Novels
The Anxious Gardener
Rita Berkeley loves her job at the local greenhouse. On the outside, Rita seems calm and serene. She is a normal 23-year-old who has two best friends and loves riding horses in her spare time. You'd never expect that she lives with anxiety disorder and suffers frequent panic attacks. Panic attacks that started happening when she was seventeen. Living with anxiety has taken a lot of joy out of her life, stealing away Rita's peace and ability to focus.
In her small, rural South Carolina town, seeking therapy is not something people talk about. With no one else to turn to, Rita decides to download a therapy app and begins secretly talking to someone. After a few sessions, things start looking a lot better for Rita. She feels as if she's finally getting control back over her life and overcoming the trauma of her past.
Meanwhile, Walker Underwood moves into town and gets a job with the same greenhouse as Rita. He notices something right away that others who have been in her life for years have failed to notice or acknowledge.
Good changes come with Walker's arrival. That is, until his past follows him to town. When Rita finds out a dark secret from Walker's past, things go from bad to worse.
Rita continues to wrestle with the anxiety inside of her, while also trying to understand what it means to love and trust someone again. She must find a way to love and trust herself first.
Animals Instead
Set in rural South Carolina, Lowell is a veterinarian who falls in love with a young woman. He is not prepared for the conditions of her past. Many twists and turns challenge their relationship, including some very dark ones.
"Lowell felt the buzz again, and got sick feeling that it might be Jenna. This was about the time for her to be at work right? He was trying to not call or text her during this time partly because he was mad. He let the buck walk, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Hopefully it would just be some spam calling about his car’s extended warranty, but when he looked down it said Jenna Montreve. He didn’t care in the slightest about the deer hearing him and busting this stand. He would just move it later. He slid the phone icon over to answer it. “Hey,” he said. All he could hear on the other end of the line was Jenna’s sobs. She was crying, trying to say “Lowell.” He felt the strength go out of his arms, and he dropped his bow which fell out of the stand, and hit the ground."