fuonlyknew

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I sat back on my patio chair and closed my eyes towards the sun. The temperature had reached record breaking highs for September and I wanted to soak it all in. I took a sip of my iced coffee and dialed Cassie’s cell.

“Hey you!” She said in a cheery voice.

I smiled. Cassie was the manager of a new five- star hotel in the city and she was usually too busy to take personal calls, but she loved her job.  “Do you have a second to chat?”

“Surprisingly for a change, yes!” Cassie said. She worked non-stop, so our conversations were usually through text message.  It was nice to hear her voice.

“How are things Cas?” I asked.

“You, know.  Work keeps me so busy I barely have time for a social life, and when I do go out, all the guys I meet are assholes.” She said with a laugh. “How are you doing Laura?”

“So good.” I told her.  “Matt is back next week so I’m just enjoying this beautiful weather!”

Matt and I had been married for nine years now.  The day I left the city, he had met me at the new house to sign the lease and give me the keys. He was good-looking with a quirky smile.  I remember being incredibly self-conscience about the scar on my face, but he didn’t seem to notice.  He just chatted politely about the house and his renovation ideas like we had known each other for years.

“Awe, I’m so happy for you Laura” Cassie said, “we should all go away for the weekend soon.”

“I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to pry Amy away from her kids!” I said and we both laughed.

We had been planning a weekend away for a while but Amy and Sam had two kids now that were their entire lives.  After they got married, they had tried for years to get pregnant, and finally gave up on the idea. After they stopped trying, she got pregnant right away and had two boys back- to- back. Elliot is ten years old, and Oliver is nine and they are her everything. Amy was born to be a mother.

“I’m writing a book,” I told Cassie hesitantly “I’ve been working on it for a few months.”  This wasn’t the first time I had tried to write a book, and I was starting to feel like no one would take me seriously.  After I left the city, I had tried to write several books on interior design but I always ended up hating them and had never finished.  I enjoyed journaling everyday though, and I wanted something creative to focus on so a few months ago I had decided to start a fictional novel.

“Is it about……..what happened?” She asked hesitantly.  Paul Johnson was about to be released from jail.  Apparently, he had stabbed another inmate while serving his time and the judge had thrown the book at him.  During the trial, I had been contacted and asked to do a victim impact statement for court.  Now that he was finally being released, my therapist had suggested journaling my feelings about it as a coping mechanism but it was still difficult to think about even after all this time. The thought of him being out made me cringe.

“No, I’m still not ready to write about that nightmare,” I said “My book is fiction.” I told her, “you will love it because it’s about a woman who kills her husband.” I said giggling.

“Ha! I can’t wait to read it.” Cassie said, “Sounds fantastic!”

“I don’t know if it will be any good, but it will keep me busy while Matt is at work.” I chuckled.

I hadn’t worked since I left the city years ago, and Matt managed remote projects so he traveled for work.  He was often gone for weeks at a time. It was the only thing that I didn’t love about Matt. I hated being alone so much, but I was getting better at it. I no longer called him at work panicking if the house creaked or if I heard a noise outside.

When Matt asked me to marry him, I happily accepted the proposal and he immediately took a job working locally.  He insisted that if we were going to be a family, part of that meant him being home every night.  Initially, I loved the idea, but within a couple of months the spark disappeared from his eyes. He didn’t find his new job challenging and he often returned home at the end of the day in a bad mood. It didn’t take me long to see that he was unhappy with his new career choice, and I hated to see him sacrifice what he loved for our marriage.  The day I told him he should return to remote building projects I could see the relief in his eyes. I didn’t want him to ever have to choose between me and the career that he loved.

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Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?

I have always wanted to be a writer.  It has been my dream to write a book for as long as I can remember. However, I have also always had an exaggerated list of excuses as to why I didn’t write a book.  Raising my three amazing children, a stressful career, and a hectic lifestyle always on the go.  When Covid shut a lot of the world down, I was still an essential worker in the health care field working insane shifts. When I approached my husband about taking a year off to finally write a book now that the kids are adults, he was completely on board and Mirrored Wounds was born.  I’ve learned so much about my writing style and the “behind the scenes” stuff that goes along with having a book published.  I’m currently working on my second book and I’m excited to share it soon!

What are some of your pet peeves?

My biggest pet peeves are when people say: “I seen that”, rude people, huggers, people that judge you based on what you’re doing when they’ve never done it themselves – it’s easier to criticize than do.

What are you passionate about these days?

My second book Jill and Jack.  It’s a story about a woman named Jill who is dealing with transitioning her father into a nursing home and cleaning out his brownstone in Brooklyn.  She discovers clues and solves an old mystery that contains many twists and turns.

Do you have a favorite movie?

The Great Gatsby

Describe yourself in five words or less!

– Creative

– Witty

– Introverted

– Book worm

– Sincere

What book do you think everyone should read?

Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby

A day in the life of an author?

I always set up my next scene at the end of my day for the next day when I’m writing.  I find this really helpful because it gives me the evening to consider the scene and really give some thought to how the character will react to whatever is about to take place.  It also gives ne something to look forward to the next morning.  Generally, I’m awake before my alarm and settled with a coffee in my office by seven am.  (Sometimes much earlier) my days don’t always look the same, but the ones that I am able to dedicate to writing are my favorite.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

I think my biggest Kryptonite when writing is having to stop to answer the phone or the doorbell or any other mild inconvenience while I’m on a roll.

If you could tell your writing self anything, what would it be?

Just keep writing – don’t give up!  It’s too easy to shelf a book because life gets busy.  Carve time away everyday for your passion.

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 Avid dog lover and Author Rebecca Christo was born in Toronto,
Ontario, where she developed an early love of both reading and
writing. Of particular interest to her was creating a story with
emotionally mature content that was still entertaining enough to be
read for fun on a relaxing vacation. She hopes she’s succeeded with
her very first published novel: Mirrored Wounds.

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When she’s not travelling with her husband, Darcy Christo, Rebecca
enjoys spending time with him, her children Ali, Brittany and
Maxwell, and her puppies (Lucy and Winston) in Wasaga Beach, Ontario
where she currently lives.

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