In the Mountain is a disaster-survival novel in which workers trapped inside a collapsing underground facility form a fragile yet determined family, relying on ingenuity, endurance, and human connection to survive. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I have lived in Colorado for many years, and often when I am heading south on I-25, I pass through Colorado Springs. Cheyenne Mountain stands majestically on the south-western side of the highway, as Colorado Springs cuddles into the Rockies. Years ago, as we were driving south, I told my friend that “someday I was going to write a book about Cheyenne Mountain. Two years ago, I finally found my DO IT button and began writing. The Mountain itself is my inspiration; the rest of the book was my imagination at work!

One thing I admired was how tangible the survival details felt: bags, ladders, coats, water bottles, darkness, broken glass, dust. How important was physical realism to building tension in the novel?

The physical realism you mention was very important to me. I worked hard searching and then researched information about what the mountain was like, how it was accessed, what it contained, etc. Once I had that info, I began to tell the story from the position of the characters who worked there.

I attempted to immerse myself in the reality of their surroundings, defining them before and after the event. I felt each detail was important. Sometimes I had to ask myself: “What would I do ‘if’…” What ideas could I offer? How strong would I be as a certain character? What would it take to fight the invisible enemies: Darkness, Thirst, Hunger, Cold, and more? I suppose that the physical realism became my tool, allowing me to feel the character’s tension, needs, and fears, and more. I wrote with that in my mind.

The emotional center of the book is the way coworkers slowly become what the story later calls a “Dislocated Family.” Why was that transformation important to you?

In some of my own life’s situations, I have experienced being surrounded by strangers, in uncomfortable settings, uncertain about my next step, feeling worried, afraid, or anxious. Remembering that, I wanted to feel what my characters might be feeling, and to lead them (via the storyline) toward that transformation. The Unknown can be terrifying. These characters faced enormous unknowns. They needed to become a “family” in order to find the hope to survive and to find the world again.

Even in darkness, the book keeps returning to endurance rather than despair. What do you hope readers take away from the story once they emerge from the mountain with these characters?

The hope I have for my readers, and their “takeaway,” I have listed below. Most people need other people, and working together toward a single goal is a positive way to “grow relationships”, dislocated or not. I believe that not every dream, desire, goal, or hope reaches that “good ending” we hope for. Sacrifice is sometimes needed, difficult choices must be made, and caring is a most necessary element. I want my readers to remember, or do these things:

1. Embrace Hope and never stop hoping.
2. As much as you are able, Participate. Working with others grows strong relationships.
3. Happy Endings are not promised.
4. Sacrifice is sometimes required.
5. Wisdom gained becomes a promised Guide.

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