Hug Whispers Between Worlds follows a stalled 28-year-old man who drifts between self-doubt, family pressure, and a difficult love relationship until he meets a gnome who helps him face hard truths. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Current events. I was in the business world, and I empathise with what the twentythirty-year-olds are going through. College for four years and all of a sudden they’re back to the starting gate because of AI–a difficult situation for sure, but not insurmountable.

Did you imagine this novel as magical realism from the beginning, or did the magic emerge naturally as Tim’s story took shape?

It really just happened. I remember writing the outdoor bonfire scene and thinking, “Now what?” And thoughts of Tim going near the water by the dock and finding a waist-high Gnome named Hug just seemed to make sense. It just took on a beautiful direction.

The family scenes feel uncomfortably real for many readers. How important was it to capture that quiet emotional tension?

I lived it too, so I can understand. It was one of the keys because that’s why Tim was so hyper-focused on changing his situation. This is the first of, at least, three books, so you will see how all of this plays out. Very exciting!

What do you hope readers feel when they close the final page?

Feel good. There is enough bad stuff going on now, I don’t want to contribute to it. I always want to leave the reader uplifted and hopefully provide a change in perspective about their current situation. Tim had the motivation all along; all he needed was someone, or a Gnome, help him look at his situation a little differently. That’s when the magic happens!