The Cost of Living follows a grieving mother in a post-apocalyptic world as she grapples with loss, abuse, and the moral ambiguities of survival, forming tenuous alliances in an environment devoid of societal structure. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I dreamt of the scene where Sara and Sam reach his sisters-in-law’s house for three weeks straight. It only stopped when I wrote down everything I saw and all the emotions I felt during the dream. I honestly thought that was the end, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what would have had to happen for the world to be like that. I built the story around that scene.

The Cost of Living portrays a world turned upside down by catastrophic weather events – what inspired you to choose this particular kind of apocalypse for your story?

Weather is something most people can relate to. Whether it be horrendous thunderstorms, tornadoes, blizzards, or hurricanes, mother nature’s wrath has been felt by many.

Can you share more about the process of creating Sara’s character arc, particularly the influences or experiences that led her from a grief-stricken mother to a resilient survivor in a dystopian world?

Grief can be all-consuming, if you allow it. It will pull you down into a pit of despair and longing. There are strong women in my life that have lost children. They could have let the grief drag them down, but they didn’t. We are not in a dystopian world, but they still persevere and continuously show the world how strong they are. I looked at them and saw them doing this with the world moving regularly, and this brought up the question, could Sara do it with the world collapsing? That strength is what shows through Sara and her actions.

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

I am currently working on a new book, not a sequel. It is about Leigh, who, after an accident, wakes up with empathic abilities. She is navigating the world, trying to figure out if these abilities are a gift or a curse. My goal is to have it available by the beginning of 2024.

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