FAQ's
What do you like to read?
Who are your favorite authors?
What else do you like to do besides write?
What’s your favorite movie?
Where did you grow up?
What do you like most about writing?
What inspires you to write?
What is the hardest part of writing a novel?
What role do dreams play in your writing and how do they inspire your work?
When you think about your readers, what do you hope they receive from reading your novels/books?
I want my readers to be entertained, to have hope, and to get into my book as much as I did when writing them. To be moved or changed or inspired to bring about change is what inspires me, especially in What Makes Them Amazing. My goal was to share these incredible stories and inspire others to keep trying, to give, and to feel emotions that are often pushed aside. It hurts to read about children suffering from cancer, but there is beauty and joy in their journeys. I want readers to feel the different levels of reading—entertainment, enlightenment, and healing. This sometimes happens all at once or when the reader is ready to receive the message.
Hope. I want my readers to know that when you think life just can’t get any worse or your emotions are so strung out you can’t possibly move another step, there is always hope. I’d like them to be able to connect to my characters and feel enriched by my words. Or at least be entertained. I love when I can’t put a book down and I am completely swept away by the story. I strive to be that kind of writer, but I’m still learning.
What drew you to write about ancient Celtic warriors?
I have always loved medieval literature and the stories of courtly love and King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. However, it bothered me that women basically didn’t have rights and were not treated very well. As it happens I met one of my best friends, Kathy Lange-Madden, in a medieval literature class. During the last semester of graduate school, I realized that I was three credits short to graduate. I could do an independent study and Kathy suggested women in Celtic literature. I had never really read this time period and I focused on third century Celtic Ireland. I fell in love with it. Celtic Ireland was led by a matriarchal society so women were considered equal to men and ruled side by side. I was enamored by the stories of fairy folk and the Otherworld and all the quests and challenges that warriors went through. I wrote my paper on Feminism in Celtic Literature. Even though women were considered strong and equals, they still couldn’t rule in the all-male band of warriors called the Fianna, so of course I had to change that.
I write about strong female characters, but also how men and women can work together in a positive and effective manner. They can respect each other and not feel threatened by their success.
