The Invisible Trap

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The Invisible Trap is an allegorical story of a child who leaves the safety and comfort of home. Soon he is overwhelmed by his new reality. Realizing he is all alone, he has to overcome his big emotions to gain clarity. The Invisible Trap is the effect limiting beliefs have on our ability to function. This book intends to help people learn emotional intelligence as early as possible.

Talking With John Clay

What was the inspiration for writing The Invisible Trap?

I struggled with anger and other symptoms of PTSD. I read some literature on emotional intelligence and Integrated Psychological Leadership Theory. Eventually I realized the trauma I faced led to beliefs that limited my capacity to move forward. Learning more about those beliefs from a psychological standpoint, I wanted to simplify the concept in a series of books so parents and children alike could learn emotional intelligence.

What was the writing process like for The Invisible Trap?

I actually wrote an organizational leadership paper and that was where I discovered the underlying theme which inspired my book. Once I knew what I wanted to communicate, I wrote my book in 30 minutes. I didn't think about publishing it for another 4 years.

What music did you listen to while writing The Invisible Trap?

I wrote the first paragraph in my head while taking a shower which is kind of funny. After I got out of the shower I got dressed and wrote the first paragraph in a word document. The rest flowed from there. So, no music to answer your question, but I did listen to classical music I typically listen to while studying.

What was your favorite scene in The Invisible Trap to write?

While this book is short, my favorite "scene" if you can call it that, is the rapid change from day to night and vice versa to symbolize the anxiety and relief I experienced while navigating my own limiting beliefs. My illustrator and I collaborated on how to communicate the emotion I wanted visually.

What was the hardest scene in The Invisible Trap to write?

The end of the book was the most difficult part because I had a hard time clearly communicating and summarizing the overall message of the book. I felt like the messaging was straight forward but I didn't want to assume anything. During the editing process I worked with my editor to keep the same theme, tone, and rhyming scheme while shifting from storytelling to clarifying and summarizing.