Gaviota Island: Birds, Monkeys, and Twisted Love follows a bird enthusiast who falls in love with a hunter and moves to Panama with him, only to discover it is not the happily ever after she hoped for. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Personal experience. All of us know individuals who attach themselves emotionally to other persons who in one way or another are toxic for them. One of these tropes is “opposites attract.” But many of the oppressed/suppressed personalities don’t break free of their relationships except under exceptional duress. This is the setup of the story.

I found Laura to be a very well-written and in-depth character. What was your inspiration for her emotional turmoil throughout the story?

Laura is easy to visualize as she contends with the forceful character of her boyfriend, Bret. She is sufficiently captured by him so as not to run away, even if she is repulsed by his hunting and his treatment of her in bed. Weighing the positive and the negative, she chooses the positive — until the breaking point at the end.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

This book is about dual tracks of cruelty. The first track is the violence of shooting wild animals. Running in parallel is the track about Bret’s abuse of Laura. Laura ends both with a single action.

So was it wrong of her? Or right? That is the question I’d like readers to think about. 

What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?

Not saying.

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Laura Whitley is 22 years old. She meets Bret Belcher at the University of Texas – an unexpected pairing of a bird enthusiast and a passionate hunter. Laura admires Bret’s confidence, ambition, and charm. But she grapples with his unwavering passion for guns and hunting.

As university graduation looms, Laura’s distress intensifies because she has no plans for what she’ll do when she finishes. The Belchers will dispatch Bret to Panama to oversee the family’s property business there. This could be Laura’s pivotal moment to break up with him. But against her parents’ advice, she follows him to Panama in hopes of remaking their lives together.

In Panama, Laura befriends a young biologist who discovers a rare population of monkeys on Gaviota, an uninhabited island meant for Bret’s real estate venture. The discovery is a threat to Bret’s plans.

Bret’s violent solution to the monkey problem and his betrayal with another woman push Laura to the edge. Horrified and desperate, Laura takes drastic measures.

Discover the gripping tale that blurs the lines between right and wrong, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end.