X follows the parents of a kidnapped 6-year-old girl who works with family and friends to find and bring their daughter home. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I had such a great response with my previous novel, Leaving Phoenix, and I was overjoyed to know it had resonated with so many people. Many readers mentioned how much they enjoyed the lead character, Phoenix. She was a firecracker with a terrific character arc, and was a very well drawn heroine––one with a soft, vulnerable side but who had to muster considerable strength under fire in order to slay her demons. As I had dealt her the mother of all painful backstories, her demons and challenges were many. This phoenix had to rise from the ashes, on more than one occasion.

Others told me how much they loved her supporting cast as well, citing her adoptive father, Pop Pop, and her supportive husband, Curt as favorites. With that in mind, I took quite a bit of time to consider if there might be another story there, and if so, what would be the premise that would make it engaging, and justifiable as a sequel. I wasn’t going to take it on for the sake of just writing a sequel. The original story was so strong, and I wanted to do it––and her––justice. The decision to begin the story about four years later, to where Phoenix’s and Curt’s daughter Rose was now six years old, gave me a starting point as well as a new character to flesh out: Rose.

Phoenix’s grandfather, Liam, had been another favorite character in the previous book. As he died before this new story begins, I wanted to find a way to incorporate him, somehow, and it turns out he had provided some much-needed assistance, indirectly, almost from beyond the grave. I added another new character this time out, Murf, and he was a fun one to incorporate into their family rescue team. You’ll love him!

As for the antagonists, I had a lot of fun fleshing out Rose’s captors. I gave the bad guys full backstories and character arcs as well, and they were a hoot to explore. These guys, with Rose in tow, got more than they bargained for, and it presented some great dramatic––and even comedic––moments along the way, even though the story is no laughing matter. I had to walk a fine line with the tone, as the subject matter is dark and not to be taken lightly. The characters had their eccentricities, and there were moments that allowed me to lighten things up a little––even if for brief moments. I didn’t want to make this a rehash of The Ransom of Red Chief––a short story I remember reading in the eighth grade, I think––and I believe I succeeded in making X a fresh experience for the reader.

Lastly, I wanted to expand the landscape a little. As Leaving Phoenix takes place in Arizona––and later, in central California––I wanted to change it up a bit by taking this across state lines, and into some unforgiving weather scenarios. I think the way I mapped it out works well for the story and makes it extra engaging for the reader.

Rose stands out as a strong character despite being the victim, and only six years old. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

Thank you for saying that. Yes, little Rose is a dynamo, not unlike her mother, and the grandmother she never knew––and was named after. As this was a story of a child in peril, I didn’t want to paint young Rose as a totally helpless victim. I wanted to make her a three-dimensional character with not only her own vulnerabilities, but also a toolset of strengths from which would to draw from once she finds herself a victim of abduction, without her family and support system. She’s an extraordinary child; she’s observant, intelligent beyond her years, and resourceful when the moment presents itself. The early scenes with her grandfather, Pop Pop, establish just how extraordinary she is, and they also shed light on the family dynamic. By making her a strong character, with a big personality, it made the interactions with her captors more interesting. It presented her abductors with more challenges, as they had to deal with her, and I think it made for a richer story.

How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?

I didn’t want this to be just another kidnapped child story. As we all know, there are so many of those, and some of them are pretty great. Others, not so much…. But I wanted to make this a character-driven story, steeped in strong emotion, while exploring the pitch-dark underbelly of those who engage in human trafficking. For some, understandably, stories involving a child in peril can be triggering. There are some stories I know of that I’ve heard people say they bailed on because it was just too much to take. As I didn’t want to shy away from that dark world or the evildoers that make up the backdrop for this story, I also didn’t want to take it too far. It was a dance, and I think I was able to convey the horrors and the menace that are out there, while maintaining sensitivity to the reader, and making the drama sustainable. Through well-rounded characters, I was able to play with the tone of the story, when it called for it, and writing them gave me opportunities create that much-needed balance. And, plot twists? Yes, X has got those too, and I made sure they weren’t just thrown in randomly for their own sake. The plot was an intricate one, and I think I leave the reader very satisfied. At least I hope so.

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

As for a next book, I don’t know yet. I just published X this past week, so I’ll be quite busy guiding this one safely out of the harbor in hopes it finds its wider audience. I think it will. Besides, for any readers who might enjoy that ever-popular “A-to-Z Alphabet Reading Challenge,” they can rejoice in the fact that I just helped them fill what’s arguably the most difficult box to fill on their grids: X.

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