“In Session is a true page-turner, drawing you in and keeping you on the edge of your seat.”
— Kristine Casart, Author of The Unconventional Addict
Meet The Author
Luci Evans is a practicing psychotherapist. After completing graduate school and obtaining a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology she counseled clients in group therapy and later in private practice. Her debut psychological thriller, In Session, provides the backdrop to explore deeper themes of the human psyche.
Luci Evans brings a sassy-fresh voice to psychological thrillers. Not only does she have an eye for the telling detail, but her experience as a psychotherapist gives her an eye into the very soul of her characters. If you want to understand dysfunction while also being engrossed in a compelling story, look no further.
— John DeDakis, author, Fast Track, Former CNN Senior Copy Editor ("The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer")
Synopsis for In Session
Dr. Olivia James has a dark side. Trapped in a cycle of addiction and denial, she tries her best to maintain a façade of composure.
During the day, Dr. James has a thriving couple’s therapy practice. But at night, her persona shifts to a huntress. She preys on men for sexual gratification to feel alive, momentarily escaping from her daily world of angst. Until one day new clients Tara and Nick walk into her office for their first therapy session. Nothing is the same again. Olivia must confront the demons of her past in order to break through her delusions of the present. Twists and turns throughout her journey culminate in a surprise redemption that Olivia never anticipated.
Read on for a blurb from In Session.
CHAPTER THREE
Nick, her husband, my hook-up, was here to start couples’ therapy with his gorgeous, voodoo-worshipping, supermodel wife. I glanced at her… her eyes danced with mischief, mine glazed over with disbelief.
I couldn’t be here. This was not happening. I watched myself standing in the doorway. I dissociated and hovered a few feet above my body. Dr. Olivia James spoke calmly, professionally and I watched her. “Hi, welcome. Please come in. Would you excuse me for one minute? I’ll be right back.” Before either of them could answer I walked out to the hallway and shut the door behind me.
I tried to remind myself to breathe. Where did the oxygen go? My body was paralyzed against the hallway wall. Every single muscle in my body twisted like a thick strand of licorice. I forced a violent exhale from my lungs and gagged on a gulp of air. I shut my eyes tight.
MEET THE
AUTHOR
Hello! Thank you for stopping by.
I’m a Chicago, native — north side, by the way. Go Cubs, Bears, and Bulls! My birthday is October 23rd. That makes me a Scorpio. But tempered with a Libra moon and progressive Aquarius rising.
I began writing short stories and journaling at age seven to help process my parents’ divorce. I still journal daily. It keeps me grounded and connected to myself. It’s a place where I can unapologetically say whatever flows through my consciousness. I consider a blank page and a pen the best therapist there is!
In 2010 I attended the UCLA screenwriting program. Three years later I completed two, full length screenplays. My next project is to turn them into novels. My poem, The Loom, was published in 2017. And my short memoir is included in the anthology, Love Unboxed Vol 2. published in 2018.
However, before I decided to make writing my career, I graduated from DePaul University with a degree in Psychology and later an MS in Clinical Psychology. In between degrees, I married a wonderful man and became a mother to two spectacular sons while living in Oak Park, Illinois — home of one of my writing mentors, Ernest Hemingway.
When I embarked on my psychotherapy career, my clients taught me so much about the human experience. I respected and valued their struggles and triumphs and felt honored to assist them in achieving mental and emotional wellness.
One thing that stood out for me was that collectively, we humans have so much in common. In my writing, I strive to explore themes of resilience, authenticity, cause & effect, and how environments can either help or hinder personal growth.
In 2022, I decided to make writing my full-time career. I continuously strive to hone my writing craft, tell compelling stories infused with humor, and to read great works of fiction that inspire and uplift me.
In addition to writing, I still counsel a handful clients. I love to make jewelry, drum my djembe, walk the beach, and hang out with my fluffy wheaten terrier, Cosmo.
My Passion + Writer’s Mission
I enjoy exploring and writing about the depths of human emotion and behavior. I firmly believe that we have the strength to reimagine and calibrate the narratives of our own lives.
Some of the themes and questions I attempt to answer in my stories include:
Why do we do the things we do?
How does the environment influence the charcter’s decisions?
In what ways is it possible to experience change and growth when the odds are stacked against us?
How can post traumatic stress alchemize into post traumatic growth?
What does it mean to “heal?”
Storytelling is thousand of years old. Generations of people pass down stories of survival, tragedies and triumphs, love, forgiveness and redemption. In other words, the full gamut of human experience can be felt and embodied through storytelling.
It’s my sincere hope that my novels provide you, the reader, with inspiration, motivation, and, of course, entertainment. Perhaps the opportunity to access and process some of your own emotions might bubble up along the way.
With Love & Light,
Luci Evans
Listen in to the In Session Playlist:
The songs that inspired the scenes of Luci Evans’ Debut Novel, In Session
OTHER PUBLISHED WORKS
Love Unboxed 2
An anthology of twenty women writers from across the globe who courageously share their stories of healing and forgiveness; going from surviving to ultimately thriving.
Life Matters: Poetic Hustles, Volume 2
Life Matters is a collection of poetry meant to challenge and reacquaint. Featuring the poem, “The Loom,” by Luci Evans.
-
Things that make up a life.
We know not where, nor how Or why it exists, yet up and down we Go creating our tapestry. Like the speedy loom Each strand intertwines; loves, liars, joys, betrayals, peace, chaos, guilt, redemption,
Round and round as the majestic weave Reveals the final strand, shredded, alone;
Our journey nearly complete
The imprint, permanent for all who care to remember.
Upon our last breath, the lone strand cut, our Lives complete... until
The magical spark, the essence behind the machine;
Love - begins again
The unending circle of life.
SCREENPLAYS
The Suits
A feature length screenplay set in the 1930s. Al Capone’s top pit boss, Eddie, runs the underground casinos in Chicago. When Eddie gets caught skimming money, he must leave the city to save his wife and children from the mob’s wrath.
Havana Moon
A feature length screenplay loosely based on the life of Cuban entertainer, Olga Chaviano.
