Hidden Shadow follows a down-on-her-luck psychologist who inherits a haunted speakeasy and unravels family secrets and uncovers the legend of the Blue Owl while navigating a web of deception and self-discovery. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The initial idea for the story was sparked by a dream I had in the middle of the night about ten years ago. I woke up from a nightmare with an eerie feeling and an echo of a mystery woman’s voice asking me a question. After a few days of this eerie feeling nagging at me, I felt compelled to write down more of the details. The idea of turning it into a story or possibly writing a novel intrigued me, even though it seemed so far out of reach at the time. I embedded some of the details of the dream in the novel and the story snowballed from there, taking on a life of its own. Even changing direction from its original intent. The inspiration was also driven by a love of mysteries and ghost stories, along with a fascination of psychology and human behavior, including my own. What started from an idea to create a story turned into a cathartic writing experience for me, working out some of my own hidden shadows.

Sophie Thomas is an intriguing and well-developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

The driving force behind the character Sophie Thomas was the goal to create a relatable character that persevered through challenging, seemingly overwhelming circumstances. I wanted to create a character that lived in the duality that her mind was her superpower and her enemy at the same time. It was up to her to choose how to view her circumstances and the actions she would take to guide her forward. Being a psychologist, as well as having a more creative aspect to her personality would allow her to have the education, training and yet still be able to think out of the box. I wanted to create a character that was unusually empathetic and compassionate enough to consider other character’s positions. This may have clouded her logic at times but overall, her compassion, empathy and unrealized intuition helped her navigate uncharted territory and create opportunities in the unexpected, leading her to complete her quest.

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

Two of the themes I thought were important to explore in this book are the power of the mind and the unexpected. The power of the mind can influence our thoughts, emotions and behavior. We are engineers of our own future and how we think, our perceptions and even the way we view our circumstances shapes the outcome. I wanted to explore how the characters viewed their circumstances and how their mindset determined the way they handled their consequences. Life is the greatest challenge — trying to remain calm in the midst of chaos while maneuvering through all the unexpected changes we are presented with along the journey. The goal in this book was to explore the unexpected throughout Sophie’s quest. She found herself in a new set of circumstances, surrounded by the unknown, searching for opportunity in the unexpected through connections, relationships, and the choices she made.

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

I am currently working on the sequel to Hidden Shadow. My goal is to create a series of four books that will follow Sophie and explore more of her intuition. Availability of the next book in the series is still to be determined but I will be sharing updates on my author Facebook page.

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Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/04/15/a-cathartic-writing-experience/