The Confessional follows a young woman in search of her birth mother but uncovers life changing secrets instead. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

I grew up hoping someday I’d discover there had been a horrible mistake and my REAL mother was just out of reach waiting for me to find her. As it turns out, a sister and two brothers were the ones waiting for me to find them. Which I did, eventually. I am familiar with that yearning for family and hoped to convey that feeling in echoes through the lives of all three women in my novel.

Your characters are intriguing and well developed. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

Mirta, although small in stature, “grew large” when she needed to fight for her children. There was nothing she wouldn’t do, endure, and hope for the sake of her family.

~ Julia, an enigmatic character, chose freedom over family. Was she selfish or did she really do what she thought was best for her child? A lonely woman in her later years or enjoying the life of a jetsetter? Did she wish she had chosen differently? I left all that up to the reader to decide.

~ Francesca, romanticizing her birth mother at Mirta’s expense, was left to grapple with the face of love and what really makes a family.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The way women interact with one another at various stages in their lives and in times of despair was a driving theme for me. A woman’s strength and her ability to accomplish whatever she is called to do. All three women are independent, strong women adapting to challenges. Also a theme: Forbidden love when the deck is stacked unequally, as it often is. Then, of course, there is the overarching theme of those who’ve stolen power and through unthinkable terror impose their paradigm upon the innocent. Pure evil. I just had to write about it.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

The working title is Losing Wait. It’s a novel about a fatherless, teenage boy with no male role model, struggling to become a man and take care of his mother, aunt and little cousin, Penny. I’ve enjoyed navigating through the mind and emotions of earnest, young Jed. It’s comical, and quite a departure for me, but ultimately deals with the theme of growing into oneself, and finding your star in the family constellation.

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