When three-year-old Joey is diagnosed with autism, Kat’s heart sinks. With a single phone number and a few suggested therapies, she and her husband Derek are left to wade through the unknown abyss of ASD. Derek assures Kat their son will grow out of it, but she has done enough research. That never happens. Still, Joey can improve, and Kat vows to make his life better any way she can.
Jumping feet first into the depths of therapies and developmental preschool, Kat gives it her all. Everything should get easier. But Derek still can’t handle Joey’s meltdowns, and now he only wants to spend time with her. What happens if his attitude doesn't change?
As Kat’s world continues to crumble around her, she finds something in herself that she didn’t know was missing.
I Not David: Finding Me Book One is a character-driven, women’s fiction novel that evokes emotion as it twists and turns through silly smiles and torturous tantrums, love and loneliness, and everything in between.
When Kameo was still young, her parents allowed one family dog at a time, despite her begging. McKay has a harder time saying no. That’s why they house three dogs, a cat, a Guinea pig, and two lovable rats. The fish are his. She and her husband reached twenty-five years of wedded bliss in June 2020. They have four children, ranging from adult to young teen.
Kameo loves spending time outdoors and dreams of being a reverse snowbird. Pine and aspen trees regularly call to her from the Mogollon Rim. She also enjoys exploring Arizona and surrounding states with her husband.
Most of Kameo’s spare time is spent writing women’s fiction novels, where she gets to explore the emotional toll that comes with being human from different points of view. She also enjoys writing short stories and won the February 2020 What’s Your Story contest sponsored by Envie Magazine, a literary publication.
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Website: http://kameomonson.
Kameo Monson Interview Question/Answers
The first time I read Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawles, I was in fourth or fifth grade and ugly cried before it was cool. I read it again a year later. At that point I ugly cried several chapters before “the event.” Dogs always get me.
Energizes. Always. My outlines, if you can call them that, tend to be about three lines long. With outlines like that, my characters have plenty of room to excite me. I remember writing a specific scene and gasping. “That wasn’t supposed to happen!”
But it was, and it did, and it felt amazing!
This is such a good question. No one sits down, writes a draft, proclaims their book finished and publishes. Writing takes time and effort, and the best way to learn the art, other than reading, is to not giving up. Of course, there is more, like learning the craft, but having an iron will is required if you want to put a timeless literary work out there. The next word that comes to mind is “humility.” Be humble enough to accept constructive criticism from others.
Inflated egos is one of the reasons indie authors are still having to climb out of the dirges to be recognized as “real” authors. Before self-publishing took off, people who independently published used “vanity presses.” Good authors published through a traditional publisher.
Today, authors publish independently in order to maintain control of their work. If they’re good at marketing, they may even earn enough to support themselves through their craft. But with that comes millions of books that have no one to say “go back to the drawing board.” A big ego, doesn’t help us climb out of those dirges, does it?
At the same time, if you don’t have a big enough ego, publishing your masterpiece becomes a lot harder, especially when that first questionable review comes in.
I give in to distractions. I’ll sit down at my computer ready to write and suddenly the thought to post on social media will come. Then I’ll respond in an authors’ group. My stomach grumbles, so I have to get food. My friend texts, and I can’t let it go.
Haha! Yes. It can happen when I spend a lot of time writing or editing. It also happens if I continually try to read in a genre that I’m not in the mood to read. A lot of times, if I set that genre aside for a while, I can kick the reader’s block and go back to it later.
I did. When I finished the first draft of my first book, When Love Is Lost, I was mortified that I’d written a romance. It’s not that there is anything wrong with romance novels, I especially enjoy sweet romance, but I was hugely embarrassed that I’d written about kissing and longing. So I considered a pen name. Then I realized my reason for a pseudonym made no sense. I couldn’t market a book without friends and family, and they were the ones I wanted to hide from.
Funny thing, though, as I progressed through my next several drafts, another author kindly informed me I hadn’t written a romance at all. I write women’s fiction.
(Romance authors, you are amazing and I love you!)
I want my readers to relate to my stories—especially to my characters. But I also want to write real-life stories, and those are messy. A lot of people are surprised by the direction my Finding Me Series takes.
At the same time, I always want to give my readers a happy ending. No one should worry that I’ll kill off the main character or leave them in a dark abyss at the end of a book.
For me, the art of storytelling works because of my emotions. The ability to understand, or at least imagine, how a something would feel is absolutely necessary to write my character-driven books.
When I read fantasy, which I love reading, by the way, the more I connect with the characters through their emotions, the more I like the story.
Still, I suppose there are authors out there who can manage writing without feeling strong emotions. I just don’t know who they are.
I have come to appreciate the friendships and bridges authors can build. In so many fields it’s about beating the competition. But writing isn’t quite like that. Authors band together, helping each other with marketing, giving one another support after abysmal reviews, and celebrating each other’s accomplishments.
I have too many author friends to list, but I can tell you they help me become a better writer by letting me bounce ideas off them and being honest with me when something doesn’t work the way I want it to.
Somewhere between the two, I suppose. I currently have one stand-alone novel and a series. The novel I’m working on will be another stand-alone.
My plan is to write as the stories come to me. Whether they are a series or a stand-alone will depend on how the stories play out. I don’t, however, intend to write a series of related books.
You never know until you try.
When I wrote my first book, I didn’t keep notes on what characters looked like or on the time line. It meant having to go back and figure out where things had happened in the book. In some cases, I had to figure out what I’d named certain characters. Since I still don’t like outlines, I write with a split screen open so that I can record certain things like hair and eye color, tics, and dates. There’s nothing quite like realizing you broke a character’s arm, then removed the cast two days later.
I invested in a good editor and a cover artist. Their work has been invaluable.
I’m a bit of an oddity. I’m an introvert, but given the chance I will talk your ear off and follow it around the block. I’ve amazed grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, and many, many others with my talking abilities. Most have had nightmares in want of earplugs. But there was a Sunday when someone made a big impression on me with their use of powerful language.
Once a month, the people of my church’s congregationshold a meeting where individuals can stand and testify of Jesus Christ. Often times, the people who get up tell a story or drone through a list of blessings they’ve received. I’ve forgotten hundreds, maybe thousands of these testimonies, but there is one I’ll never forget. The speaker was succinct, and his words were powerful. “I believe Jesus Christ atoned for my sins, that He lives, and that He is my Savior.Amen.”
Written or spoken, words do have power. I still need to work on being succinct.
I adore Jeff Wheeler’s Muirwood Series. Not only is it well-written, but the characters come alive on the page.
The hedgehog… Not Sonic.
They’re prickly but lovable, kind of like my books. And they aren’t super speedy, kind of like me.
There is only one person in my life on whom I’ve fully based a character. My son. I based Joey in the Finding Me Series off him. He has given me more than I’ll ever deserve. It’s through him that I’ve learned patience and understanding, and realized that I can love unconditionally. I owe him a lifetime of happiness, and I hope to provide him with just that.
Currently, two. I also have a few unpublished short stories that I hope to publish in an anthology at some point.
After reading the first chapter of my first book, a beta reader messaged me to tell me she didn’t care for the way I’d portrayed a certain vocation. She continued to tell me that she knew it wasn’t my first book and that I should know better.
Being recognized as an author before publishing, that felt like success. Reading my first good review from a perfect stranger, that felt like success too. I’m not sure that we ever reach what we consider literary success, we only set our goals a little higher.
The research I do depends on the book. If you look at my search history, it might scare you. I’ve researched domestic and drug abuse, rape recovery, broken bones, back and neck injuries, strokes, injuries from being choked. And that’s the tip of the ice berg.
The only book I’ve researched previous to writing is the one I’m currently working on. I’ve had to research West Clear Creek and some other “fun” facts. Some of that research has taken full afternoons.
I work really hard to not base my male characters off my husband. So far, I’ve accomplished that. Though, I did base how two of my male characters dress on my husband’s choice of wardrobe. Can you blame me?
I wish I could say I am a daily writer. Then I might publish as often as some of my friends. Instead, I write when the mood strikes. That doesn’t usually happen daily until I hit the mid-point of a book. Then I spend upwards of four hours a day watching the story unfold on the page.
Haha! I make it a point not to write about me. I suppose bits and pieces still make it into my books, but I can’t say only one part of my life does. I find myself in all of my characters, young, old, and teenager a like.
I tend to choose my character names by throwing the proverbial dart. That’s probably why my main characters have three letter names. That said, I chose the title I NOT David before I’d written a word. It’s based off a game I used to play with my son to help him answer the question “what’s your name?” In the book, I keep the details of the game and my son’s responses exactly the same.
I do. The good ones lift my spirits for hours, sometimes days. It’s always nice to know your hard work is appreciated.
The bad ones are harder, and they stick with me for a bit. I have to remind myself they are the minority. More than that, they are just opinions. It’s unlikely that anyone enjoy every book they read, so I can’t be upset when some people don’t immediately love mine.
In I NOT David I’ve included a few things for myself and a handful of people who know me or are from metro Phoenix. For instance, I describe the arcade with rides and mini golf that Kat and Derek visit as the blue castle-shaped building. When I was young, I called that very real building the “blue castle.” I also have characters eat popcorn and M&Ms with aa glass of orange juice in When Love Is Lost. It was a special night, growing up, when we watched movies with that trio.
I keep my hardest scenes to write a secret so I don’t hand out spoilers to future readers. However, I will mention that with each book, I’ve avoided writing for a day or so because I knew how emotional the scene(s) would make me. How my readers take to those scenes depend on how much they like to cry while reading.
Haha! Yes. But, generally, I do that on my phone to pull up my website easier. My name isn’t super common, so I know it’s going to pull me and a video game up. Kameo (the video game) is my biggest Google contender.
Snack food. Giving that up comes with double the bonus.
My husband says he will read one of my books when I write about spaceships. Despite that, he willingly listens to me as I gripe and work through how a character should act, often helping me with male characters. He also supports my hours at the computer.
No one has ever complained about my work. My kids think it’s cool. My mom and sister have read my books, which feels great. And my son forgives me when I call him Joey. I have nothing to complain about.
First, I want to thank Kameo Monson for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
Kameo Munson writes an incredibly well written book and the toll that it took on Kat’s and Derek son’s diagnosis takes in I Not David. This book is extremely educational, very emotionally raw, and very powerful.
Kudos to the graphic designer who designed the cover of this book! It absolutely is adorable and represents the subject matter perfectly! It captured my interest right away!
I Not David is a book for all parents and loved ones with children with Autism. Kameo takes you through her journey when Joey got diagnosed, learning what they needed to do to help educate him, meeting his therapists, etc.
Kameo really gives you a hard look of what an average day is like raising someone with Autism. She shows you the good and the bad and how it affects the family emotionally and mentally as well.
One thing is for sure is Kat is an incredibly strong Mom who loves her son unconditionally and would do anything for him!
I love the game that Kat and Joey play where she asks what his name is. Hence the title of this book. He says I Not David I Joey! It is so cute!
With all the talk about the Baja Burger in this book I now want to try one.
There are times when Kat’s husband Derek rubbed me the wrong way and I got really upset with him.
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