Good Lookin' Out: Chapel Girl in Prison
What happens when the suburban mother of five shows up in the dusty hallways of a maximum security prison?
Get your copy today to find out more.
What does "Good Lookin' Out mean, anyway?
If you've been incarcerated, you already know.
For the rest of us, "Good Lookin' Out" is a term of appreciation, a thank you for whatever just happened. If someone does something for you in the cell block that is unexpected, "Hey, good lookin' out.
If you just warned someone that a corrections officer is close by, "Good lookin."
If you make the most delicious prison fudge in the county and you share with a neighbor, "Good look, man."
Trust and appreciation are hard to come by in the world of incarceration. "Good lookin' out" says something went right about something.
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FAQ: Things People Want to Know When You Write
Why write about prison and the people there?​
I've written about many different things over the years, whether in my freelance work, a weekly community column, or all the books I've started that are waiting for my triumphant return. Good Lookin' Out is the book that was supposed to be written now, published first--both for literary and for practivist reasons. As many writers will tell you, the story tells the author when it's time. And, well, prisons and the people in them are really cool.
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How often do you write? Any tricks?
I have been writing my entire life, since I learned what happens when you connect letters to each other. And, I've not been writing nearly enough my entire life as well. Since writing has been the work behind all the other work throughout my careers, it rarely gets my first and full attention, I'm sorry to say. Writers tell new writers to "just write." Yes, but go easy on yourself if your current life makes that challenging.
My 2024 commitment was to move writing into the forefront of everything I do and I can honestly say that has happened. I love the London Writers' Salon, have treated myself to the Ossabaw Island Writers' Retreat, and as soon as my husband builds our Writer's Cabin, I will get into a fierce rhythm.
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What's up with the typewriter on the page?
What writer doesn't love a battered Underwood? This is a photo of a typewriter I found in my grandmother's attic after she died. No idea whose it was, what masterpieces were banged out on it, and why no one ever loved it back to health, but I will likely never part with it.
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What are your favorite books and authors?
It didn't take long for me to come up with my favorites. Click here for the stories and authors that both shaped my own love of reading and writing and have been my companions throughout my life.
Speaking of books, which ones haven't you read that you think you should?
Right? It's a list that grows every year. I have tried but just cannot get bored enough to start the Lord of the Ring series. Am I the only person who hasn't read One Hundred Years of Solitude or Wrinkle in Time? One of my Masters degrees is in theology and I've never read a page of C.S. Lewis. It's OK to judge me.
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What would you advise budding writers?
Listen, read, travel, learn something, read some more and then keep listening. After that (times eight), you may know something about the world worth writing a book about. Thank God I didn't actually finish those novels I started in my twenties.
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What's the next thing we can expect from you?
When you spend time in prisons and building a company from scratch, there are plenty of stories to tell. In the works are more anecdotes from prison, tied specifically to my journey as a trauma professional. In writing and facilitating trauma curriculum in a dozen prisons and jails over the last decade I have heard so many stories, witnessed hundreds of lightbulb moments and encountered a crazy amount of hope. I hope to have these stories to you before 2025 ends.
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