Inside Out shares the stories of various people and the intriguing lives they live. What inspired you to write this story?

I think I was initially inspired by the Edmund Goulding film, “The Grand Hotel,” which stars Greta Garbo and John Barrymore. I liked the idea of these very different but unique individuals who all cross paths one evening staying at this elaborate Berlin Hotel and this, that, and the other thing happens. I wanted to do something like that for awhile, but I couldn’t figure out how to be honest with the idea and do it on my level.

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

Thank you. The only thing that concerns me when it comes to developing characters is that they remain individuals. I have a deep respect for any one who can maintain their individuality, especially today when personally, I feel that everything is very categorized. I really hate that. I think too with the characters specific to this book they all go against who they believe themselves to be. They say something or do something that doesn’t quite match their personality and that to me is very interesting.

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

My idea was mainly to showcase how individuals have a basic need to communicate their ideas to one another, but being that they are essentially islands they have no idea how to. For me, that idea is very personal because I don’t really know what to say to people or how to act when I’m with them and I think that is a universal thing, at least with the people I know.  

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

I’ve been working on a short story collection, “This Thing Called Love.” The title is the same as the main short story of the collection, which is themed around belief. I’m hoping this collection will be out by Summer of ’22.

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