Sikeston woman pens her first book series

SIKESTON - For author Stephanie Watkins penning her first book was a family affair.

Her mother, Debra Baker, would watch her children when she needed to write. Her mother-in-law, Barbara Watkins, a published author, gave her encouragement, guiding her and mentoring her through the process.

There was the support of her husband, Jerry, as she worked to craft her characters and storyline. Now that her first book, "Twisting Grace," is published, 10-year-old daughter Kiera is busy promoting the book on her social media accounts.

Watkins said she began writing about a year ago when she became bored with television and being on Facebook. She described her first attempts as a doodle.

"I just shut out the world and let my imagination flow," Watkins said.

However, when her friend Victorian Slayton came across that doodle on Watkins' computer and read it, she encouraged Watkins to turn it into a book.

According to Watkins, "Twisting Grace" is a tale about domestic violence involving the lead character, Skylar Hoyt, a teen, and her teenage boyfriend. After graduation, Skylar hopes to use the opportunity to escape the abuse.

"Of course, that isn't going to be the case," said Watkins.

While it is a fictional tale, Watkins said she has woven truth into the storyline. Parents who read the book can learn what to look for to determine if a teen's relationship has become abusive and others will find hope that "we all can defeat our monsters if we want to bad enough," she said.

In her writing, Watkins said the hardest part is creating the conversations between her characters. She would sit down and write and write, sometimes the next day she would reread her work and throw the passages away.

"I had to be sure to keep the conservations real," she explained. "I want my readers to go on a journey with my characters, so I had to capture each of (the character's) humor and their sarcasm."

Watkins developed a master list, describing each of her character's appearance and their background. She would refer to it his to ensure the character's story always made sense.

Also she created an outline for her work.

Slayton served as her book consultant, Watkins said. She would read over Watkins' chapters, giving her opinion on what worked and what didn't work.

In her review of the book on amazon.com, Slayton noted Watkins' ending is a surprise, that left her both crying and mad.

The more Watkins wrote, the more she realized Skylar's tale wasn't just one book but a series.

Taking a year to complete "Twisting Grace," Watkins completed the sequel, "Redeeming Grace," in about two and half months. "Twisting Grace" became available on Amazon on July 10 with "Redeeming Grace" published July 17; she hopes to have the third book of the four or five-part series completed in the fall.

Although just out, Watkins said those who have picked up a copy - the book is available on Amazon and Kindle - are complimentary. They have praised it, calling it down to earth and well written, she said.

According to Watkins, the Sikeston Public Library is purchasing copies as well.

While writing a book can be frustrating, Watkins encourages other aspiring authors not to give up. "It is such an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment when you are done," she said addingher children - in addition to Kiera, she has a daughter, Alyssa and a son, Chase - are proud of their mother's accomplishments.

Now, Watkins is busy as she works on her third book in the series.

"I spend a lot of my evening hours continuing Skylar's journey and telling her story," Watkins said. "I hope (readers) take take the characters and relate to them. I hope to make them laugh, to cry, to wow them."