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When the present mirrors her past wounds, Laura begins to unravel
Mirrored Wounds
by Rebecca Christo
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Psychological Mystery
Laura's life was finally good. She'd freed herself from the clutches of an abusive partner, left an unrewarding career as an interior designer to follow her dreams of becoming a writer, and was finally happy. And things were only getting better. Her very first novel had struck a chord with readers and become a bestseller, but when the murder she'd described in its pages suddenly gets played out in real life, with her beloved husband as the victim, it is obvious to her that she looks guilty, despite having an alibi that would have been difficult to fake.
As the investigation proceeds, with
little or no progress being made, bizarre happenings in the
security-protected home she'd shared with her husband have her
questioning her own sanity, despite the reassurance of her therapist.
Could she have murdered the first man to ever make her feel truly
loved and secure and then just ... forgotten somehow? Surely not. But
as even more troubling events come to light, with no logical
explanation besides her own guilt, she finds herself questioning
everything she knows to be true ... including her own innocence.
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.
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.
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.
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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This looks very intriguing. Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing.
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