The beginning of a New Year is a time of making resolutions, usually to change a habit or behavior we engage in for the better. We resolve to give up smoking, lose weight, stop drinking, spend more time with our family, be more patient - the list is virtually endless. Onto that list I would add “trust your instincts”, the raw, gut feeling we all experience that signals a person, situation, plan, etc. isn’t quite what it seems and to be wary. In Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace, the Pierson family goes against their instincts that a person within their midst isn’t being honest and hides ulterior motives. There’s hesitancy on most of the family’s part to trust their instincts, believing those gut feelings of apprehension to be flawed.

Trusting your instincts might be a resolution we should all try harder to pay attention to. There’s an old adage - if you’re walking alone down a dark street, and someone is approaching from behind making you feel uncomfortable, trust your gut and cross the street. Get away. Don’t wait around to see what happens. Like keeping any resolution, trusting your instincts isn’t always easy, but the consequences of not doing so, as the Pierson family discovers, can be far worse.

Three five-star reviews on Amazon plus the two on this site are the best start any author could ask for, especially one making their debut. It is truly a thrill to see people positively respond to your work. Each review has honed in on the themes central to Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace - that evil is present among the details of ordinary life, often throwing everyone involved off balance. Most people understand that malevolence exists, but they never truly expect it to happen to them. The uncertainty, anger, and frustration the Pierson family grapples with in trying to confront this malice could happen to anyone.

My goal was to accomplish two things: (1) write a great story, and (2) offer themes of universal importance for readers to consider. So far, I think we’re off to a great beginning.