Inside the Mind - Tamikio Dooley

My writing journey began when I was sixteen. Writing ghost and horror stories was my passion. One story I wrote by hand when I was sixteen was 150 pages long. I never considered writing as a career until January 2015. That marks the commencement of everything. My writing experience spans twelve years. Authors, editors, and publishers were more inspiring to me. They influenced my journey into writing, and my skills improved. My literary role models inspired me to become a multi-award-winning author publishing 125 books and still writing.

My book is titled “Unsilenced: The Words I Wasn’t Allowed to Say: A Memoir.” “Unsilenced: The Words I Wasn’t Allowed to Say,” A Memoir. Based on my own experiences, my memoir focuses on coping with mental illness and disability. By discussing my personal battles with mental health, I aim to inspire readers, illustrating that hope, support, and healing are achievable regardless of life’s difficulties. My goal is for my book to inspire readers not through my own mental health challenges, but by showing them that hope, healing, and love exist. I also want to encourage individuals with mental illness to voice their experiences and overcome silence. My other mental health books include "Finding Yourself", "The Unraveling History of Mental Illness", and "In the World of Depression Therapy".

I draw my character from the depths of my imagination. In my mind, every character I devise transforms into a unique individual. I named the characters and adopted their persona. I possess the capability to embody diverse characters through my imagination, disregarding race, traits, and personality.

My typical day when I plan to write starts in the morning. I'm motivated to write in the morning but as the afternoons progress, I lose motivation and it's time to rest. My typical mornins looks busy and sometimes overwhelming but overall enjoyable.

As an indie author, I find the most satisfaction in writing my debut book and learning new things. For an indie author, control offers the greatest reward. I'm allowed to manage and publish my own books. A publishing company released my debut novel, "Secrets of the Darkness", in 2019. As the years passed, changing my books, including cover updates, manuscript corrections, and renaming, grew difficult. The publisher had to be contacted for all the changes, which was a time-consuming process. Furthermore, it sometimes takes three to four months for royalty payments to arrive, reaching a $50.00 threshold. To promote my books in anthologies and at book festivals, I covered the publishers’ marketing and advertising costs. It was simply not worth it. About three years ago, I removed my books from the publisher. I’ve returned to self-publishing and I’m loving it. I have no regrets concerning the decision I took.

The toughest part of my writing journey is bringing a book to completion. I have a tendency to begin new books whenever a fresh “idea of the moment” strikes, inspiring me to explore a different genre. The book’s completion within two months is contingent on its writing flow; I might abandon it to write about something that sparks my interest. However, I always return to completing the books I began with new thoughts and recollections later on.

My book promotion strategy involves self-promotion as an Indie author. My roles extend beyond authoring to include publishing, editing, promotion, book blogging, and book reviewing. I'm very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about promoting and marketing my books. My promotional ideas for my books on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Goodreads are also something I enjoy. This self-promotion tactic has also led me to meet many new people with similar interests.

What’s next for me? I’ve launched a new three-part book series, “Literary Philosophical Biographical Series,” focusing on fiction literature about philosophy, poetry, and art. I have a passion for writing about historical philosophers, poets, and artists. I aim to wrap up the series by November 2026. The series will be available on Amazon and Lulu.