Drive follows a gay man living in a conservative town who has to decide how much he is willing to risk to find love. What was your inspiration for the setup of the story, and how did that help you create the ending?

A lot of the setup is informed by personal experience. I grew up in a small town in Texas, not quite as extreme in views as Black Creek, but still not a safe place to talk about or explore queerness. In that situation, it can be very easy to latch onto the first person that shows you any kind of acceptance, even if it’s not a healthy one. While Victor may not have been the most ideal relationship parnter for Red, I don’t think he would have had the courage to approach Sean, even in a platonic capacity, without experiencing that acceptance.

What was your approach to writing the interactions between characters?

The main thing I tried to keep in mind is that they are all carrying around a load of fear and shame. Even Victor who seems so confident in himself is terrified of being outed and ostrasized by his community. The way they interact with each other and the world reflects this. Victor comes off as cold because of the walls he’s put up, Sean is deeply lonely, and Red walks around on eggshells between them.

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

One of the major themes of the book is self-acceptance. At the beginning, Red believes that there is something wrong with him because that’s what he’s been told by his abusive father and by his community. He hides it away from everyone, even his sister who he adores, out of shame. It’s through his relationships with Victor and Sean that he realizes that there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

What is the next book that you are working on and when can your fans expect it to be out?

My next book is a dystopian sci-fi called A Perfect Heresy. It follows Jax, a soldier now branded a heretic trying to make it home, and Koi, a sick Outsider who’s is trying to find xyr sibling who was abducted, as they navigate through a city and society broken by war. It can currently be read in its raw form on Kindle Vella and I hope to release it in paperback by mid year.

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