Eve of Awakening follows a woman who is successful in her life but has a near-death experience and rediscovers her faith in God causing her to question everything she has believed. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

I was about 23 years old and super busy earning my master’s degree and working full time. I was exercising at the gym, so I could hurry home and do homework when I asked to myself, “Does everyone try to live so many lives in one?” That is when the thought, “Life Plethoricity,” came to mind: Trying to live the productiveness of multiple lives in a single life. The only way to do this is to get rid of valuable things that many hold dear — relationships, faith, rest and enjoyment. The interesting fact about this book is that I wrote it in 2005 — before social media, smart phones, online shopping/shipping and working remotely. I had to create these ideas in my book, which is why they have different names. However, now so much of what I speculated has come to fruition.

Eve is a perfect citizen in her world, until she embraces her lost faith, causing her life to spiral in a new direction. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

So many people think that Christians are “brainwashed” and that faith is a sign of a lack of intelligence or a sign of weakness. However, in my mind, I would want to know what happens after my body dies. My spirit and soul aren’t aging, so where will they go when my heart stops beating? This to me isn’t a sign of ignorance; rather, it is a rational awareness for anyone who thinks beyond this world and current moment. Eve has a near death experiences, and realizes that death steals all her hard earned productivity, and she gets angry. Why should she produce so much when she can’t take any of it with her when her heart stops? To me, she is the one who is highly intelligent in thinking beyond this life as she gains an awareness of how fleeting it is. That is why she won’t rest until she finds the answer to immortality, which she finds in Christ.

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

One of the most important themes that I wanted to explore was how imperfect people have a relationship with a perfect God. How does that look? What does the process of maturing in Christ feel like? How does the Holy Spirit relate to us once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior? My characters are far from perfect. And they are each on different walks of faith, wearing a unique anointing for their specific design. One of my utmost desires in life, besides being loved, is to have meaning and purpose. My goal in writing Eve of Awakening and in writing all five books of the Onoma Series is to show how each character has a purpose that is invaluable to God’s greater plan and how they accomplish that purpose even when they make mistakes and many times fall short.

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

So far, there are four published books in the series each named after a major character: Eve of Awakening, Bear into Redemption, Mark within Salvation and Hunt for Understanding. The final book, Straight unto Forever, is a prequel novella that occurs about 15 years before Eve of Awakening. I am currently finishing up this book, and it should be published Fall of this year.

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