Q.) What inspired you to write your book? 

A.) Writing a book has always been a goal of mine. But there were several people who encouraged me and inspired me to develop this passion of writing. People like Joni Eareckson Tada, Lysa TerKeurst, Katherine Wolf, and several others. 

It helped me to see others who are living with a disability and writing about their lives honestly and authentically. 

Q.) Did you have a time in your life that you couldn’t or wouldn’t accept the reality of your situation to the point you couldn’t function properly?

A.) Yes, I actually write about this time in my life where I really struggled with living with Dystonia. 

I do believe though, you can get tired of what you live with whatever it may be. It’s okay to be exhausted. It’s okay  if you’re not always feeling happy. 

Joy and sadness can coexist in this world. There’s no need to feel shame for being sad, frustrated, or angry about what you live with. But the question is do you want to stay in the anger, frustration, or sadness you face every day? You can. It’s your choice. 

We live in a fallen world where unfair and injustice things happen. But the Lord will never waste what He has allowed in your life or mine.

Q.) What was your favorite chapter to write?

.) My favorite chapter I wrote in Unstuck: Moving from Resentment to Resilience While Living with Dystonia was chapter two, which is about Noticing the Blessings God Has Given You.

Q.) When you began this journey of writing a book, was there a particular audience you had in mind to minister to or help? And now that the journey of writing it is complete, has that audience changed at all?

A.) Yes, I had a specific woman who I was writing to. I learned through the different writing courses to write and communicate to one person. This woman I wrote to lives with Dystonia and feels stuck in many different areas of her life. She believes in God but struggles to accept what he has allowed in her life. There were several statements I thought about this ideal reader. I named her Jess. Here are a few i told myself as I was writing. 

When Jess reads my book she’s going to feel understood. 

When Jess reads my book she’s going to feel known.

Jess is going to have a favorite chapter. 

Jess is going to have favorite statements I’ve written. 

Jess will repeat those statements on her hardest days. 

This doesn’t mean my book can’t help or inspire; others who aren’t living with a disability. 

I believe it will help people who of all ages. 

Q.) Have you kept a journal or diary that helped to recall the time of certain events/experiences & if so, did you ever think you’d use them for a book?

A.) I used 7 or so blog posts that had written years ago. Like when I recall having my deep brain stimulation surgeries back in 2016 in chapter 4, I took sections from what I wrote and used it in the chapter. I also used some of my journal entries when I talk about Miss Easier for Her and her siblings

But the majority of the stories I wrote were written in 2023 through the beginning of this year. 

Q.) What are you hoping God can do through your book? 

A.) Since releasing this book God has astounded me with how He is has moved and worked in people’s lives. 

The Lord tends to exceed my hopes and expectations. 

Q.) How did you choose this painting for the cover? 

A.) I included it with several other book cover ideas. I sent it to my editor and she sent it to Kent Jensen who designed the cover and interior design of my book. 

I wanted my book cover to have movement in it and grab the reader’s attention. My cover is one of my abstract paintings I painted in 2016. When I was painting it back then I didn’t know what I’d ever use it for. But I loved how the layers of paint blended together.   When I first saw my book cover I couldn’t stop smiling!  When I revealed my bright cover on social media, my friends commented on how beautiful and moving it was.  They entitled the painting “Hope.”

Q.) How did you find your  editor and publisher? And how do you feel the editor you chose contributed to the goals you had in mind for your book? 

A.) I met Nika Maples at a writing conference in 2019. At the time I didn’t know she had a publishing company; or was a developmental editor. She spoke at the writing conference. She started the Anointed Writers group on Facebook in the summer of 2020. And I became a part of that group. What an amazing group of Christian writers it is. I write about this in my book, that I did Christian based life coaching with her every single Monday from 2021 to April of 2022. 

By February 2023 I decided to hire Neaka  edit and publish my book and in April of that same year, I began working on writing it in earnest while meeting with Nika.

A developmental editor is someone who takes what you write and makes sure the chapters flow. Nika is a great example of perseverance I learned from during this process of writing a book. 

Q.) How did you come up with the title? 

A.) It was in the fall of 2021, when the concept of Unstuck started to take shape. Unstuck is an acronym I created. My book coach and I  tweaked it and polished it and each statement became the chapter title of the book. 

Chapter 1 is Untangle the Patterns of Blame. 

Chapter 2 is Notice the Blessings God Has Given You. 

Chapter 3 is Speak Truth to Yourself. 

Chapter 4 is Transform Your Thinking.

Chapter 5 is Understanding God is with Me. 

Chapter 6 is Crush Comparison and Complaining. 

And lastly chapter 7 is Know Your Purpose. 

 

Q.) Why did I decide to use both the KJV and NKJV in my book?

A.) I didn’t want to rob the potential audience of the message of my book because of my personal preference of the Bible translation.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. I plan on posting more on here soon! 

Until then my friend, remember you are resilient!