What Inspired When the Birds Stopped Singing?

The book started as a nonfiction story about an abused girl. I have worked with non-profits that help abused children, particularly those in foster care, for many years. People don’t realize that more than 600,000 children are abused each year. Not only are they often physically hurt, but the emotional damage goes deep and can cause problems throughout one’s life. I wanted to find a way to bring attention to this epidemic.

 Once I had a draft, I discussed the book with my agent, who suggested I work with a developmental editor. I had never used one, but I strongly encourage writers to work with this type of coach, mainly if they are new to book writing or changing categories. My developmental editor gave me a crash course in writing fiction.

 By writing fiction, I had the opportunity to introduce more people to spirituality. I was able to cover many different modalities to help readers (you can read about specific modalities in my blog series) understand how to use them. Writing fiction gave me a much bigger palette, and I could weave a story that imparted knowledge about abuse and spirituality.

 I was nervous when the book went out for review and was thrilled when The US Review of Books wrote, “Seamlessly blending pertinent spiritual knowledge with an uncanny storytelling and character development ability, Trippe has created a piece of literature that is both insightful and enriching for one’s personal—earthly and ethereal—growth.” (You can read the full review at https://www.theusreview.com/reviews-1/When-the-Birds-Stopped-Singing-by-Karla-Trippe.html)

 I look forward to hearing what you learn from reading “When the Birds Stopped Singing.”