Writing can be vulnerable. It’s definitely isolating and if I’m being honest, I often walk away from my writing feeling that I’ve left a piece of myself behind. It’s as if the curtain is lifted for a moment, and the audience gets a glimpse of the real me.
My own experience as an avid reader often left me wondering about the author. Who are they really? What parts of their story contain personal elements of truth? How much truth is in fiction?
Stories can be powerful. They can connect us, entertain us, offer escapism or be a catalyst for change. Writing has always been an outlet for me. As a child, I could tune out the tumultuous events around me and immerse myself in another time and place.
In high school I enjoyed writing for our tiny literary magazine. College forced me to put creative writing on hold as I pursued degrees in Psychology & Social Work. I later went on to complete my Masters in Social Work, and obtain my New York State Licensing. In 2018, I decided to pursue my certification in Hypnotherapy with the National Guild of Hypnotists. Currently, I have a small private practice in Rochester, NY.
In the pockets of stillness, I began writing again several years ago. Although my novels are fiction, much of my writing incorporates issues related to mental health, trauma, religion and family. Writing continues to offer me the opportunity to creatively express, explore and imagine.
Completing my latest novel, Tiny House of God, was both cathartic and therapeutic.
Although fiction, many elements of the story and characters touched upon true events that I have survived, or that my clients have shared with me throughout my years working as a therapist.
My own struggles with mental illness and chronic pain have been challenging and made working a typical full-time job difficult. Despite my disability, I continue to work a few hours a month as a hypnotherapist. I enjoy writing on the side. My goals for writing are to offer glimpses into the challenges of invisible illnesses such as chronic pain, mental health and trauma. More importantly I strive to also showcase the resiliency and strength that survivors possess.
In addition to writing, theater has been therapeutic for me. In the same way that writing can offer opportunities to create worlds with words, theater can offer creatively therapeutic outlets. Writing, performing, and even producing shows for local theater continues to scratch a creative itch.
Currently, I’m enjoying making stuff up with my all-female improv team, Good Luck Improv. My husband is also a writer and theater “nerd”. We’ve been in countless plays together since meeting in college. More recently we incorporated storytelling into our repertoire in our show, “Catharsis Time” which was part of the Rochester Fringe Festival.
If my stories help readers feel understood and less isolated, I’ve done my job.
If readers are entertained, challenged and surprised by the plot twists, I’ve done it well.
Writing, singing and theater are therapeutic, and I plan to continue therapy forever.
Title Tiny House of God
Author Sara Zavacki-Moore
Genre Literary/Women’s fiction
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Sometimes when you live with a delusion for long enough, it becomes your truth.
Covid has been good to Willow. As a germaphobe, she finally feels like everyone else is now facing the type of anxiety she has long been accustomed to. When an abandoned baby is left on the front step of her tiny house, she must decide if she can get away with raising this child as her own.
Her therapist wants her to write about her past. As revelations about her abusive upbringing emerge, she starts to question everything about the present– including her new-found joy. Despite her trust issues, she wonders if it’s safe to enter her childhood friend’s “bubble.” And she just can’t seem to resist the suspiciously nice and overly handsome neighbor who keeps showing up with gifts.
In the midst of a global pandemic, can she leave her trauma behind and find sanctuary for the little family she hopes to create?
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Title Choosing Charity
Author Sara Zavacki-Moore
Genre Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Straight-laced and anxiety-ridden Anna never expected to save someone's life. When she sees a woman standing on the ledge of a bridge, she can't help but intervene.
The unexpected kindness from a stranger changes the course of Kylie's life. Only now, she has to figure out a way to tell her creepy boss that she can't exactly dance around a dimly lit pole with an ugly cast halfway up her leg.
Kylie's scars are inked upon her body, while Anna can't go a whole day without popping painkillers. Determined to make her therapist proud, Anna takes a chance on opening her heart and her home to someone who seems to need a friend even more than she does.
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