JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Deidra D. S. Green, author of From the Outside In
(Rathsi Publishing Company)

From the Outside In is my journey through learning to love a 5-year-old little girl, then losing her through a horrific and brutal rape and murder. This story journals my quest to find the answer to the many unanswered questions surrounding her death, as well as how to manage the many conflicting stories regarding the circumstances of her death.

What makes this book compelling is the backdrop. Bridgette was the daughter of a social worker who worked in child protection services. I did too… We could protect other people’s children, but not our own. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and the not so innocent.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write From the Outside In?

Deidra D. S. Green: What inspired me to write this story is the tremendous sense of sadness and guilt I felt then and continue to feel after Bridgette’s death. As a social worker, I was ethically bound and mandated by law to investigate and protect abused and neglected children. I took my commitment to my profession very seriously.

To know that Bridgette had been sadistically abused and I couldn’t do anything to stop it, to protect her, has haunted me for more than 15 years. There were so many unanswered questions; so many facts and factors that didn’t add up. I owed it to Bridgette to tell the story from a different perspective as so much of the truth never came to the surface.

JP: What sets From the Outside In apart from other books in the same genre?

DDSG: I wrote this book from a place of knowing – knowing the pain, the confusion, the anger, the frustration with the system and the people involved. This is not a story that was created to entertain. This was a story I lived from beginning to the bitter end.

It took me more than a year to write this story because the feelings and emotions I had when she was murdered resurfaced with a vengeance. This book was written through my tears…

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to From the Outside In getting out to the public?

DDSG: I was a reader before I became a published author. I harken back to my experiences as a reader and what was important to me; ways in which I could connect to the author. I am accessible. I regard my readers as readers and not as fans. I want them to walk away intrigued and challenged by what has been written.

Because I am a communicator, I take every opportunity to connect with those my readership. Secondly, I am committed to my craft. I do my due diligence, research, study, and write, write, write.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish From the Outside In?

DDSG: This is a great question. This journey in writing took a little more than a year. But the real journey after Bridgette’s death has been 15 years. She would have been 21 this year. Just thinking about that saddens me. But I wasn’t ready to take this journey before now. God’s timing is perfected, and I was able to write this book when it was time.

My writing process? I never work on one story at a time. I always write on multiple projects at once. When I bore or struggle with narrative writing, I write verse. Poetry is my respite.

JP: What’s next for Deidra D. S. Green?

DDSG: I am working on Anthology of a Trick, a compilation of short stories to comprise the anthology. The first short story, “Twisted Sister” has taken on a life of its own and has turned into quite the little project. Because of that, I will be releasing “Twisted Sister” first as a stand alone story real soon, so stay tuned!

http://www.deidradsgreen.com.3dcartstores.com/

http://facebook.com/Deidra-Ds-Green/1620965331

http://twitter.com/deidrag

I would just like to thank everyone for their support! Those that have been with me since the beginning, I appreciate you sticking by me. Those readers who are just becoming familiar with my work, thanks for giving me a chance!

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