What Lies We Keep follows a couple with a struggling marriage who separate and face the consequences of the choices they have both made. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I’ve worked in corporations for 15 years and, prior to that, in large law firms. I’ve seen people putting in so many hours they rarely see their families, people doing hurtful or devious things to others to get ahead, and people completely focused on obtaining a title whether they have the skills and qualifications for it or not. I’m sure the same holds for many work environments, be it politics, entertainment, or even non-profits. Choices like this often have consequences, although not always – as happens in Ted’s case – for the person perpetrating the negative behaviors. Corporations are familiar ground for me. I wanted to create a slice of what I’d seen and address how good people can be hurt or changed, their lives upended, by the misplaced priorities of others, by corporate culture, and so much more in today’s workplace.

Ted wants power and success and makes choices that he thinks will help him achieve this but at the cost of his family. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

In a world where everything from advertisements to social media to celebrities tell us what we should wear, read, or look like, as markers by which we can validate ourselves as being successful and part of the “in” crowd, corporations are no different. Titles, the number of people reporting to you, the budget you manage, and more become markers by which insecure people often define their worth. I wanted to develop a character who puts himself on this corporate path and, in the process, creates self-justifications to cover the reality that he’s lost focus as to what is truly valuable – truly irreplaceable – in his life. The result is one bad decision after another until he’s forced to face what he’s become and let the reader decide if he redeems himself in the end.

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

The book asks the central question “What happens when we embrace the life we think we should have, rather than the life we have?” Ted embraces the lure of importance and validation he sees in climbing the corporate ladder, rather than his life with Charlotte and Kelsey and the beautiful ranch in Montana that is part of his heritage. He creates justifications for his behavior, telling himself everything he does is for his family. In most of my writing, I gravitate toward themes of forgiveness, struggles with trusting others, and, in female characters primarily, finding one’s personal power through a journey fraught with struggles. Placing a marriage in the middle of Ted’s ill-fated corporate climb and Charlotte’s search for a sense of self-confidence felt like something many readers could find alignment with, whether they work with someone like Ted or are familiar with a relationship in which those involved have lost a sense of what their priorities should be.

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

I’m about halfway through a first draft of a book I would describe as character-driven contemporary fiction with elements of cybersecurity and magical realism. The latter is a first for me, but I’m having fun with it. The protagonist is a woman who refuses to accept the magic she’s inherited. The antagonist is a powerful stalker who wants her and her magic. In the middle is the ghost of her mother from whom her gift descends. At its heart, it will be a mother/daughter story that asks, “Is a mother’s love so strong it transcends even death?”

I’m not sure when it will be out. I’ve been keeping it under wraps as I work on it. I’m hoping to finish the first draft before the end of the year. Currently, I’ve had no conversations with publishers or agents about this project.

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Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/06/01/one-bad-decision-after-another/