A fictional story with a memoir overlay as narrator Katie Blake reflects on life in small town America and the principles, influences, and big personalities she wants you to never forget.It’s Memorial Day weekend, 2009, and the town gossips have their shorts in a twist about a mysterious newcomer who wears tie-dye, colorful headbands, clunky necklaces, and rings on every finger. “Who installs a ceiling fan on a Victorian porch?” cries Ned Boomer, Woodburg’s grumpiest man, and the town gossips concur, “She must be a hippie, witch, or maybe worse . . . a socialist.”
Hell-bent on preventing a neighborhood blow-up, precocious, nine-year-old Katie Blake launches a covert investigation to gather the truth about the enigmatic Rose. But when she discovers a decades-old secret binding her, Rose, and bad-tempered Ned Boomer, her world takes a turn.
Penning a memoir sixteen years later, Katie is forced to reconsider whether the real proof of love was in preventing a neighborhood war or finding friendship and comfort among three unlikely grief-stricken souls who should never be forgotten.
We should write, above all, because we are writers, whether we call ourselves writers or not.” – Julia Cameron
Since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by diaries, journals, and old letters. It’s not that I’m a habitual journal keeper or letter writer—it’s that I’m curious and nosey! I want to draw the curtains, peek through the windows of people’s lives, hear their voices, and commune with them. Reading journals, diaries, and old letters allows me do that!
I think of these as a reflection archetype, sympathetic to the protagonist’s journey, or a sage who provides a systematic approach for making choices at the “grim crossroads.” These written reflections—whether a letter, journal, or diary—serve two roles in each of my novels. They are the protagonist’s or a secondary character’s unvarnished inner voice, sharing inner thoughts, emotions, and conflicts, and they are the catalyst that propels the protagonist forward into deeper thought and resolution.
So, it’s no surprise that letters play a subtle yet crucial role in the rising action, climax, and resolution in my current novel, A Proof of Love. And it’s one particular letter, written four decades earlier, that places the puzzle pieces together for the bond among the protagonist, Katie, and the secondary characters, Rose and Ned.
What inspired the letters in A Proof of Love? I asked myself the simple question:
What if the poignancy of Vietnam War letters and grief became the catalyst for written messages of gratitude that strengthened the relationship and elevated the happiness of the protagonist and secondary characters?
The answer to that question is in A Proof of Love.
A deep bow of gratitude to the little-known writers of journals, letters, and diaries whose words have inspired me.
Gram taught me to be independent, manage my anxieties, and have confidence in myself, showing me how to use my imagination to wiggle out of a jam or face the “grim crossroads” when confused or sad.
The first time I cried and lost it over a complicated computer problem, she said, “Be inventive, Katie! What can you do to calm down and think things through?”
We put our heads together to come up with ideas. Gram said she brewed herself a cup of tea when needing a break. Mom worked on crossword puzzles. Dad played solitaire. My one decadent delight was a FatBoy ice cream, and that’s how Gram and I hatched the plan of taking two ice cream sandwiches and hiding them under the frozen vegetables to create my private emergency stash.
“Close your eyes, breathe, take a bite, and replace the leftovers. No one will suspect anything. Our little secret. . .”
At heart, I am a storyteller who writes women’s fiction and stories of courage and discovery, showcasing the protagonist’s journey toward a more fulfilled self.
My passion is writing women’s fiction and exploring the human experience—how ordinary people tackle challenges, endure sorrow and betrayal, wrestle with doubt, and act on their aspirations to achieve flourishing lives.
My insight into the power of fiction came during a conference call in late 2017 with a group of fellow life coaches. “What would it be like to help women and men achieve a flourishing life through storytelling?” I asked them.
After that phone call, I got started answering that question. The result was my debut novel titled Blackhorse Road, a compelling story of womanhood and the power of choice, gratitude, and forgiveness, published July 21, 2020, by Coffee Cup Press, followed by Flower Girl (2022), Flawless Witness (2023), and now A Proof of Love (2026)
Before embracing writing fiction, I was the author of health informatics and leadership textbooks. Later, I put my leadership experience to use as a leadership coach, focusing on supporting others to fulfill their leadership and economic potential. My range of nonfiction is available on my Amazon Author Page.
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