A Place of Vengeance follows a teenage psychic aiming to understand his abilities and confront supernatural challenges amidst the complexities of high school life and ancestral secrets. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

To answer that, I’ll have to go back a few years. I was camping with my dog near Mendocino, a picturesque village on the Northern California coast, and while sitting by the fire one evening, it occurred to me what a great setting the area would be for a ghost story. That was the genesis of A Place of Shadows, the first book of the series. I enjoyed writing that story so much and felt such a connection with the characters in general and my protagonist in particular that I immediately launched into the sequel. I wanted to raise the stakes, and having Ben Wolf battle an evil, supernatural force plaguing his school was a natural escalation.

Ben Wolf is an intriguing and well-developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

What I like about Ben is that his psychic gifts aside, he’s just a regular kid figuring out life as he goes along. He isn’t the cleverest of his friends and can get emotionally wrapped up around the axle at times, but he’s brave, he’s loyal, he has a sense of humor, and he tries to do the right thing. I wanted a protagonist who was unique enough to be interesting and heroic enough to be admirable yet sufficiently flawed to be relatable.

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

Ben experienced fear and great anxiety in the first book but never really hit rock bottom. I wanted him to go through a greater spectrum of emotions, everything from first love to devastating personal tragedy. Poor guy…I really dragged him over the coals in this one.

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

My next book will be the third in the Windward Cove series, tentatively titled A Place of Madness. While my second book was darker than the first, my third will be darker than the second, with greater danger and higher stakes all around. As for a release date, I imagine it will be at least a couple of years. I still work full-time at my muggle job, and it can be draining at times, but I’m chipping away at the story!

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