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.

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Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/08/25/residual-ptsd/