After Happily Ever After follows a woman who struggles to find a new purpose after her daughter goes to college and she meets a handsome stranger that forces her to make hard choices. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

As my children got older and more independent, my friends and I had some in depth conversations about the next chapter of our lives. We had so much in common that I thought a story like ours would be relatable to so many other women going through the same types of issues. Many of the women I knew had either given up their careers that they loved, to stay home with their kids, or they were in a career that they didn’t enjoy, and wanted to try something else in the middle of their lives. Some of these women who were looking for more “excitement” even decided that walking away from their marriages would provide that. I wasn’t one that wanted to leave my marriage, but I definitely wanted to figure out what the next chapter would be, as my children went off to college, and for me, that was to become a published author.

Maggie is an interesting and well-developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

Maggie is a compilation of so many women that I have come to know and love. She’s someone who feels like she lost her identity and her voice at the beginning of the book. Before she had her daughter, she identified herself as an editor in the publishing world, and she thrived there. She doesn’t regret giving up her job to stay home, but she knew who she was back then. Maggie has insecurities and anxiety about getting older and not knowing where she fits in anymore. I think her feelings and how she reacts to being overwhelmed are common in many people who may or may not want to admit their vulnerabilities. I enjoyed writing Maggie’s thoughts and showing her to be a flawed, but realistic human being who sometimes makes bad decisions when she’s feeling vulnerable. She doesn’t mean to cause more trouble in her life, but she wants to escape from all the other things that are happening and denies how she is now contributing to her problems.

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

The themes of family, love, the empty nest, marriage, and aging were important to me. I also felt it was important to write about how families change over time. Even great marriages can still have ups and downs, and most people will find themselves unsure of whether to stay or go at times. In a marriage, you need to figure out who you are as a couple as your children grow up and become independent, or you lose your relationship. We also need to learn how to see our “kids” as adults and treat them that way. As we age, our parents age and that takes a toll on everyone, and it’s not easy to come to terms with the idea of someday losing our parents. Maggie is part of the sandwich generation, where she still has a daughter to raise, yet her father is having medical issues that she wants to deny because he’s been so important to her in her life. I love all these realistic themes and even though some can bring sadness, my background in writing television sitcoms always makes me want to write about them with humor, so the heart-breaking moments aren’t as tough.

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

I’m close to finishing my second book, and again it’s a story with humor and heart-breaking moments. It’s about two women in their thirties, from very different backgrounds who meet in a support group when they experience a similar tragedy. It’s their stories both together and apart as they choose different ways to deal with the tragedy and find support in each other. They create a tight bond as friends and find out that they have far more in common than they ever could’ve expected.

Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website