Catherine Adele Tierney

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Before I wrote my first novel, Catatonic, friends kept telling me “you should write your life story.” My response to that idea was always, “yuck.”

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And then, in my personal life, the caca hit the fan. 

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I realized by writing fiction I could create an alternate universe. A place I could spend most of my time. A place where I wouldn’t be thinking about a trip to the emergency ward, our stolen IRS refund and credit card, the contractor who replaced our furnace and simultaneously trashed our basement, etc., etc., etc.

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You get the picture. Too much caca in too little time.

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Over lunch a friend brought the topic up again. “You should write your life story.”

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I said, “Maybe I could write is as fiction. A mystery?” In my created-world I could choose the outcome. My detective would have problems and set-backs, but in the end, she would be victorious. She would face the tough things in her life. She might doubt herself, but she’d be courageous. She would persist.

My friend replied, “I’m out of  town for two weeks. I want to see your first chapter when I get back.”

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“Okay.” One chapter. Sounded doable.

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I started writing, and I fell in love with Catherine, with her deceased husband, her new love interest; her friends, her world, and her worries. I loved her grumpy moods and her essential kindness and love of life.

I think Catherine (aka Cat), had been waiting in the back of my mind for a very long time. Tapping her foot and wondering, “when will Sarai start writing my story?” 

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By the time my friend returned I’d written three chapters.

I hope you’ll fall in love, too!

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