Wednesday, April 6, 2022

From PSW to Published Author

Sue Adair, a healthcare technician with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) – Brant/Haldimand, is also a published author. Out of the Darkness, her first novel, was born out of her darkest days.

Guide Magazine

Many years ago, Sue lost a young family member, and when this happened, she lost the desire to write. A few years back, Sue’s life hit rock bottom, and during this time she went through terrible bouts of insomnia.

During one of her sleepless nights, Sue switched on the TV and caught a marathon of the hit show Sons of Anarchy. The rest is history.

“Two characters on that show caught my eye,” she says. “Rane Quinn and Happy Lowman. They just came on the screen and suddenly I had to know more about them. I ended up bingeing the show and became so intrigued by these characters. I wanted to know everything about them, their backstories, where they’d be today. And then this story started playing out in my head.”

The story stayed with Sue for about two years before she decided to put pen to paper. She drew heavily on her own experience working as a personal support worker (PSW), making Cassandra, her protagonist, a PSW as well.

“There needed to be real stuff in the book,” she says. “I wanted Cassandra to be real, so I gave her an occupation I know very well. Also, all of the characters’ names in the book are people I know in real life.”

But not everything in the book is true to life. “I’ve never been kidnapped or won a million dollars, nor have I been taken in by a biker gang,” she laughs, referring to pivotal plot points in her book.

At just over 300 pages, it took Sue about six months to write the first draft of this edge-of-your-seat thriller. Sue relied on a retired schoolteacher friend to help edit the book before finding a publishing company in Manitoba, FriesenPress, to help her self-publish.

Even though the book was published in April 2021, Sue just finished writing the sequel, Mended Hearts.

“It’s been such a fun ride,” she says. “If anyone else out there is thinking about writing a book, just take your time. And take it one story at a time. While I was writing Out of the Darkness, I was plotting out Mended Hearts, but that just made me confused. Just do one thing at a time, and when it comes to your story, listen to your gut—and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t!”

Out of the Darkness is available to purchase on amazon.ca in hardcover, paperback, and e-book format.

From PSW to Published Author

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