Now mind you, Destiny’s abuse was much harsher than my own and if I ever get this manuscript polished you’ll understand. Girls (and probably boys as well) who’ve been sexually abused as children take on a ‘warped’ sense of what sex and sexuality is as well as intimacy. So, as I wrote Destiny’s character I kept in mind how a young woman who’s spent several years being abused would react to situations. This is why the editing process of this story is so tedious.
When writing Destiny I go back in time. I look through healed adult eyes to see the girl I once was and how I would have reacted to some of the situations she finds herself in. On the other side of the coin, I also look to how the husband of 30 years has helped me overcome some of the learned behaviors and thought process. This helps me a great deal when writing my hero, Stephen Davis.
So, I guess you could say I use this as a means of therapy, but I also use it as a means of closing the door on that aspect of my life and to make my characters realistic.
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