Why I Write Stories About Broken People Who Refuse to Stay Broken
Psychological thrillers often focus on the crime.
The body.
The investigation.
The killer.
But that has never been the story I wanted to tell.
The stories I write live in the space after the crime—the quiet aftermath where people are left trying to survive what happened to them.
That space is messy.
It’s uncomfortable.
And it’s deeply human.
Trauma Doesn’t End When the Violence Stops
In real life, trauma doesn’t fade when the police arrive or when the villain is caught.
Sometimes the real battle begins afterward.
Survivors are left with the echoes:
memories that surface without warning
relationships that fracture under the weight of what happened
bodies that remember things the mind tries to bury
the terrifying possibility that you may never be the same person again
This is the emotional landscape that shapes The Lies That Bind Us series.
It isn’t just about crime.
It’s about what crime does to the people who survive it.
Writing Characters Who Break — and Heal
When I began writing Hanna DeLuca, I didn’t want to create a perfect heroine.
I wanted someone real.
Someone who could shatter.
Someone who might not know how to put herself back together.
Hanna survives unimaginable violence — but survival isn’t the end of her story. In many ways, it’s only the beginning.
Her journey is about:
confronting the memories she tried to bury
learning who she can trust
discovering whether healing is even possible
And sometimes the people who stand beside us in the darkest moments become the ones who help guide us back to the light.
The Darkness Is Part of the Story — Not the Destination
Psychological thrillers often explore dark themes.
Violence.
Manipulation.
Obsession.
But for me, darkness is never the point.
The point is what people do with it.
Do they break completely?
Or do they find a way to keep going?
That question sits at the heart of every book I write.
A New Chapter Is Coming
The third installment in The Lies That Bind Us series dives deeper into Hanna’s psychological journey than ever before.
Secrets resurface.
Memories refuse to stay buried.
And the line between past and present becomes dangerously thin.
Some wounds never heal.
Some truths refuse to stay hidden.
And sometimes survival requires confronting the one thing you’ve spent years trying to forget.
Join the Early Reader Team
I’m currently recruiting beta readers and ARC readers for the upcoming third book in the series.
If you love psychological thrillers that explore the emotional aftermath of trauma — and you enjoy helping shape stories before publication — I’d love to have you join the early reader team.
You can sign up by clicking the tab at the top.
Your feedback helps shape the final version of the story and brings readers deeper into the world of these characters.
And trust me…
This next book goes to places the series has never gone before.