A Bigger Life

Readers often ask where I come up with the ideas for my books. There's a story behind the birth of every one, and my latest release is no exception.

Two years ago, my daughter received a great hairstyle from a new stylist. It was the desire for a new look that landed me, a few weeks later, in that same stylist's chair. Little did I know when I arrived for my appointment that I was about to meet a young man who would shake up both my writing career and my life.

Paul was twenty-seven years old. He was tall and lean, with arms adorned with colorful tatoos and his head shaved shiny clean. Honestly, I, a middle-aged, mainstream wife and mom, was a bit put off by his appearance. But over the next couple of hours, while he combed, snipped, and colored, Paul told me bits and pieces of his poignant story. His life's journey had so far been punctated with loss after loss, including the very recent death of the mother of his three-year- old son. I was totally captivated and moved by Paul's story. His grief and pain were raw and fresh, yet he did not expect nor desire sympathy or pity.

Leaving the salon, I could not get Paul's voice, story, and spirit out of my head. And when I got home, I could not get him down on paper fast enough. While not in any way a factual account of his life, Paul sparked the idea for A Bigger Life. It is a story told in the first person voice of a straight, male hairstylist who is a single dad, living and working in a small Texas town.

Writing A Bigger Life was a slightly risky departure from my past novels of gentle fiction. Readers of my previous works may be surprised at the style, for this story is PG gritty and unflinchingly real. It has a hopeful ending rather than a happy one.

I hope I've peaked your interest in reading A Bigger Life. It is available in bookstores and online. If you've read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

And at a later date, I'll tell you a bit more about my unlikely friend Paul.