Laura Garrett: The IAN Interview

Laura Garrett

 Laura Garrett, author of What Happens After "Happily Ever After?" and Creating Your Own Fairytale Life has written both books based on her professional and personal experiences with relationships and life skills. She is a licensed professional counselor who graduated with a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver and a second master’s degree in Adult Education and Training from Colorado State University. She is currently in private practice with over 20 years’ experience in relationship, mental health, and addiction issues. 

Laura has worked with hundreds of individuals and couples who struggle with relationships, self-esteem and other life skills. She knows what it takes to acquire and master the tools needed for the purpose of having a happy and fulfilling life. Laura is eager to share this insightful knowledge with her readers. 

IAN: Please tell us about your latest book.

What Happens After “Happily Ever After”? Tools to Help You Build and Maintain a Healthy Relationship.

L.G.: As we grow up, we learn about fairytale romances where a prince and princess fall madly in love and live “happily ever after.” But what happens after the “happily ever after” when the romance fades and real life gets in the way?

In What Happens After “Happily Ever After?” we meet a Fair Maiden who is at a crossroad in her marriage with her man. She sets out on a journey of self-exploration and a quest to unlock the secrets to a happy and fulfilling relationship. It is here she happens upon a Wise Fairy Guardian who offers a relationship skills seminar for all the land. With the help of the Wise Fairy Guardian, the Fair Maiden learns about the realities of being in a relationship, the work that it takes to maintain a healthy relationship and the skills that are needed to ensure its success.

This book provides you with tools to help you build and sustain a healthy relationship with a significant other. The book is an easy, fun read, offering 6 important relationship skills that are essential to the success of your relationship, to include building a relationship with yourself. 

IAN: Is What Happens After “Happily Ever After”? published in print, e-book or both?

L.G.: Both

IAN: Where can we go to buy your book?

L.G. Here https://www.createspace.com/5020576

IAN: What inspired you to write What Happens After “Happily Ever After”?

L.G.: I have been a mental health therapist for over 20 years working with hundreds of individuals and couples who struggle with relationship issues. I wrote this book because I strongly believe that everyone deserves to be in a happy, healthy, long lasting relationship and I believe they exist, with some work and know how. Having both personal and professional experience with relationships I felt passionate about sharing the tools and skills that I offer my clients with others who may not otherwise seek counseling. The skills presented in this book use a cognitive behavioral approach that has been proven effective in the improvement of relationships.

IAN: Did you use an outline or do you just wing the first draft?

L.G.: While I was pursuing my second Master’s degree in Education I took a class on program development. I developed a relationship skills training that I intended to present in a 9 hour workshop. While reviewing the outline I decided to use that as the template for my book which ended up writing itself.

IAN: What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

L.G.: It is my greatest hope that the information presented in this book will help readers to re-evaluate their expectations in relationships and more importantly of their partners. We are all just human trying to live our lives the best we can with the hopes of finding a compatible partner to share it with. There are no super heroes or fairytales and if we can approach relationships for what they really are then perhaps we can alleviate the unnecessary broken hearts and love turning to hate that so often result from entering relationships for the wrong reasons.

IAN: How is your book different from others in your genre?

L.G.: What Happens After Happily Ever After is written as a fairytale narrative to make it fun and easy the learn the five necessary skills for building and maintain a healthy relationship with a significant other.

IAN: What books have most influenced your life most? 

L.G.: Don Miguel Ruiz and Eckhart Tolle’s books have been most influential, particularly The Mastery of Love and The Power of Now. Both books have inspired me to live in the present moment and approach others with the same love and compassion that I would have for myself.

IAN: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

L.G.: I would definitely have to say my editor. It was her great sense of humor, love and support, in addition to her invaluable input that made the writing of both books possible. It also made the growing pains of this project worthwhile.

IAN: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

L.G.: I never really considered myself a writer; I have always been a therapist first and foremost.  Therefore my biggest challenge was wrapping my head around the idea of being an author. As for my writing, the main challenge was ensuring the concepts in my head were thoroughly delivered in concise and understandable way.

IAN: Who designed the cover?

L.G.: Originally Stephani an artist from Milan, whom I found at 99 designs, designed the first cover of my book, I have recently changed it to the second cover as it was more appropriate for my target market and it better depicts the message and content of the book. My editor designed both covers.

IAN: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

L.G.: The hardest part of writing this book was the introduction. I had the content but had no idea how to deliver it in a creative way. So I started the book with “Once Upon A Time”, just to get started, the plan was to write the content and then change the introduction, however, once I started to write, as mentioned earlier, the book just wrote itself, so I left beginning as it was.

IAN: Tell us about your next book or a work in progress. Is it a sequel or a stand-alone?

L.G.: The second and final book, Creating Your Own Fairytale Life, Seven Keys to Your Happily Ever After has been released, June 2015. This book is the prequel to What Happens After “Happily Ever After”?  It is the book that teaches you how to have a relationship with yourself prior to being in a relationship with someone else. In this prequel, the Prince, under pressure from his parents to marry and rule the Kingdom, takes to the forest on a quest for self-discovery.  He meets a helpful Wizard, who enlightens him about the seven most important skills needed to succeed in life and to overcome any obstacle to peace, success, and Happily Ever After.

By using the 7 fundamental life management skills offered in this book you will learn to build your self-esteem, manage your stress and anger, learn to identify your feelings so you can communicate them and resolve conflicts more effectively, in addition to learning cognitive reframing skills.  Once practiced and mastered, you will be empowered to trust yourself, have confidence in your decisions and embrace you very own fairytale life.  This book is available on Amazon and through this link:  http://www.createspace.com/5472243

Lori L. Otto: The IAN Interview

After an exhilarating, collaborative writing project, Lori L. Otto had an idea for an original novel. The characters and their rich stories would keep her awake at night, and even with barely any sleep, she felt more alert and alive than she had in years. Her days off were spent in cafés, sandwich shops and bookstores, feverishly trying to get all of the details out of her head and onto paper.

In early 2009, after a few months of writing, Lori decided to tweak one chapter from the novel-in-progress and enter it as a short story in the 78th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition, where she was awarded Honorable Mention in the Mainstream/Literary Short Story category.  This recognition encouraged Lori to pursue her true dream to become a writer.

Two years later, she completed three novels in the Emi Lost & Found series.  Anxious to deliver her stories to the world, she decided to self publish all three books in spring of 2011.

IAN. Please tell us about your latest book:

LO. Originally, the three books in the Emi Lost & Found series were going to be one book.  When the stories of Nate, Emi and Jack simply couldn't be confined to the pages of one novel, I decided to break the book up into three smaller (but still quite large) novels.

Lost and Found (book one): When artist Nate Wilson falls in love, he falls hard. The problem is, he’s only been in love once, and the girl of his affections is his best friend, Emi Hennigan. In high school, the two bonded over painful breakups, and swore off a relationship to save their friendship. Thirteen years later, Nate has had more than his share of emotionally-unfulfilling, sexual relationships with beautiful women to distract himself from his true romantic feelings.

When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity takes Nate away from his friend and his comfortable lifestyle, he is forced to reflect on the distinct void that Emi’s absence leaves in his life. To Nate’s surprise, Emi has a similar experience; but as the friends embark upon their journey toward happiness together, destiny reveals other plans for Emi.

Time Stands Still (book two): Depression threatens all the relationships in Emi Hennigan’s life after a near death experience leaves her injured and feeling alone in a world she barely recognizes. On a night that is supposed to signify a new beginning in her life, she loses everything she loves.

It’s on that very same night, though, that Emi has a chance meeting with a man from her past who has the power to bring her more happiness than she’s ever known. Jack Holland is on a mission to rescue Emi from the pain that’s been consuming her, but his patience is tested as Emi holds on to the memory of the only man she’s ever truly loved.

Never Look Back (book three): Jack Holland finally has everything a man could want. After a lengthy courtship that has required persistence and self-restraint, Emi Hennigan– the woman Jack has been fantasizing about since college– has fallen in love with him. Together, the couple sets out to create their own happily-ever-after.

It’s only when Emi delivers some unwelcome news that Jack begins to question everything about the woman he loves. It will take a considerable amount of understanding and sacrifice for Jack to accept the future Emi can offer him– a future he never imagined for himself.

IAN. How long did it take to write the books?

LO. It took about two and a half years to write all three books in the Emi Lost & Found series.

IAN. What inspired you to write the books?

LO. I read another popular series and I felt like I could do a better job at writing a love story that was realistic, relatable and romantic.

IAN. Talk about the writing process. Do you write at night or in the morning?

LO. I write whenever I can.  Over the past few years, I've had crazy work hours, with shifts starting as early as 7am and going until midnight.  I try to carve out a little time every day to write and/or brainstorm.  On my days off, I like to start my day with a muffin at a local cafe and a few hundred words.

IAN. Did you use an outline or do you just wing the first draft?

LO. For the Emi Lost & Found series, I had a detailed outline that I stuck to for the first draft.  When that was complete, I filled in plot holes and wrote some new scenes to better develop the characters.  The process has become more fluid, though.  With the series I'm working on now, I have a general idea of the beginning and end and a few high/low points along the way, but the characters have derailed me plenty of times. 

IAN. How are your books different from others in your genre?

LO. Well… they're different in that they really don't have a genre.  Are the books romantic dramas or dramatic romances?  The books were meant to be women's fiction, but some of the more adult situations make them encroach on the romance genre a bit… but I wouldn't consider them true romance novels.  They're simply romantic fiction.

IAN. Is your book published in print, e-book or both?

LO. It's published in print by CreateSpace, and in ebook format pretty much everywhere ebooks are sold.

IAN. What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your books?

LO. I want the readers to have an emotional connection to the characters.  I want readers to care about them at the end of the day.  I want them to see these people as friends.

IAN. Where can we go to buy your books?

LO. Amazon.com, iBooks, the Nook store, the Amazon Kindle store, Smashwords, Sony eReader

IAN. Tell us about your next book or a work in progress. Is it a sequel or a stand alone?

LO. I'm working on four other books right now.  Three of them are somewhat of a sequel to the Emi Lost & Found series.  The second series follows a character the reader meets in the first series, and sort of mirrors the same format as Emi Lost & Found.  The fourth book is my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel.  It will be more of a young adult, coming of age story.  I've been winging this one, but I really am pleased with the progress.  I will probably continue writing this novel until it's finished, and then go back to the second series.

IAN. Any other links or info you'd like to share?
LO. http://www.loriotto.com

Lost and Found: Book One of the Emi Lost & Found series by Lori L. Otto

402 pages

Women's Fiction

  

Nine years is a long time to hold on to a feeling– one that I felt for only ten seconds of my life. Logically, I know it was twenty seconds at most, but the impact it left made it seem like forever.  If I allow myself to think about that night– and I never do– I can remember how the air in my lungs felt completely effervescent, how my chest tightened around my racing heart, how my skin seemed to feel everything around me.  Hands.  Lips.  A cool, fall breeze.  I even thought I could feel the stars sparkling above, prickly and scintillating in their luminescence. 

Nine years is a long time, but with a feeling like that, I doubt I’ll ever let it go completely.  It’s a shame I don’t have a good sense of what actually caused that feeling, but my imagination has filled in the blanks left by the drunken oblivion of that night.

I chose stupid ways to rebel in college.  Of course, drinking was the norm for most students at school, but my actions back then lingered more toward self-centered and inconsiderate.  Had I known I’d see Nate at any time that evening, I never would have consumed as much as I had.  To this day, I mostly drink in moderation when we’re around one another.  A better friend may give up drinking entirely, but even he has a little alcohol every now and then.  And he doesn’t have any friends better than me, nor do I have any that rank above him. 

As I wait for Nate, hurriedly getting ready for a night out with his current love interest, I wonder if he makes all women feel the way I felt for those ten glorious seconds.  That would explain the long string of girlfriends.  But maybe that feeling was fleeting.  Maybe it was only meant to happen once, to stir up those emotions and questions for those brief seconds.  Maybe other women acted on that fleeting feeling... and then maybe it just resulted in fleeting relationships.  After all, they’re just emotions.  By nature, emotions are not stable, nor are they reliable.  They come and go.  Just as his girlfriends do.  In quick succession.  They come and they go...

Does it make any sense at all to continue to search for that feeling?  I shrug my shoulders as if I’m answering my own question, having my own conversation with myself.  Whether it makes sense or not, I’m on a mission to find it again someday, with someone.  I just hope that my pursuit doesn’t keep me from seeing things in the periphery.  From seeing that what I’m looking for is actually right in front of me.

“Well?” he asks, my eyes focusing on what I would call a blouse on any day.  It almost doesn’t compute.  Men don’t wear blouses.  Nate does not wear blouses.

“You’re not wearing that.”  I can’t contain my laugh.

“What?” he asks, lingering in the doorway to his bathroom.

“That... that... is it a shirt?” I ask, cringing at the light pink button down with... are those ruffles?  I take a few steps closer to confirm the strange quarter-inch of fabric peeking out from under the center hem.

“Yes, it’s a shirt,” Nate argues, his voice not as confident as it was only seconds before.

“Who picked that out?”

“My personal shopper,” he defends his clothing choice.  “It’s Italian... or French, I don’t remember.”

“Wait, your personal shopper.  Is she a jilted lover?” I ask him.

“She wasn’t at the time,” he confesses as he takes a long, hard look at himself in the mirror.

“Well, I think it’s safe to say she didn’t want any other women hitting on her man.  You can’t wear that.  Seriously.  I don’t know what kind of man would wear that sort of thing.  Gay men have much better taste.  And straight men would run screaming.  Wait, why aren’t you running, or screaming?”

“Damn it, Emi,” he says, frustrated, practically tearing the monstrosity of a shirt off of his body.  “I don’t have time for this.”  He walks quickly back to his closet and takes a look inside, stretching his back subtly.  I hate it when he walks around without his shirt, and decide to tell him so.

“I hate it when you walk around without your shirt on.  It... bothers me.”  And yet, I can’t tear my eyes away.

“I know you do.  But did you not just tell me ten seconds ago that I couldn’t wear that shirt?  You asked for it.”  He throws the pink thing at me playfully.  “What should I wear then?”

“A regular American dress shirt, Nate.  Don’t you have anything like that?”  I push aside t-shirt after t-shirt in his closet until I find a pressed white button-down shirt, still in the plastic bag from the cleaners.  “Here.”

He takes it from me and walks back into the bathroom.  “You need a belt, too,” I remind him, catching a glimpse of the waistband of his light blue boxers underneath his loose-fitting jeans.  “And you’ll probably want to wear an undershirt with that,” I yell to him.

“What else, Mom?” he teases me, crossing the room to his dresser and pulling out a thin, white t-shirt.  “And I’m not wearing jeans, don’t worry.  I’m wearing that.”  He points to a hanger holding a pair of black pants and a matching jacket.

“Wow, slacks and a coat.  Looks suspiciously like a suit...  This must be getting serious.  Did you get her a corsage, too?”

“Shut it,” he warns me with a smile.  “Well at least my wardrobe choices are keeping your mind off of... what’s his name?”

“David,” I remind him for the twentieth time, watching him pull on the tight undershirt as he goes back into the bathroom.