In Creature of Secret Sorrows, a shocking discovery in the woods draws a woman and her neighbors into a murder investigation that exposes generations of buried trauma and ancestral violence. What was the first image, character, or scene that sparked the story?

An image from the first book in the series, The Rightful Future, sparked this story. As the characters often reflect, everything is connected. A running theme of the series, A Cadence Mystery, is that long-buried secrets aren’t truly buried. They are simply waiting for the right convergence of people and events to reveal themselves. The narrator of the books, Marian Greene, saw a photograph of a lynching in book 1 in her discovery of the town archives. I always knew I would return to that image because it was so affecting for Marian just to see a photograph of a crime that heinous. And, of course, she is the one who discovers the horrific scene in the woods in book 7, Creature of Secret Sorrows. As the author, it’s paramount to keep track of those details across the span of the series, because, even if only the most discerning reader notices, those details serve as the glue to the world of Cadence. Everything is connected.

In this book, Randy has just been told by his birth mother that she is terminally ill and must see him to give him a family relic. Her devastating news sends him into the woods to search for a turtle stone to gift to her. At the same time, a young man of Ghanaian descent, Kwame Dua, from St. Louis, is headed to Cadence with his girlfriend after a series of unwarranted, racially-motivated police stops and an unsuccessful job hunt that he also believes was prejudiced by racial bias. At first glance, these two events seem completely unrelated, but the reader will discover they are deeply entwined in the secret about to be revealed.

The novel explores how violence echoes across generations. What inspired you to tackle that theme?

That’s a second theme of the series since the beginning. Here in the United States, there is a concerted effort by the current administration to erase the darker chapters of American history. That’s the wrong thing to do. We have to face our past, acknowledge it, reclaim the stories of the victims, and, finally, work toward restorative justice, so that the descendants of both the victims and the perpetrators can heal and come together. Our country is afraid to do that, most likely because it won’t be easy and will probably be a painful journey. But it’s necessary. We will remain divided until we do the hard work.

In Cadence, the past refuses to be erased or forgotten. Rather, it comes knocking on windows and demands recognition and restorative justice.

Readers will discover that trying to hide the past only complicates the present, and leaves certain characters to fuel grievances based on lies and myths. In Creature of Secret Sorrows, such subterfuge ends in tragedy. Had the truth been known, the outcome would have been very different.

Why do you think ghost stories and legends remain powerful ways of talking about historical trauma?

Ghosts and monsters exist in all cultures and are manifestations of our collective and personal traumas, fears, and unresolved sorrows. They are the very things that haunt us in our dreams and in stories passed down through the generations. Sometimes they are the manifestations of the evil perpetrated against others: heinous acts that could only be described as monstrous. Other times it is the longing for someone who suffered at the hands of violence. It’s a way to put a face and a name on that suffering and the ones lost, as well as the pain of being left behind to mourn them. And it is the hope that not only would these loved ones who were ripped from families through violence not be forgotten but that such egregious acts against humanity would never be repeated.

Can fans look forward to more installments in the Cadence Mystery series?

Book 8, as yet untitled, is already nearing completion. Based on an Inuit mythological creature, this story opens when an ice storm and ICE converge on Cadence, causing chaos and fear, and leaving characters to question their safety and their sanity. Readers will be asking, “What happened to the children?” This book promises to be a supernatural thriller steeped in folklore that tackles the roles of religion and faith, respect and acceptance of multicultural beliefs, and personal limits and ethics. An added bonus: you’ll learn some of the many words the Inuit of Nunavik use to describe different kinds of ice.

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