A Waltz Across Time follows a clairvoyant bookseller who follows clues hidden in a centuries-old Bible to reunite a ghost with his family and uncover generations of love and sacrifice. What drew you to combining a contemporary paranormal mystery with a multigenerational historical saga spanning five hundred years?

This story is inspired by ancient and more recent family history, so I wanted to ground it in the present, but also depict the journey through five centuries of New Mexico heritage and legacy. The characters are inspired by individuals I admire greatly (albeit posthumously!) and I wanted to honor their courage, ingenuity, and resilience, without shortchanging the enormity of the events they encountered and endured, and linking them to modern-day folks.

What inspired you to make Lucinda a bookstore owner with second sight, and how do those two aspects of her identity complement one another?

I had all the genealogy/ancestry research, as well as reams of historical research, accumulated and staring me in the face from piles across my office floor. I had no idea how to pull it all together. My husband suggested a retreat, so I stayed at the Colorado Springs Franciscan Retreat Center for a few nights. In a very large dormitory, I was the only (!) occupant, and yes, it was spooky! But I also walked their labyrinth and began to feel the energy of past spirits trying to help with ideas – I know, sounds crazy, but hey, I’m a writer. We have to be a little crazy sometimes… Then my husband suggested the story needed a ghost, and that helped me put it all together. Lucinda perceives ghosts b/c that’s her inherited family gift, and her character’s intuition and determined intention (she keeps her promises) blossomed from there. I enjoyed getting to know her:).

What was the most surprising or meaningful discovery you made while researching the historical events and everyday experiences depicted in the novel?

I was tracing the lineage through early Santa Fe, and got the idea about the Buffalo Hide Murals. I wrote that whole section before learning that one of our ancestors and his son did actually paint those murals! I came across the information about Francis Schlatter (the famous healer) by accident and was amazed that he lived in a tiny village near our ancestral home, so I worked him into the narrative. Also, I used another ancestor’s military/medical records, which gave me a clearer picture of his personality and his own journey.

Has writing A Waltz Across Time changed the way you think about your own family history or the importance of preserving stories for future generations?

I think we should all interview our elderly family members as a means of respecting and preserving their lives and heritage, which forms the foundation(s) for our own. On my Dad’s 75th birthday, I did that with an audiotape recorder, and I’m so glad I did! Now when I think of him, it’s with greater understanding and appreciation of who he was and how much he and my mom contributed to our lives. And according to physicists and mathematicians, there are more dimensions than just our 3-D one. So who’s to say people from the past are completely gone? Maybe they are interdimensional:)…sounds like a new story!

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