Depression follows siblings during the Great Depression who leave home and move to New York City in hopes of a better future. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

My inspiration comes from my fascination with history. Ever since I was 12 years old, I have been a history fanatic because it has always been an interesting subject to me. To me, it is nice to learn about how past events can affect our current moment in life. In terms of the Great Depression, I felt that it was always a major stepping stone in American history because of its global impact (Ex: World War 2).

What many people tend to forget or leave unnoticed is how the Great Depression impacted those in the southern states. Agriculture was failing so badly for farmers that they needed help from the government but it still wasn’t enough to save their agriculture business. I’ve been wanting to write a story around this idea for 12 years now, but never got around to it until now.

Wade and Ruby both take different paths once they reach the city, struggling in their own ways to figure out themselves and how to get by. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

I believe the idea for Ruby and Wade was to show everyone how even though we want to achieve the same goal in life, we will still go on a different journey to get there. Sometimes it can be a good path or a dark path.

For Ruby, she was always the tough, strong-minded country girl who never wavered from anything and always protected her little brother. Getting to New York City was her way of finally realizing that there was more to life than farming and Wade. Her main thing was finally growing up and stepping out of her Mississippi bubble.

For Wade, even being the ambitious one and wanting a better life for himself and his sister, he quickly learns that dreaming about something is very different than experiencing something. His dreams meet reality which caused a huge character shift for him.

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

The most important thing that I want readers to take away from this book is hope. Hope for a better tomorrow. We as humans and society have our troubling, depressing moments in life, so sometimes hope is all we need. Overall, If there is anything you can learn from Wade and Ruby’s journey is that you have the power to take a step towards changing your destiny.

Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?

Yes. We can expect a sequel to Depression. Ruby’s story is not finished just yet. I won’t spoil too much of the next book, but I will say that Ruby will now learn the true meaning of love, loss, and healing.

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