Wildwood Healer follows a big-hearted elderly woman who takes a boy and his dog under her wing, and together, they work to bring change to their struggling community. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

My dear, departed mother always told us stories of how difficult a time it was and I wanted to evoke the same in this story and maybe honor her bright spirit and optimism in the face of despair. She and my dad married in 1932 when they lived in a government run migrant camp in Kansas City. They stood before a preacher in overalls and a borrowed dress and shoes, believing the only way to survive was to throw in their lot together. Also the spirit of the story Fried Green Tomatoes sort of hung in the background I think. I’ve always loved reading and hearing stories of survival during the Depression so I really wanted to write a story about it.

I found Sicily Rossi to be a very well-written and in-depth character. What was your inspiration for her and her emotional turmoil throughout the story?

Miss Sicily is inspired by my mom. I’ve never known a stronger woman. It seemed no task was too great for her. She was the best cook around but she could also roof a house, work on our car, sew our dresses- sometimes even without a pattern, keep a house, and especially stretch a dollar. Plus, she had a heart as big as Texas and helped those around us, often taking a neighbor woman to work so she wouldn’t have to walk. There was no end to the love for her fellow man. She always said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” And she found it. There were five of us kids and we never did without. So Miss Sicily was easy to create. She knew hard times and believed it was her duty to help those she could. The abused girl in the story, Martha Ann, came to love her like a mother. Sicily didn’t sit still and wait on others to do the work. Using deep convictions and grit, she dove in and created an answer for the town’s starving populace.

What was one scene in the novel that you felt captured the morals and message you were trying to deliver to readers?

The scene with the drunk Leroy comes to mind. Sicily put herself in danger, facing a loaded gun, simply because she knew in her heart it was the right thing to do. She had to protect Martha Ann from her abusive husband however she could. She’d determined she couldn’t let Leroy continue to beat his wife and made a stand. She was a true hero, someone larger than life. She believed you had to stand up when it counted and stand up to wrong. Sicily lived by the rule that if you saw something wrong, you had a moral duty to say and/or do something. We’d be a lot better off today if we still adhered to that philosophy.

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

I just finished a Christmas novella called “Love Comes to Christmas.” It’s based on the old carol, “Love Comes Down at Christmas” and is the story of a young woman who has faced deep tragedy and pain but is blessed with the gift of music. It’ll be available on Amazon December 4th. I also plan to release another historical fiction this coming year. An idea is percolating.

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