The Wood Sprite follows a sixteen-year-old girl who receives a strange piece of wood, not knowing that it contains paranormal powers that are about to put her in grave danger. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Mia’s character came from my own experiences of being bullied as a teen. I was shy and introverted like her; my school days were spent trying to evade the bullies at all costs. I tried to make myself invisible, which was impossible since I was six feet tall by age thirteen. Mia’s home life was also similar to mine, as one of my parents suffered from alcoholism, and our whole family was damaged by it.

What were some ideas that were important for you to personify in your characters?

For Mia, I wrote a protagonist who appeared vulnerable, yet had the inner strength to persevere despite being thrown into the proverbial “lion’s den.”

The enigmatic Wendy Ravenwood is a personification of Mia’s desire for revenge against the bullies she feels impotent to face on her own. Wendy’s true origins remain a mystery even to me, except that she is a manifestation of Mia’s fears and her desire for a better life.

In a male-dominated world, I wanted my primary female characters to be strong and appealing, yet believable. While Mia is small and seems meek, she finds she has an inner strength she can rely upon. Late in the novel, the paranormal ability suddenly appears that will profoundly change her life and those of others.

Pete Chandler, and Jake and Missy Anderson are primary recurring characters that anchor the entirety of the Wallowa Lake Thrillers series. All eight novels feature their close-knit family and small circle of friends in some form.

As with most writers, most of the main characters exhibit bits and pieces of my own personality and/or experiences.

With so many characters and merging plotlines, how do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?

Unlike many authors, my writing is “SOP,” or seat-of-the-pants, style. I have a general idea of the direction I want the novel to go; then I build the plot, sentence by sentence. I never truly know where it’s going to lead, any more than someone who’s reading the book. With each paragraph, I craft the storyline and plot twists as my Muse dictates, choreographing the action. As the Wizard of Oz said from his escape balloon, “I don’t know how it works!” Neither do I, but I trust my Muse.

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

The next Wallowa Lake Thriller novel is Angel of Oregon, which should be released in Spring 2024. It centers on a slightly older Mia Chandler, who’s now a Resident Doctor, in a compelling new adventure that I hope everyone will enjoy reading. I have finished writing all eight of the Wallowa Lake Thrillers; those yet unpublished are still in the editing process. I’m currently working on a new, stand-alone thriller, called The HyperVisionist. which involves an elderly, billionaire attorney whose eyesight is rapidly failing due to macular degeneration. He is desperate—regardless of the cost—to find the cure before he loses his sight completely. Unfortunately, he ends up with much more than he bargained for.

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