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Residual PTSD
The Meaning of Okay follows a woman healing from a sexual assault who meets a man that she connects with and wonders if she can heal enough to be open to a new relationship. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I read lots of romance novels, and it seemed like a certain situation was underrepresented. I’ve read novels where the focus is the assault, but I haven’t found many where the residual PTSD is the focus. I wanted to show that women still struggling, consciously or subconsciously, can still find their happy ending.
Kennedy and Rhys are both looking to start over and heal from their pasts. Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
I’ve received a lot of positive feedback about Dillon – more than I’ve received about Rhys. Also, Rhys is the only character I’ve received negative feedback about. I thought I achieved everything I wanted with the characters, but apparently Rhys is not as developed as I aimed for.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Sexual assault and PTSD were the main themes, but I also wanted to touch on how people treat others with mental health issues, specifically how it can be hard to recognize and hard to understand if you’re unfamiliar with the signs and symptoms.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I’m not working on a book-length piece at the moment. I’m finishing up a short story dealing with time and decision-making. I don’t have an anticipated release date yet.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Rhys Curran moved to Texas to refocus on his career and start a new life not soured by his past. Soon after he meets Kennedy, his open mind and big heart unravel her ability to distance herself. As their friendship evolves, Kennedy’s secrets begin to surface and she’s forced to face each one. Will she ever be able to overcome her past―and will Rhys stick around if he finds out the truth beyond her story?
Manipulative Brainwashing
In Hello Flower, you share with readers your experience as a victim of narcissistic abuse and give them the tools necessary for breaking free from abusive relationships. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I never imagined this could happen to me. Not in a million years. The shocking realisation that I wasn’t alone, that this was a textbook pattern of abusive behaviour carried out by so many made me want to help identify the signs, write in stark personal detail something which people might recognise and realise that their feeling of ‘ something off’ isn’t imagined but all too real. It was also important to dispel the myth that this is yet another ‘label’ and to demonstrate the horrific reality of living with a monster disguised as the person you trust the most.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
I think my initial instinctive answer to this question was remembering and writing about my Dad, his hope, belief, and optimism for me and my happiness, then I realised that writing about him was relatively easy. The hardest thing was writing about the original ‘love stories’ going back over and reliving how love-struck and naive I was each time, it made me really angry to see how I had been conned but it was necessary so I could help the reader understand why I fell for him and how that manipulative brainwashing starts. Writing that was sickening but key to unlocking the entire narrative.
What is one misconception you believe many people have about leaving an abusive relationship?
Please let me have two! The first is thinking it is easy to leave, to walk away from something which hurts you seems so straightforward to the uninitiated, I’ve often been asked ‘How come you put up with it for so long?’ a painful but understandable question. The trouble is when you are wrapped up in this sort of relationship you don’t believe you should walk away, you want to try harder, do more which simply results in a deeper entrapment. The other misconception is that once you are out you are fine, it’s over, time to just carry on and ‘let it all go’, if only. It takes a long long time to unravel all that damage, you improve, you do move on, but you are never quite the same.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your experience?
If any of it relates if even a tiny part of my book is familiar I hope, going forward, they raise their boundaries because in doing so it is the first step in saying what is and isn’t acceptable. It’s quite the game changer when you had none in place before.
Author Links: GoodReads | Substack | Amazon
Self-deprecating, heartbreaking, and sometimes funny, this is ultimately a realistic and revealing insight into how even the strongest person can be susceptible to the most insidious form of abuse—and yet find the courage to walk away and shine again.
To Give the Victim a Voice
Dear Gosei: A young man confronting his past follows a young man who was sexually abused as a teenager as he goes on a journey of self-discovery and a search for answers from those who did nothing to protect him. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The novel is based on a true fact that was revealed to me by accident, and I had to keep it a secret. I couldn’t comfort the victim, who was an acquaintance of mine so I grew a bit obsessed with the event. Also, it was during the worst part of Covid, and I spent many hours alone at home in isolation. I ended up writing about this to calm my anxiety. I wrote the story as a way to process my thoughts and feelings about the incident. It was my way of trying to make sense of what had happened and to give the victim a voice that they couldn’t give themselves. I hope my novel will be a source of comfort for those who have been through similar experiences.
Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?
There is no direct reference in my debut novel to anything that happened in my life but definitely, I share many points of view with the protagonist. Family dynamics, the college years away from home, the teenage dreams to become an independent, dependable person, the path to self-discovery are also aspects with which I identify myself. Some of the characters in the novel are composites of my past and present, and their stories come from my own life experiences.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
In order to properly describe the harrowing experience of suffering sexual abuse I read a lot about it, trying always to understand why it happens and what are the consequences. I found, to my astonishment, that sexual abuse is not a thing of the past. On the contrary, it is an ever-present damage in modern societies, affecting all over the world. It is a heartbreaking reality that has serious consequences for those who suffer it. We must take urgent steps to prevent and combat it and to provide the necessary support to survivors. This is the only way to make our society a safer place for all. It is also a delicate issue, particularly when it happens among families, and there is no real magic solution to it. Many sexual abuse crimes go unreported precisely for that reason because it can destroy the future of the victim, the abuser, and the entire family.
I read a lot, too, about Asian immigration to the USA during the last century, particularly Japanese immigration. That is how I learned about WWII internment camps for Japanese families on the West Coast, such as Manzanar in California. It was so shocking to me that I decided to put it in the story. It was a powerful reminder of the racism and injustice that was faced by Japanese-Americans during the war, and of the strength and courage of those who survived the camps. I wanted to include it to show that even in the darkest of times, we can still find hope and resilience.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am working on the prequel which will give a perspective on the traumatic events happening in DEAR GOSEI. It goes back four generations of the Forrester Hattori family. The prequel will explore the family’s history and how they came to be where they are today. It will also provide more insight into the characters and their motivations. Finally, it will provide the necessary context to understand DEAR GOSEI. It is at a very early stage, so I can’t say when it will be finished.
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After a tragic teenage trauma, a young man fights to respect himself and embarks on a journey of self-discovery, facing his family to get the answers he has been searching for for the last 12 years.
John, a good-looking, and athletic 14-year-old from an affluent family in the suburbs of Los Angeles, is a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his uncle. Family interests will prevail above all else. The mother decides to keep the incident secret to avoid scandal and the bad reputation of the family. The boy’s life is forever changed by this tragic experience which destroys his hopes of becoming a competitive swimmer and leaves him feeling helpless and alone.
Over time, however, thanks to his resilient and tenacious spirit, he overcomes his obstacles and returns to his former academic and athletic success. John and his girlfriend Val, who seem to have a rock-solid relationship, become the most popular couple at school. In reality, he doesn’t live like his friends because of his tragic past, insecurity, sexual confusion, and toxic family. Although everything appears normal, neither the family behaves naturally nor does John shake off the weight of his past.
His uncle considers John his favorite nephew but ignores the harm inflicted on the boy. His mother wishes to keep the secret. His father and brother, devoutly religious, make him feel like an outsider at all times, dictating family life with an iron fist and a handful of obsolete rules.
To reclaim his self-respect, he will confront his past, demanding explanations from his uncle and mother, each guilty of having a great impact on his harrowing youth. In this journey of self-discovery, he will explore his priorities, career, friendships, and dysfunctional family. John knows that he must face the future head-on to be at peace with himself.
DEAR GOSEI is the debut novel of Jorge Bosch, born and educated in Barcelona, Spain, now a resident of Los Angeles, California. The book hopes to captivate the reader with its well-grounded and vividly portrayed characters, and participants in a story that will keep you interested until the end. The story takes place at two points in the protagonist’s life: firstly when John is molested as a young boy and then again when he finally decides to take charge of his life and confront his family 12 years later. Two central themes steer the narrative: sexual abuse, as real as life itself, and a controversial subject treated with sensitivity and empathy, and John’s personal development, as he seeks to deal with the truth about what happened to him. He struggles to find his place in the world by accepting his homosexuality and the person he loves. DEAR GOSEI, a romantic drama with touches of a psychological novel, fast-paced and minimalist, is set in the capital of Southern California and takes a critical view of the traditional and old-fashioned family it portrays.
LITERARY TITAN 