One Chance follows a middle-aged man haunted by the consequences of his own choices who is offered an unexpected way out through a doorway leading him into a world of giants, witches, and enchanted objects. Where did the idea for this novel come from?

I think it started with the idea that if I could live my life over again, would I do anything differently? I think most people have that thought from time to time, and the main character exemplifies an extreme of that. It’s not just that he would change one thing or another, but that he would change the person he was. From there, the book explores ideas around why people make the decisions they make and ultimately become who they are as people. Finally, can we change and start over, or are we trapped by our place and circumstances? The challenges and obstacles he faces in the story, although pure fantasy, in many ways can be related to the challenges we face in everyday life.

Why did you choose a middle-aged protagonist instead of the younger heroes often found in portal fantasy?

One of the main issues for the character was a life filled with regrets. He had regrets about decisions he had made, possible life paths that he had not taken, and even regrets around the very person he had become. Those character issues fit much better with an older character with a lifetime of mistakes rather than someone younger. As he goes through the portal, he becomes young again, a change that is far better appreciated for an older character. I think the theme of starting over and becoming someone new wouldn’t have made as much sense with a young protagonist.

How long did it take to build the world of Wisteria before you began drafting the novel?

I actually started by developing the characters in the story and an overall theme. After that, I developed the general storyline and the first couple of chapters. The bulk of the world-building happened as I was writing the story. I wrote the storyline I had outlined and essentially built the world around it as I wrote. So I really didn’t start building the world until after I began drafting the novel. 

What do you hope readers discover about themselves while following Chance’s journey? 

In the story, Chance faces a lot of obstacles to becoming the person he wanted to be. Of course, the outward things included traps, monsters, and villains threatening him, but the greater obstacles came from within himself. He faced selfish temptations, old habits, personal vanity, and good old-fashioned fear. I hope readers would recognize that those same challenges exist in our own world, in different forms, but the greater barriers to growth and success are the ones we create ourselves. He’s only truly able to acknowledge those personal challenges and move forward when he fully lays down his own desires in order to become the person his friends needed him to be.

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