Welcome! We're so glad you could
visit us today.
Thank you! I’m excited to be here!
What is your favorite thing about
being an author?
My very
favorite thing to do is write stories, and I’m so thrilled to get to spend my
time doing that! There are hard parts, of course, but when I wrap up a good day
of writing, I have that just-walked-out-of-a-movie-theater feeling.
That is a fun way to put it.
Where did the inspiration for your
latest book come from?
Initially, I started writing Justice
to explore how a close, long-term friendship like Jake and Brooklyn’s would be
affected by the aftermath of a sexual assault. Brooklyn and Jake’s
circumstances are very, very different from the Biblical account of Mary and
Joseph, yet both couples are faced with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy they didn’t
cause. When I noticed that similarity, I borrowed further inspiration from Mary
and Joseph to flesh out Jake and Brooklyn’s story.
What do you want readers to come away with after reading
your books?
The verse that stands out to me the
most is Zephaniah 3:5, which one of the characters quotes in Justice. One
phrase of it, from the King James, goes, “The just Lord is in the midst
thereof.” Jake and Brooklyn suffer wrongs, but even when it looks like God has
allowed evil to go unchecked, He is present, just, and at work. I hope readers
come away from Justice assured of that.
I love that!
What is one of your favorite scenes
in Justice?
It’s hard to decide, but I think I
have to say the fire escape is my favorite scene. Brooklyn’s history affects
how she interacts with Jake and prompts her to limit any physical relationship.
I hope I’m not giving too much away here… But I when I wrote that scene, to me,
it felt a lot like writing a kiss even though that’s not what happens.
If time and money were not a concern, what one skill would
you like to learn?
Only one? I’d
love to improve my painting skills. When I was a child, art was more of a draw
to me than writing (though I did some of that, too). I still dabble in art
occasionally, though. I have a mental image of a painting I’d like to do, but I
haven’t started it in part because of time, and in part because I’m not sure I
have the skill to make what I see in my mind appear on the canvas. Other skills
I’m interested in are violin and Italian, but I think I would use painting a
lot more, so if I can only choose one, that’s it!
You and I should get together. We share a lot on our "to do" list!
What is your favorite thing about
where you live?
Spring! I
live in Wisconsin, which means we have a decent winter with snow and cold
weather. That’s fine for a while, but when the snow starts to melt, the smell
of damp earth and the ability to walk outside in a light jacket just makes me
so very happy. Plus, it means my favorite flowers—peonies—aren’t far from
growing!
What are you working on next?
I’ve already written three manuscripts
since completing Justice, and I’ve started a fourth. I don’t have contracts for
these manuscripts, so it’s hard to say which will make it to readers first, but
most of them take a seed of inspiration from a Biblical account—Abraham and
Sarah, Joseph, and David and Bathsheba. As with Justice, the stories aren’t
simply retellings of Biblical stories in modern times, but in some ways, the
characters’ situations are meant to explore a some of the same questions and
difficulties our Biblical heroes faced. Whichever finds its way to publication
first, I hope readers take away from the stories that though our times may have
changed and though our lives have different circumstances, the God of the Bible
is still the same. He is a God who pursues us despite our sin, who is faithful,
and who redeems.
Well, all the best in your future writing and books. I am very intrigued by your story and hope sit down with it soon! Thanks for joining us!
