Dreams and Illusions follows a grieving boutique owner who is both guided and tormented by vivid dreams. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I wanted a main character with the gift of prophetic dreams, but I had to give her an obstacle to create conflict. Gabrielle had been told all her life that her gift came from God, so when her dreams failed to save those closest to her, God must have turned on her. This sets up conflict with her belief system and internally as she searches for someone to blame for her circumstances. Did she fail, or has God failed her?

Did you plan the tone and direction of the novel before writing, or did it come out organically as you were writing?

My main character, Gabrielle, set the tone with her personality and determination to find normalcy, which is why she needed a friend like Kate, to lighten the mood on occasion.  I think they create a nice balance.

Is there anything from your own life included in your characters?

I am a dreamer, which is what gave me the idea for the series, and Gabrielle certainly shares my sarcasm. But beyond that I’ve given her many attributes that I would like to have myself, such as her boldness and courage. I think many authors do that with their characters to explore other realities and live vicariously through our characters.

Can you give us a glimpse inside the second book in the Gabrielle Dorian Mystery series? Where will it take readers?

Dreams and Deceptions, the second book in the series stays in Whitman, Washington, where Gabrielle finds she has become a local celebrity, thanks to her best friend Kate. As a result, the two are drawn into a missing person case. In the midst of that, evidence emerges suggesting that Gabrielle’s husband’s death was not an accident, but homicide, and Gabrielle quickly becomes the main suspect. She and Kate will have to decipher Gabrielle’s cryptic dreams to find a lost son and uncover her husband’s real killer.

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