Rescued by a Highlander

 Wild Women Authors features Susan Payne and Rescued by a Highlander a recent release out of the Wild Rose Press. First up is heroine, Lady Jillian, daughter of the Earl of Crawford.

 Good morning, Jillian. Let’s start with where you are from. “I was born in Scotland though my parents are both English. My mother is related to the King, so my father was given the Scottish title as a wedding present. Actually, the gift was to ensure my mother was kept well away from the English court and disrupting the King’s business.”

What did you think the first time you saw Laird Gawain Macgregor? “I was exhausted from days of traveling and worried over my father’s declining health. We had just settled for the night when this booming voice came out of the darkness. I could only stand and fight."

What was your second thought? “That I was going to fail and the assassins my cousin sent would kill my father. I could only fight.  I didn’t see another way.”

Did you feel it was love at first sight? “The man facing me was my enemy not my savior.  I had no idea who the Laird was at that point.  Love did come, but slowly.  It snuck up on me.  Gawain says he always knew his own mind.”

What do you like most about Laird Macgregor? “He is extremely strong – physically and mentally. He made a plan to save my father and myself along with my father’s legacy within a few minutes.  By the time we reached the castle, he had everything thought out.  Not that becoming the son-in-law to the Earl of Trowbridge wasn’t a smart move for his clan.  It certainly was.  It brought him closer to the king and that is always a prestigious move.  It didn’t take Gawain long to figure out things to his benefit.”

How would you describe Laird Macgregor? “He’s handsome and strong, and intelligent. He has strong family and clan ties. He saw an opportunity and he took it.  He also wanted to help my father keep control of his lands.  I felt I was just a way for him to do so.”

How would Laird Macgregor describe you? “I’m sure Gawain was surprised to find me a female.  When we first began combat, I was giving as good as I got, but my weakened physical condition made me less able to keep a fight going. My cousin thought I was unwomanly.  Gawain finds beauty in my wearing of men’s clothes and my ability to hunt and fight if I have a need to protect myself or my clan – our clan.”

What made you choose to be trained as a knight? “I was my parents’ only child. Protecting an out-lying keep like Crawford Castle isn’t easy.  There won’t be help from England and we were too small to keep a large number of soldiers, let alone knights most of whom want to belong to wealthier landowners or closer to large cities.  They want combat and we were very peaceful up until recently when my cousin came to usurp my father’s title.”

What is your biggest fear? “That our quiet way of life will be disturbed by the unsettled happenings in the south. By the English king.”

How do you relax? “I never learned needlepoint or tapestry, none of the womanly endeavors I should know how to do.  I enjoy swordplay with the younger men training to become knights. Of course, cataloging and drawing artifacts unearthed from the archeological sites keeps me busy as well as raising my son.”

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? “To use my smaller stature to my benefit in a fight. I may not have as much strength behind my swings, but I can move quicker than a large man.”

Thank you, Jillian for spending time with us. Now we’d like to chat with Susan.

 What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? “I watched all the old movies when I was a child. I mean movies on television which were in black and white.  I learned about the various sword fights from those, I guess.  My love of a knight, also.”

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? “My interest in anthropological artifacts.  My husband and I would go through abandoned dump sites and collect old bottles.  Interesting to know what people used and bought hundreds of years ago. I don’t have the patience to do actual dig-site work, but I take advantage of other’s work in museums.”

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? “Like most writers, too many.  And every day the list grows. I read mostly historical and read about 10 a month.”

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? “Texas Ranger and the Professor was most recently released.  A Regency Christmas Anthology will be released on November 4^th followed by Three Sisters on November 16^th and Blind Faith on December 9^th. I already have two shorter stories ready for 2021 plus a full novel, so far.

 Susan brought an excerpt for us:

          On the ride back to the fortress, Gawain had not turned around, knowing what the young woman looked like up in the saddle. Her legs splayed to both sides of the animal covered with the tight knit hose most men wore while riding through woods, the chainmail covering her more interesting attributes. The short length of dark blond hair emphasized her chin and jaw line which spelt beauty to his eyes. Her mouth, though most often held in a mutinous frown, appeared kissable.

          In fact, Gawain wanted to kiss it into a soft poutiness, make those green eyes spark with desire not hatred. Even though he may have to sleep with one eye open to prevent the little vixen from piercing him with his own dagger in the night, he would think the experience of bedding her well worth the danger. He knew a smile settled on his features as he imagined her squirming under him once they were in his bed. Such thoughts had made for an uncomfortable ride home.

 To purchase Rescued by a Highlander, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Rescued-Highlander-Susan-Payne/dp/1509233113

To learn more about Susan Payne and the stories she creates, go to:

Website:  http://www.authorsusanpayne.com

 URL:  http://www.amazon.Susan-Payne

 Tweet:  @SUSANREID460

 Email:  authorspayne@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan Leigh Furlong and Steadfast Will I Be

 Wild Women Authors welcomes Susan Leigh Furlong and Steadfast Will I Be, a June 2019 historical release by The Wild Rose Press.

A bit about our feature novel:

As long as she lives, Suannoch will carry half of the shilling she and Robin split when they pledged their devotion to each other. Even after an unwanted betrothal is forced on her, their unwavering love is stronger than anything trying to keep them apart. After Robin’s arrest, Suannoch vows to rescue him, or bring his body back, because where they have chosen, steadfast will they be.

Please tell us a bit about yourself, Suannoch. “First, ye will have to excuse my Scottish accent sprinkled with Gaelic. I dinna (don’t) ken (know) any other way to talk. I was born along the side of the road in the Scottish Highlands to my màthair (mother), Thalassa, as she fled a dangerous stalker. The two of us, rescued by Laird Bretane of Makgullane, lived quietly on the estate, but my mother, a gifted healer was also clear-eyed (a fortune teller), and often shunned by people who feared she could be a clootie (a devil). I grew up lonely until I met Robin, another of Bretane’s adopted strays. I kenned(knew) right away I was in love with Robin, but it took him a bit longer to figure out that he felt the same way about me.”

Tell us a little about Robin. “Robin was born on the English side of the border and was adopted by Bretane after his deranged athair (father) murdered his entire family. Bretane found him sitting in the rain, cold and hungry, by the side of the road when he was fourteen and brought him home to Makgullane. Because he was English, others on the estate often rejected him, which made us soul mates. We split a shilling, each of us taking half, first in friendship and later in love, and pledged our love over the first verse of a Findern poem. “Where I have chosen, steadfast will I be, never to repent in will, thought or deed.”

What kind of a man was Robin? “Robin was tall, dark-haired, very braw (handsome), and strong from years of work on the estate. He had a steady, fair-minded personality, and eventually he became the reeve and manager of Makgullane. All the men respected him, and all the women wanted to sleep with him. I was especially jealous of Glyniss who was bold about what she wanted. Robin refused to give up his English accent, just to spite the ones who had tormented him as a lad.”

When did Robin realize he was in love with you? “Robin appreciated my strong, independent spirit. It’s what made us such great friends, but when I was twenty-two, and Robin still had not spoken for me, I was forced to accept an unwanted betrothal. Robin’s true feelings came to the surface when he realized I would be gone from his life after I married. That was when we renewed our pledge to each other in love.”

We understand life was not always easy in Scotland in the 1500’s. “Thieves and robbers, called reivers, ran unchecked along the border, amassing enormous amounts of money, power, and riches while murdering anyone who got in their way. A smaller band of these outlaws, led by a man with a red stain on his face named Keenan, terrorized Makgullane and neighboring estates. When Robin defied Keenan, they beat him nearly to death. Thinking they had killed him, they attacked Makgullane. Now recovered, Robin and I fought side-by-side to defend our home and save our own lives. During the fight, Robin killed five of them and was later arrested for murder.”

Wasn’t this self-defense? “This happened during the reign of King James V who had been held prisoner by his step-father from the age of seventeen months until age sixteen years when he escaped and attempted to take back his throne. One of his objectives was to gain control of these reivers who acted with impunity, the most powerful of them being Johnnie Armstrong. As part of his campaign to establish his authority, young King James declared that all killings would be considered murder and the perpetrator hanged, so that the reivers couldna (could not) say they acted in self-defense. Robin was arrested on the false testimony of two survivors of Keenan’s gang and taken away to be hanged.”

What did you do then? “With two young lads from the estate, Hugh and Fergus, whom Robin had befriended, we followed the jail wagon for three days to plead with King James for Robin’s release. The young king couldna (could not) release Robin without losing face, so he ordered everyone in the kirkyard (church yard) hanged. This included Robin, Johnnie Armstrong, and twenty-four of his men, all sentenced to hang  without a trial, and ordered buried in a mass grave. The lads and I went home alone, grief-stricken.”

Suannoch, if you could change something in your life what would it be? “I wouldna (would not) change a thing. I loved living at Makgullane, and I wouldna (would not) leave my mother for anything. She taught me to be strong in mind and body, how to defend myself, and how to speak up for what was right. Bretane was like an athair (father) to me. Of course, I wouldna (would not) have missed kenning (knowing) and loving Robin.

Now it’s time for Susan to answer questions.

What influenced you to become a writer of historical romance? “I have always been fascinated by how people lived years ago. They were so busy living their lives, they didn’t know they were living history. If I could have dinner with someone from the past, I would choose an ordinary person, such as a pioneer woman who rode on a wagon train to California, or a runaway slave prior to the Civil War, or the butler for King Henry VIII.  The past must be escapism for me.”

Do your books require a lot of research? “Yes, they do. I love to do the research even though old books and records make me sneeze. People who come to the museum always know if I am working there! I try to be as accurate as I can and build my fictional story around actual events. Steadfast Will I Be is created around the reign of James V. Years ago I read something about James V being held prisoner by his step-father, and it sparked an idea in me that I let percolate until Suannoch and Robin came to life in my mind.”

What things in your real life do you bring to your writing? “Every character I create has a loving support system, be it a biological family or a created one. I may not intentionally set out to build such a family, but one always seems to factor itself in. In Steadfast Will I Be, Bretane adopts Robin, and Robin in turn takes an orphan named Hugh and a fatherless lad called Fergus under his wing. Robin and Suannoch eventually adopt both of them.”

What books are in your TBR pile? “Right now I have twelve books waiting on my Kindle – That’s nothing compared to my sister who has fifty – It must be a family trait! When I see a book online that looks interesting, I download it, and it gets in line. I read in all sorts of genres, but historical books speak to me the loudest. I often choose first books by new authors because I enjoy seeing what others write about. I also have the last two books of the twelve book Poldark series to finish.”

Tell us about your publisher. “A freelance editor recommended I send Steadfast Will I Be to The Wild Rose Press, and it was accepted right away. My editor is Eilidh MacKenzie, who specializes in Scottish novels, and she has been a godsend for getting the accents correct. She encourages me and does an excellent job of getting my book ready for official publication. I also like the support Wild Rose gives in answering any and all questions, no matter how trivial, in offering workshops on a variety of topics, and putting out a quality book.”

Anything on the horizon? “My second book, By Promise Made, due for release on September 23, features a grown up Hugh, the orphaned child from Steadfast. The historical setting of By Promise Made is when four-year-old Queen Mary of Scotland is betrothed to the nine-year-old king of England. That leads to a losing war, so the Scottish government betroths her to the five-year-old Dauphin of France. I inserted Hugh and Katherine, the queen’s royal guardian, into that true story. All this true history falls under the category of ‘You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!’ ”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Texas Ranger and the Professor

                             Happenstance drew them together – love kept them there.

Wild Women Authors welcomes author Susan Payne who celebrates the recent release of The Texas Ranger and the Professor out of the Wild Rose Press. With Susan is Jessie Reeves, PhD, who will go first.

Good morning, Dr. Reeves. Let’s start with a little about your background, starting with where you’re from. “I take pride in the fact I was born in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  My parents were trying to make it back to American shores before I arrived but didn’t quite make it.  I call the world my home and it’s how I found Ranger Edwards.”

What did you think the first time you saw Benjamin Edwards? “I wasn’t very impressed because he seemed to view me as a primping female who should be sitting in the shade and fanning myself, drinking iced tea or something.  He irritated me to no end.”   

What was your second thought? “That I was going to spend the next

Several weeks arguing with him to let me do my job. I had to admit he

was attractive – I mean, he is very attractive. I even find his hoarse sort

of voice attractive.”

Was it love at first sight? “Heavens, no.  I was there to do a job – not find a man.  I don’t have time in my life for a man let alone a husband.”

Now that you know him better, what do you like most about Benjamin? “That he is extremely dedicated.  He took on the Ranger position in respect to his father, but he always wanted to be in law.  He has a good mind for politics and the law.

How would you describe him? “Not a typical Ranger.  He is very well educated, strong family ties, and wants to help the Native American tribes.  Perhaps because his mother had been held captive for years or that he has a half-Comanche brother from that captivity.  It is a very strong family even if they do sometimes find themselves on the opposite sides of a matter.

How would Benjamin describe you? “I’m sure pig-headed would be right up there along with tenacious.  I feel I need to do what I’m doing.  I need to study these various peoples and their way of life before it is gone from us completely. As a nation we haven’t done a very good job of saving animals or tribes for the future.  We want everyone to fall into these tight little categories.  We try to force them to follow our guidelines or perish.  It isn’t good.  There should be room for everyone.”

What made you choose anthropology for a profession? “My parents raised me among various tribes and I learned from them that each had good and bad methods of living.  That doesn’t mean that the white men from Europe have the best way or any others are poor.  We need to meld ourselves just as Americans meld with other countries customs and politics.”

What is your biggest fear? “That the majority will wipe out the minorities without taking into consideration all the good they may be obliterating.  We need to accept people for who they are.”

How do you relax? “I talk with my family.  By that I mean my husband’s parents and his brother, Morgan, and my sister-in-law, Mourning Dove. Of course, spending quiet time with Benjamin and our son.”

Who is your favorite fictional character? “I’m afraid I don’t read much fiction.  I’ve been too busy reading books and journals in my field.”

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? “Never give up hope of being rescued.  That the Rangers would keep hunting for me and take me home.”

 Thank you, Dr. Reeves. Now, we’d like to spend some time with Susan.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? “So many since I’ve read everything I could lay my hands on since I was eight years old or so.  Many of them were above my comprehension level but I remember them.  Pearl S Buck was one author I remember clearly.”

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? “My interest in anthropology when I was younger.  I wanted to travel and see how the everyday people live.  When I’m in a foreign country, I go to their stores and compare food prices or what a pair of shoes cost.  You’d be surprised at the differences even in a country such as England.”

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? “I use Wild Rose Press to self-publish a series of 8 stories and then submitted a few to them which they contracted.  It’s been great working with them.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? “Like my characters, too many.  And every day the list grows. I read mostly historical and read about 10 a month.”

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? “Rescued by a Highlander is recently released.  A Regency Christmas Anthology will be released on November 4^th followed by Three Sisters on November 16^th and Blind Faith on December 9^th.

 Susan brought along an excerpt from The Texas Ranger and the Professor for us:

      “Benjamin, Benjamin, please stay with me. Don’t die. We are both going to be all right, don’t leave me.” But the man who stood so stoically for so long didn’t have the strength to open his eyes to acknowledge if he heard her.

A young Ranger came and kneeled down beside her and Edwards. “Is the Captain dead? Did we get here too late?”

He cut her bindings as she spoke. “He’s still breathing, but I don’t know for how much longer. He has multiple injuries and some broken bones as well, probably cracked ribs. Can you take us back to our campsite if I tell you the way?” She tried to find enough material in Edwards’ discarded shirt to cover the bleeding wounds.

“We came past your tent a couple of hours ago. We’ve been following this band of Comanche for the past two days. They got careless after capturing you and left a clean trail right to this camp although Captain Edwards might have had something to do with that. A lot of plants were bent over. Usually the Comanche are careful to have their horses do less damage.”

“They were very excited to have captured us. I think they wanted to kill Ranger Edwards right from the start, but waited till we got here so they could show off for the others. Just the five who were in that raiding party got a chance to do this to him.”

 To purchase The Texas Ranger and the Professor, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Ranger-Professor-Susan-Payne/dp/1509232958

 To learn more about Susan Payne and the stories she creates, go to:

 Website:  http://www.authorsusanpayne.com

URL:  http://www.amazon.Susan-Payne

Tweet:  @SUSANREID460

Email:  authorspayne@gmail.com

 

 

Meet Annabelle Crouse and Colleen L. Donnelly

 . . . My story has been whispered behind doors and hands, always by others. This time it’s Mine to Tell. . .

 Wild Women Authors is pleased to welcome back Colleen L. Donnelly and Mine to Tell, a 2013 mainstream historical release out of the Wild Rose Press. Up first is journalist Annabelle Crouse.

Good morning, Ms. Crouse. Tell us a bit about yourself, starting with where you’re from. A rural area outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tell us a bit about Mine to Tell. Annabelle Crouse is determined to reopen her great-grandmother’s boarded up house—and her shunned life. Many years earlier, after an unexplained absence, Julianne was relegated to a separate home by a rigidly unforgiving husband, and the Crouse women have suffered the disgrace of her assumed guilt ever since.

     Despite her family’s strong disapproval, Annabelle is driven to pursue her mission through cobwebs and dust, finding the clues and the coded story left behind by her great-grandmother—Why did she go? And why did she return? Annabelle has to know.

Only one person, a man she grew up with but never noticed, stands with Annabelle as she discovers the parallels between her story and her great-grandmother’s—two women, generations apart, experiencing what love truly is.

What did you think the first time you saw Trevor? I saw the perfect hero because I saw what wasn’t there. I took his handsome exterior and transposed it to every part of him, imagining a prince inside and out, one who would stand guard for me and slay the dragons of my past. Instead he shied back, and the farther he went, the more he began to resemble the dragon that slew my great-grandmother.   

     Long after she, Julianne Crouse, was gone, I found and read her story. She had a real hero named John. He truly did wear princely armor, and every choice he made, he made with her in mind…no matter how painful.

What were your second thoughts about Trevor? Things went from bad to worse. My hero became a stranger at my side, never entering my lonely places within where I needed him. He sidled closer to my family instead, agreed with their suspicions of my great-grandmother and that I was just like her—a woman who would forfeit a good man for another. My great-grandfather Isaac first breathed that fiery shame on Julianne and consequently all the women in our family when he accused her of adultery.

What were Julianne’s second thoughts about John? To love the man who loved her. To love him when he came for her, cry for him when her family sent him away, and hold on to what she could of him when her family married her off to the old widower down the road as settlement for a debt.

Did you feel it was love at first sight? I did. My feet didn’t touch the ground until Trevor and I became engaged. But before that, close was never close enough.

     And as for Julianne, most definitely. She wrote of her childhood when she first met John and his quiet attentiveness that won her heart and trust.

What do you like most about him? The Trevor who broke me became broken himself. The Trevor who acted like Isaac in the way he treated me, put his own shattered pieces back together into someone who resembled John. Julianne liked the solid, quiet love of John that let go, yet never did.

How would you describe Trevor? His hair and eyes were dark, his frame tall and slender, his attitude often boyish and always with a grin. The boy disappeared in the new Trevor. He grew into a man who could be someone’s prince. Julianne first described John as kind, patient, and wise as a boy. Then as marvelous, noble, strong, and sensible as a man.

How would he describe you? Initially, Trevor would have described me as the fun girl who would someday become the perfect wife. He made the same mistake I did at first—he saw me as he wanted me to be. Now he sees that girl as a woman in her own right. John described Julianne as a whole person he wouldn’t shatter. He fed the parts of her that craved the arts, recognized her hunger for more of life and satisfied it. He would describe her as unchanging with age, for he saw her through the same heart all his years.

What made you choose journalism for a career? It was in my blood. And it’s in the title of this book “Mine to Tell” meaning the story in all of us. I inherited not only the desire for whole relationships from my great-grandmother, but also the compulsion to bring them to life with words.

What is your biggest fear? What my family feared. They became immobilized by fear of shame. I won’t turn back to that.

How do you relax? The outdoors. My great-grandmother’s house is surrounded by fields and small woods. That’s where I go to be alone with my thoughts.

Who is your favorite fictional character? Hester Thrale, a vivacious woman corralled in a stilted marriage in “Dr. Johnson’s Dear Mistress” by Winifred Carter. My goodness! That’s what happened to my great-grandmother! Me, too, if I hadn’t dared to break the pattern. Hester not only survived, but thrived.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Expect nothing. I know that sounds odd because we are to expect and live full lives. But when expectations become demands, especially on others for that life we want, it’s time to set them and ourselves free. Hope all things, believe all things, but don’t demand anything.

Thank you. Annabelle for taking time away from your busy day to speak with us. Now it’s time to chat with Colleen.  

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? “The Help” impacted “Mine to Tell” more than any other. I saw that movie and read the book just as the desire to write something special was germinating inside. The voice of “The Help” gave that desire legs, and before I knew it, “Mine to Tell” was born.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? Adultery. Though I had to face the brutality of it full on, I gave the subject a glancing blow in “Mine to Tell.” I looked at betrayal from several angles—family rejection, fear of unfaithfulness, emotional vs physical betrayal—then showed the long range impacts and the narrow road to healing.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? I first encountered The Wild Rose Press at a writers’ conference. The audience seemed favorably familiar with them, and as I listened to their presentation I could see why. However at that time, romance was the only genre they published. I promised myself if they ever opened their doors to other genres, I’d bolt through it. They did; just as I finished “Mine to Tell.” So I fired it off to them immediately, and it was accepted equally immediately. They have since published every book I’ve written.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? That might be easier explained by author rather than title. Though I have a stack of books in line, my eye is open to Laura Strickland and Louise Penny books in particular.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? As I finished edits on my most recent release, “Letters and Lies,” I knew at least one of the other characters in that book had stories to tell. So I’m at work on the tale of the homesteader who jilted my “Letters and Lies” heroine, turning a man who looked like a failure into a hero.

Colleen brought along an excerpt from Mine to Tell

“Mine to tell,” Kyle said suddenly. It was a jolt. I was yanked from my mental tumble into a pit of unredemption. Alex looked up too, a quizzical expression on his face. “Julianne left a story behind,” Kyle continued. “Some of it speculation and rumors by people who don’t know, and the rest of it by her own hand. It was a love story. One that was countered with suffering.”

We were all quiet. I looked at him, my heart melting as I heard his masculine voice speak of love and suffering. I wanted to lean across the table and hug him, but I was too afraid.

Alex leaned back in his chair. “What my father went through didn’t feel like love when we were little.”

“But maybe it was,” Kyle persisted, his tone smooth and even. “Does love always turn out the way we want it to?” Then he looked at me. “Julianne Crouse was a fine woman. We haven’t finished her story, but she suffered, and she was fine indeed.”

Tears came to my eyes. “Thank you,” I squeaked. Kyle stood and walked around the table to me. He helped me stand as he thanked them for their time. He retrieved Julianne’s picture, took my hand, and together we went to the door, Alex and his wife following us.

“I hope you’re right,” Alex said, running his hand through his thin, brittle hair as we stepped outside. “My father had some things to come to terms with, but he was a good man. A better man later in life, when he told us he was sorry. I never knew for what.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

More on Sensory Processing Disorder by Marilyn Barr

 What is a sensory diet and why would a therapist need to build one for someone with sensory processing disorder (SPD)? 

           Happy Sensory Processing Awareness month!  I am honored to share my experiences with sensory processing disorder (SPD) on behalf of the main character, Alison, in my debut novel “Bear with Me”.  We have the same SPD induced behaviors where some of our senses cause us to over-react while others are under-reactive.  While SPD is not recognized as a stand-alone diagnosis by insurance companies, the medical community recognizes it as a disorder not only in the general population but also as common comorbidity to autism spectrum disorder.  Some of the best interventions for the seeking or avoidance behaviors associated with SPD is a sensory diet.

          A sensory diet is not just about eating.  It is a schedule of activity choices to satisfy neurological impulses and regulate the senses.  Sensory diets are a highlight of blogs, instructional videos, and interactive modules all over the internet.  I would highly recommend a licensed therapist, physical or occupational, in the assessment and creation of a sensory diet.  While you know your body (or your child’s body), the therapist will have had training on the specific equipment which can give you the best result and avoid injury.  Just like anyone can download an aerobics video, it doesn’t replace the teaching of a personal trainer.  It is the goal of the SPD community to normalize the creation of sensory diets and to standardize the diagnosis of SPD so insurance will uniformly cover physical and occupational therapy in addition to what is offered in some schools.

          A key component of any sensory diet is the balance of stimulation and quiet space.  This is where the utilization of sensory rooms is crucial.  Being able to take my son to a silent space at a hockey game when the constant blinking lights overstimulated him, gave my family the ability to enjoy the end of the game.  Sometimes under-stimulation is just as damaging as overstimulation when it comes to inappropriate behavior.  When I require vestibular input, I can’t sit still.  I twirl the rings on my fingers, bracelets on my wrists, and kick my feet from my chair. 

Having a sensory swing instead of living room furniture, allows vestibular input to be in my diet several times per day.  I also manage my proprioceptive seeking behaviors with heavy work to balance the times of sitting still.  Extreme gardening and weightlifting are part of my daily routine with duration based on my sensory needs.  When I taught high school, I kept dumbbells in the office behind my classroom to lift between classes on test days.  In “Bear with Me”, Alison explains how she chose her college based on the number of hours she would be allowed to work in their greenhouse.  As an adult, she chose to teach at a garden center to have constant opportunities for movement, heavy work, and escaping fluorescent lighting.

          There are other less extreme components to a sensory diet as well.  Wilbarger brushing is a specific procedure where dry-brushing the skin enhances the sensitivity of the skin over time to increase natural proprioceptive input.  New research into the benefits of aromatherapy is making plant-based scents a part of a sensory diet.  I use scented candles to focus on my narrator in each chapter with an assigned candle scent.  Other adults with SPD will carry slime, playdough, or stress-putty to receive input unobtrusively.  My son requires increased auditory input, so we have instrumental music or therapeutic drumming playing in our house every waking hour. 

With thirty-five different combinations of over-responsive, under-responsive, and seeking requirements, the list of activity options on a sensory diet is vast.  A qualified therapist can help with designing a plan as unique as the individual who uses it.  Some activities require specialized equipment while others are small lifestyle changes but the magnitude of having accommodations is greater than the cost.  Hopefully, someday in the near future, everyone with SPD will have access to the therapists needed to create the best sensory diet for them. 

An Overview of Sensory Processing Disorder

 

Happy Sensory Processing Awareness Month from the Strawberry Shifters

          Thank you, Wild Women Authors, for the opportunity to celebrate Sensory Processing Awareness Month with your readers.  Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is an umbrella term for not only SPD but also Sensory Integration Disorder, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD), and Sensory Discrimination Disorder (SDD).  The goal of the grouping is to have a single diagnosis recognized by insurance companies to help families have access to occupational and physical therapists.  While we have come a long way since I was diagnosed with “Eating Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified” for my limited diet in the 1990s, SPD hasn’t reached universal acceptance outside of the therapeutic community.

          In my debut novel, Strawberry Shifters Book 1: Bear with Me, Alison has the same classic sensory modulation disorder symptoms as myself.  Our experiences are just one example of how the disorder manifests itself in an individual.  Each of the seven senses (touch, smell, taste, sight, hearing, proprioception, and vestibular awareness) is regulated independently in the sensory cortex of the brain.  Each disregulation can be over-reactive, under-reactive, or seeking as well.  That is thirty-five different combinations without taking into account the severity of the reactivity or the motor response to the dysfunction.  Just like with any spectrum disorder, each person’s experience will be similar but not exactly like the experience of another.

As an adult with SPD, it is my opinion that kindergarten is the hardest period of life to have SPD.  In kindergarten, a child is introduced to learning in larger rooms with buzzing fluorescent lights, constant stimulation from large groups of children, increasing periods of required sitting still in a desk, while being asked to learn fine motor skills which have been a struggle due to my proprioception disregulation.  It was in kindergarten that I also met my nemesis – the cafeteria.  Cafeterias and food courts are a nightmare because of my over-responsive sense of smell.  My spouse teases me that I write about shifters to normalize my ability to identify restaurants while driving past them by smell alone.  As an adult, I have the option to avoid them or to sit by the door.  I control my food choices and the speed at which I eat.

It is not just over-responsivity that makes school especially difficult for someone with SPD.  Alison and I are under-responsive to touch.  It wasn’t until I was in sixth grade that someone told me it wasn’t normal to have to concentrate when putting your shoes on the correct feet.  I would get asked why they didn’t “feel wrong” when my shoes were backward.  My son’s occupational therapist (OT) cuts large stickers in half to put in shoes for a visual cue, but not every child is as fortunate to have an OT in their life.  In high school, I had to be vigilant of hallway PDA as I couldn’t concentrate on feeling a trailing hand on my back when I was walking in the overstimulating environment.

Now SPD has turned into my superpower.  I match each character with their own candle scent and each couple with their song to set a vastly different mood for each narrator.  Since I have heightened sensitivity to food textures and smells, I can replicate a dish after only a few bites.  Of course, I dissect my meals before I eat just like Alison does in “Bear with Me”.  A challenge for readers is to count the number of references to our food sorting habit throughout the series.  Will you find them all?  Being touch under-responsive allows me freedom in my fashion because itchy fabrics or heavy accessories do not bother me.  As a high school teacher, my students never whispered gossip.  I played a game with them on the first day of school to demonstrate SPD and how I could replay their whispered conversations from the far corners of the large laboratory classroom.  Alison uses her under-responsivity as the ultimate weapon in “Bear with Me” too, but I won’t give away spoilers.

Of the senses, proprioception and vestibular awareness are the least understood but most important for helping someone you know with SPD.  Vestibular awareness is measured in the inner ear and balances your orientation in space.  Are you right-side-up or upside-down, spinning or stationary?  Little kids love to test their vestibular senses by climbing on the furniture or hanging upside down on playground equipment.  I found my outlet in dance classes and have random dance parties in my kitchen if I need input.  Guests and visitors are caught off guard but always join in the fun after a small explanation.  My autistic son loves to spin, spin objects, ride rollercoasters, and perform daredevil stunts to get the amount of vestibular work his body seeks.  Our living room has no furniture but instead has a sensory swing for spinning breaks in our sensory diet.

Proprioception also measures where you are in relation to your environment or the orientation of our limbs to our bodies.  Is your arm bent or straight?  Are you sitting up tall or slouched?  It is hypothesized that hand-flapping and repetitive motions are calming measures when the individual is under-responsive to proprioceptive input.  This has been my experience, as I dance-in-place less when I’m wearing tight socks to remind my body of the placement and orientation of my legs.  I also wear heavy bracelets and thumb rings when I write to encourage communication between my brain and my hands.  These seemingly simple accommodations were suggestions of my physical therapist, but not everyone is fortunate enough to have access to a physical therapist.

In conclusion, I appreciate the opportunity to spread awareness of sensory processing disorder.  I have been fortunate to have occupational therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, and holistic healers in my life to create my sensory diet.  A sensory diet is not necessarily about food choices but rather activity choices to regulate sensory seeking behaviors.  With the millions of resources on the internet, it is much easier for parents today to design accommodations and sensory diets for their children.  However, having a professional therapist to build a plan of therapy to aid in skill development such as posture building, penmanship, sensory self-regulation, and healthy sleep habits is crucial.  It is my hope that the more people who are aware of the disorder, the closer we will get to insurance coverage of those therapists our kids truly need. 

 

Bear with Me

 Wild Women Authors is pleased to feature Bear With Me, Book 1 in the Strawberry Shifters series out of the Black Rose line with the Wild Rose Press. This is the first release for Marilyn Barr and Alison Luther, lead female protagonist of Bear With Me.

 Welcome, Alison. Tell us a bit about yourself.  Thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about sensory processing disorder, which I will abbreviate SPD.  My experiences are my own but as with every disorder, knowing one person’s experiences is just knowing one person’s outward effects of the disorder.  If you take a human being’s seven senses and the three manifestations of SPD (under-responsive, over-responsive, and seeking), you get thirty-five different categories of symptoms without taking severity into account.

When were you diagnosed with SPD? Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, sensory processing disorder wasn’t as well known as today.  I am extremely sensitive to food textures, so I limit my diet.  Even though I eat food from all the food groups, not eating mushy or wet foods made me a picky eater.  My formal diagnosis was Eating Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified until my son was diagnosed with autism.  The psychiatrist said sensory processing disorder was one of the components to his diagnosis, so I sought an autism diagnosis of my own.  The only area of the autism test where I wasn’t in the typical range was sensory processing. 

How does it affect your meals? Oh boy, that’s where it is the most obvious.  Some food textures scratch my tongue and gums, while others induce panic when they coat my mouth.  For example, I eat fried potatoes but not mashed potatoes.  I eat apples but not applesauce.  I also hate surprises, so I sort my food based on texture before eating.  In a salad, crunchy carrots go in one pile, wet lettuce goes into another, hard croutons in a third, but busting food like olives and beans go in their own pile.  Here’s an excerpt from “Bear with Me” when I had to tell my best friend, Rosie I had SPD:

. . . Rosie trails off as she observes my sorting of my plate contents. She raises the edge of her dark brows and frowns at me. Oh no, I forgot she had never seen me eat. I feel I owe her an explanation especially since we are growing so close. I take a centering breath, blink heavily, and put my fork down. “I have a condition. I have sensory processing disorder,” I blurt out.

“I have never heard of that. What does it mean exactly?” Rosie asks.

Feeling encouraged by the compassionate look on her face, I continue. “It means some of my senses are heightened and some are dampened. Which senses fall into which categories is different for each person with the disorder. It's genetic, so Henrik’s musical ear is an extension of my heightened hearing. I can hear fluorescent lights buzzing, footsteps approach me before anyone else does and everyone’s conversations around me.

“Therefore, I avoid crowds including your restaurant when it’s open. I need to separate my food by texture too. Crunchy foods can scratch the inside of my mouth if I don’t chew it aggressively. I feel soft foods squish on my teeth. Flavors and scents are also more intense for me as well. I’m really great at guessing at what is in dishes because each ingredient stands out so much, even just by smell.”

“Well, at least there’s a name for your weirdness.”

That was a great example of Showing as opposed to Telling. Does SPD have an effect your sleep cycle? When I was a kid, I would try to sleep but my brain would forget that my limbs were attached.  My senses do not check for proprioceptive input unless I am actively moving them. I would feel compelled to verify my legs were still attached or shake them awake, even though I didn’t have the pins and needles sensation.  Having night terrors didn’t help either.  I feel terrible for my sister, Betty, who shared my room growing up.  She’s probably so grouchy now as revenge for a childhood of no sleep, thanks to me.

I had numerous sleep studies and took medicine which turned me into a zombie before putting together my sensory diet.  Now, I use my love of gardening to tire my muscles during the day and compression socks at night.  The constant input from the compression socks reminds my body of its place in space so I can sleep. Betty blabbed about my sleep studies and the mayhem I caused as a child in her book, Strawberry Shifters Book 3: Go Scorch Yourself coming in 2021.

Did it make growing up difficult? It wasn’t just my sensory issues that made me strange in the eyes of my peers.  I come from a magical family and have only “come out of the broom closet” in recent months.  Being a green witch was as isolating as having sensory accommodations.  Here’s one example of the perils of being a childhood green witch, told by my little sister Betty, from Strawberry Shifters Book 2: Round of Applause which will be released in the Yuletide Season of 2020:

“I have always looked out for Ally,” Betty says, “because she has been strange since we were kids. She was often teased about her odd eating habits and stuff, but never stood up for herself. I can remember clearly when we were taking this nature class at camp and I had to come to her rescue…again.

“We were supposed to collect nuts, seeds, and pinecones in paper bags to bring to the nature center for planting in their greenhouse. Everything Ally touched sprouted, so she was near tears at not being able to collect anything. I switched bags with her at the last minute and claimed I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to be collecting.

“The boys laughed at me and I had to beat up Micha the ringleader. I always thought Micha carried a torch for Alison because he loved to pick on her. So, I learned to love beating the **** out of him.” 

How about dating?  Did it interfere with your dating life? Oh yes, I am lucky to be pretty enough for a first date.  However, his opinion would change from “she’s pretty” to “she’s pretty strange” sometime during our outing.  Between my eating habits and calming stims, my behavior scared away most of the male population.  I was so fortunate to have the perfect man for me drop into my life in college…literally.  Grant fell off a ladder in the university greenhouse and crushed my astragalus plants.  I developed a crush on him, and we have been together ever since.  I knew he was the one when he found my sensory differences fascinating and wanted to hear about the way I perceive the world.  Here’s just how I feel about him from Bear With Me:

   “This is what I love most about Grant. When my senses or my temper go riotous, he provides security, grounding, and structure. His chosen boundaries for my life are smaller than I would like, but it is better than floating in the wind. If only we could find a balance between white knight protector and absentee husband…”

What were the keys to you seeing your disorder as a superpower? The first tip is to find the tools to create a balanced sensory diet. As the sun rises, I tire my muscles in my garden before my family wakes up.  It is important that I am at my best to help them start their day.  Next, my second tip, I have a network of accommodations in place to stay balanced throughout the day.  Whether it is asking Rosie not to turn on the overhead lighting in her restaurant until I am finished teaching our children or taking breaks to walk barefoot outside, I keep myself from over or under stimulation before it becomes a problem.

Finally, my third tip I learned from Rosie’s boys.  I have a lot to offer society because I perceive the world differently.  While my differences make some tasks more difficult, others are easier.  Buzzing coolers and lights are a nuisance but I can hear the flutter of Sluagh wings before they can attack.  Once I learned about them, their extermination became my life’s work.  How did I learn about the Sluagh?  That’s a long story.  Find out about my foray against the Strawberry Fae in Bear with Me.

What is some advice you would give others to support someone they know with SPD? I don’t like being the center of attention and would rather take care of others than accept help, so it takes guts for me to ask for an accommodation.  I know my new neighbors care for me because they remember my accommodation requests.  When Rosie’s son Matteo dims the restaurant lights or Rosie puts the pizza sauce on the side, I know they are looking out for me.  If they have a question on my sensitivities, they ask and allow me to determine what I can and cannot handle.

They take their cues from me on what helps and what I can do on my own.  I only wish my husband would learn the same lesson.  Just because I have sensitivities doesn’t mean I need to be kept in a bubble.  With a sensory diet and a few accommodations, I can function in society.  My husband, Grant, means well and wants to keep me happily regulated, but his protection is smothering.  Like anyone else, I would like my voice heard and my tolerance levels judged by me not a protector.  What will it take to show him that I am not a delicate flower to be kept in a greenhouse but a weed who flourishes no matter how inhospitable the world can be?

Thanks for spending time with us, Alison. We wish you and Grant and your son a long, happy and healthy life.