Juliet was Wrong follows a high school graduate who is searching for herself before heading off to college; what she discovers could change the course of her well-planned life. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

The inspiration for this story is, quite frankly, many people’s experiences. When we graduate high school, we feel as though: this is it. Life is ready to begin. But, what about the past eighteen years? Did they not count? We are just looking for ourselves as teenagers, before we are unleashed into the world… worried about what we’ll be or where we’ll end up.

I pulled some of that from my own experiences. I think of the quote from the last chapter: how did becoming an adult happen?

And how do we make it stop? Because that’s how every single eighteen year old feels going out into the world. At thirty five, I still feel that way sometimes.

Katie goes through a challenging period of self-discovery in this novel. Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?

Yes, absolutely. Although, Katie is who I wish I was in high school. So put-together and so self-aware. I was not that way at all! I imagined this girl who had her life so carefully planned… and then someone comes along and pulls her out of this bubble she’s created and forces her to experience things she has never experienced before. Someone to make her second guess everything she’s ever thought. And what better than a – quite average – eighteen year old boy? All four of those main characters are based on those I knew in high school – Josh is melded with my husband a bit.

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

Strong female relationships were very important to me writing this book. A teenage girl who had a normal relationship with her mother in a YA book? Say what? I feel as though the YA genre fixates on abnormal family relationships. But you can just tell Katie will grow up and her mother will be her best friend.

Katie & Sam are inseparable… there is this connection between them that sits under the surface that they will be there for each other literally no matter what. That was important to me to explore as well. Soulmates can exist amongst friendships.

And of course, the overall arching theme to always choose yourself. Always believe in yourself. You are good enough. No matter how many Joshua Parkers come into your life.

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

My name book is titled Same Time, Same Place and is due out April 4th, 2023! It is completely separate from Juliet was Wrong and is about a group of friends at summer camp throughout the years.

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