Gavin O’Malley DiMasi, Main Character in the First Book of the DiMasi Family Trilogy, Insisted on Interviewing the Author, Leslie Kain

By Leslie Kain

GOD: Leslie, what inspired you to write your first book, ‘Secrets In The Mirror’?

LK: I know someone whose two daughters were very close during childhood, then became estranged when the older one began manipulating and gaslighting the younger one in their early adulthood, asserting her superiority and the younger one’s inferiority. At the same time, there was/is a prominent political figure who behaves similarly. As a former psychologist, I became fascinated with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, particularly as it may affect families. 

GOD: So you gave me a narcissistic identical mirror twin who was the complete reverse of me? One who gaslighted and demeaned me?

LK: Well, as Dr Pedersen your counselor explained, NPD isn’t genetic; it’s developed via parenting behavior. Your Mob-associated bully father declared Devon, your twin, to be the “winner” and you the wimp, who was supposed to save Devon from his own worst instincts. Sorry, Gavin…

GOD: So what’s the point of the story?

LK: You know very well, Gavin. It veered far off from my plan. You took it there, just like all my characters tend to do. Devon couldn’t be saved! And you realized that the multigenerational pattern of abuse had to be stopped, and that you had to do it. 

GOD: Yeah. Break the abuse that replicates like down a hall of mirrors. Just like the patterns in your family, right?

LK: Ouch. Yes. The point in the story when you realized this was very emotional for me…

GOD: Huh. Back atcha. So did you plan on a sequel after that? A trilogy?

LK: You’re setting me up, Gav. You planned it, of course. I thought the first book was it. No sequel necessary. But you woke me early one morning, yelling at me, “Wait! You think I’m okay after what you put me through? All that constant abuse and trauma while I was growing up?” 

GOD: Uh-huh. Then what?

LK: I did my research. Complex PTSD hadn’t been widely defined when I was in practice years ago. Of course that’s how all your traumas affected you, the “last man standing” in your family. With very serious and debilitating reactions to triggers. 

GOD: Which put the well-being of my wonderful wife Katie and sweet toddler Maggie at risk. Exactly what I didn’t want – I was supposed to break the hall of mirrors! But then you had to write another book, to rub it all in, right?

LK: So sorry, Gavin. Yes. Injury and damage from the past may be buried, but ‘What Lies Buried’ doesn’t stay buried. It may heal but leaves scars, invariably resurfacing, and must be dealt with. But you shared the lead in that second book with Katie, who discovers the good things she’d left behind in her own childhood, and wants to reclaim it all, claim her passions and power, instead of only being a caretaker to broken people all her life since childhood. 

GOD: So that threatened our marriage, too. Thanks a bundle, Leslie.

LK: I hadn’t planned it that way! You and Katie diverted my plot in that direction. Then when you said you “could deal with scars, the ghostly relics of healed-over past injuries. But those assaults throughout [your] childhood are deeply embedded in the fiber of [your] being, self-perpetuating, self-replicating,” that was very emotional for me.

GOD: Well deserved. So what did you learn from that?

LK: Well, to be careful of giving my characters free rein, right?  Seriously, I realized that most of my life had been warped by my childhood, that I was literally a “poster child” for Complex PTSD.

GOD: So how are you going to redeem yourself – how are you going to save me in the last book of the trilogy?

LK: Katie and Maggie are gonna kick your ass, Gavin. In ‘Power Play’, coming out late next winter, Katie takes the lead, to reclaim her artistic talents, passion, and power – which other people try to take from her. 

GOD: Like me?

LK: You and others. Passion attracts weak people who try to co-opt or steal other people’s power. Especially men taking the power of women. 

GOD: What about me? Do I recover, or stay a basket case?

LK: You may remember Dr. Pedersen explaining that C-PTSD is very resistant to therapies and treatments; some types work for some people but not all, and it takes a long time. Years. Pedersen tries some special ‘magic’ for you and it ends “Happy For Now.”

GOD: Wow. Thanks. Maybe I’ll forgive you. Are you working on anything else? Other people’s lives you’re messing up?

LK: Yes. I’m hoping ‘Finding Harmony’ will be published in 2026. I planned it as a simple mystery, but―

GOD: Your character took over and―

LK: Revealed that she was really damaged, hiding it behind her persona as a top psychotherapist in L.A., then discovers she’d been adopted, then―

GOD: Stop! More revelations about you, huh? 

LK: My characters keep trying to tell me stuff about myself, but they’re really talking about universal human issues.

GOD: I guess that’s why your books have received so many awards. Thanks for this chat, Leslie. I think…

LK: It’s been a ball…

—

Leslie Kain was always writing something when she was a kid – including secret plans, which culminated in running away across country when she was fifteen, never looking back. Although her careers (Psychology, Government Intelligence, Nonprofits) limited her writing to nonfiction, she dabbled in short fiction that appeared in literary journals and anthologies. She ultimately developed personal relationships with her characters who nagged her into longer stories, the first of her trilogy was published in 2022. Kain earned degrees from Wellesley College and Boston University, and leverages her education, training and experience in psychology to write stories of inner conflict and emotional transformation. Originally from “all over” the U.S. (although she prefers to claim Boston), she now resides in Mexico with her husband. You can find her at www.LeslieKainWrites.com

SECRETS IN THE MIRROR

Family. The same people who destroyed Gavin’s self-esteem are the ones he must save.
In this multi-award-winning psychological drama about finding self in a dysfunctional family, Secrets In The Mirror grapples with the imperative to save others versus the struggle to save oneself. Gavin tries to salvage his self-esteem from Dad’s bullying and from narcissistic abuse by his identical mirror twin, while Mom resists spousal abuse to assert sanity into the clan. But when Devon gets into drugs and trouble with the Mob, people die. Gavin flees far away to protect himself and his new family, but he can’t escape his sociopathic brother, or the Mob. Yet inextricable bonds tie him to Devon, and Gavin vows to rescue his twin from his self-destructive path. But he is warned: You can’t save anyone until you save yourself.

“The novel provides a thoughtful consideration of a disorder that has the capacity to devastate relationships.. A somber, absorbing coming-of-age tale.” – Kirkus Reviews

“A psychological thriller that brilliantly portrays how psychological disorders can affect lives and even destroy families.” ―Literary Titan, Gold Medal Winner Award

“The characters are complex and layered, for a compelling dynamic. Highly recommended.” ―Readers Favorite (5-star review)

“Kain takes the reader on an intense ride with a piercing narrative that highlights effects of multigenerational physical and emotional trauma. Audiences will … relish the tension in this psychological twister. Great for fans of: The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window”―BookLife

BUY HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers