The Shadow and the Scream follows a woman struggling with trauma who encounters a distressed teen girl, and she is drawn into a supernatural mystery to find a killer. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I have a really good friend who has been diagnosed with complex PTSD as a result of long-term chronic relational family trauma. I remember having a lot of conversations with her over the years about how she struggles to find books that represent the ongoing, long-term recovery of trauma survivors. I’m also really interested in the idea of female rage, and how this manifests, especially in female survivors of trauma. I’ve also always been fascinated by the concept of monsters, what makes something a ‘monster’, and what being a ‘monster’ means. I decided I wanted to combine all these ideas to create a world where monsters were drawn to human rage and pain, providing a way for my characters to explore their feelings and learn to accept them as part of themselves. In the story, and in the series as a whole, the creatures called ‘monsters’ are often not the ones perpetrating real harm. I liked the idea of the monstrous deeds not actually being carried out by the creatures labelled as ‘monsters’, but by ordinary human beings working within the confines of a society that allowed them to behave monstrously.

I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from and how did it change as you were writing?

I’ll admit, I struggle to stick to a story plan! A lot of the worldbuilding for Wilderness, the world Annie and Sheb travel to, emerged organically as I was writing. I had some idea about the Dread King and who he was, but the power of the Wood, and its magic, was something that evolved over the course of the first two drafts. I am a huge advocate for ecological sustainability and respecting our living planet, so a lot of my books tend to have a nod toward that, including through using settings like the Wood as characters in their own right.

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

A key one for me was the importance of found family, and building a positive, protective community for yourself. I have an extremely supportive family, whom I love dearly, but not everyone does, and I wanted to provide room in my stories for the idea of family to go beyond blood ties and genetic relations and move more toward communities of people who care for and look out for each other. Trauma recovery was also another big one for me, including the fact that it takes time, and there are often setbacks. I also really wanted to explore the idea of how we can harness our emotions to better understand ourselves. That’s the whole point in the relationship that grows between Annie and her monster, Wriggler. She believes her rage makes her wicked and evil. What Wriggler shows her is that emotions are neither good nor bad and, if we learn to harness them properly, even anger can be a force for positive change.

What will your next novel be about, and what will the whole series encompass?

I’ve actually already published book 2 of The Nowhere Chronicles! It’s called ‘Flight of the Bone Crow’ and, in it, Annie and her friends venture into Sheb’s world, where he must contend with his past. Like ‘The Shadow and the Scream’, there is a monstrous mystery to solve, a whole new world to explore, a natural setting that has its own personality, and plenty of new characters to get to know! You can grab the book from my website, or from most of the large, popular online bookstores. I’ve just finished the developmental edits for book 3, which is called ‘A Fearsome, Lonely Heart’, and, in this one, Annie will have to confront someone important from her own past. It’s due to be released later this year!

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