“I want to heal emotional trauma, anxiety, or self-doubt without endlessly reliving the past.”
“I want inner peace, but I don’t know how to get there.”
“I’m tired of performing. I want to feel real again.”
The Reset Self is a guide for anyone ready to stop performing a life they never chose, and finally live the one that is actually theirs.
If you’re exhausted from healing, striving, or trying to be “enough,” this book will show you the way home to yourself.
