Underneath the Fireflies follows a woman with supernatural abilities who tries to take a relaxing vacation only to have a disturbing vision that puts her in danger. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Inspiration is an illusive thing. You can’t just find it when you want it. When I’m writing a novel, a premise isn’t necessarily the inspiration that makes my story unfold. Generally speaking, I think authors find inspiration from people they meet and events that happen around them. For me, inspiration, such that it is, usually comes from a place, particularly a location. There is substance in scenery. It is tangible and affects many of your senses, sight, sound, and smell, in particular. Unlike an idea for a story, I find I’m influenced by experiences, the things I’ve done, and the places I’ve been. Underneath the Fireflies was inspired by a visit to a west coast island located between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia. The mountains, the ocean, and the old growth forest there are mesmerizing. The nature there washed over me in an almost spiritual way. I felt connected to nature and to the land in a way I normally don’t feel. It infused my whole being with a sense of awe. Situations like that are what truly inspire me to write. Then to add to the magic, when I learned about the west coast sea wolves, I was hooked and knew they had to be part of my story. But in a larger way than a land mammal, which is why I created a wolf spirit, whom I named Scout, and broadened his being to a greater connection to his Indigenous Ancestors. All that was left was to introduce a protagonist with unusual abilities, who was called upon, in that same spiritual sort of way through nature and environment, to avenge a terrible wrongdoing that had taken place there and to balance the forces of nature by bringing a killer to justice.

I had a family connection to the island as well. My sister lived there with her second husband in a timber-frame home that overlooked the ocean. It was truly a piece of heaven. It seemed fitting to create a protagonist with a similar familial connection. It gave her a place to go to regain her equilibrium as she healed from a traumatic incident that caused her to have a mental breakdown. My sister and her husband call their property “Abalone Hideaway,” a name I found so perfect I used it exactly as-is in the novel.

Location was also the inspiration for my first three novels, spy thrillers in which the characters’ safehouse is located in St. Jean Cap Ferat in Southern France. In real life, the house is known as the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild estate. It is now owned by the state. I visited there in 2015 and was captivated by its grandeur and immediately knew it had to be part of my story. The third book in the series, a prequel entitled Reinhardt explains how the main character acquires the place and all the wealth associated with it. Finding Ruby Draker starts off the series in New York, where a psychopath on a killing rampage targets her family. Shadows in the Aftermath, the second book, continues the saga with more locational anchors as the pseudo family, made up of the psychopath’s victims, tries to stop the killer.

I suppose that a writer always has a story on their mind. I found that as I dwelled on these exotic places, the perfect characters emerged, finding their way into a story filled with conflict and characters who found refuge in the peace and beauty of these very special places while a villain tries to destroy them and all they hold dear. 

Grace is an empath in need of a mental health break but must struggle through challenges to stop a killer. What was the inspiration for the main character’s traits and dialogue?

A story isn’t a story unless your main character has a problem. It’s easy and typical to have a protagonist who has an enemy trying to kill them. But, given that we all have problems that interfere with our lives, I wanted my main character to have a unique problem not only resulting from outside forces but with special inherited personal traits that no one would believe even if she disclosed them. Grace is conflicted because she has to keep her ability (her visions) a secret or be considered unstable if she reveals that she discovers a two-year-old murder in this bizarre way. This power she has has been with her all her life. In Toronto, Grace has a vision of a sinister technology that enslaves the minds of the Danton International workers, a place where she is employed as a public relations executive. When she tries to stop an evil plan perpetrated by the CEO of the company, Evelyn, the CEO tries to kill her instead. But the forces of good are on Grace’s side, and Evelyn meets her own death in a terrible accident at the plant.

Yet Grace’s ability of visions that reveal bad actions isn’t actually that far-fetched. I think we all have a bit of empathic ability. Haven’t you ever felt that something was amiss, but you couldn’t point to exactly what? I get that feeling in churches, especially the old European churches that inter their dead in crypts below the church floors. So creepy, it makes my skin crawl. That sense of the dead lurking underfoot overpowers my awe of the beautiful sculptures and mosaics that adorn the incredible architecture of these magnificent buildings. I think that’s what makes Grace’s powers believable. A reader can relate to the feeling of “something isn’t right” or something is about to happen.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The universal theme of good verses evil is always present in a thriller. But, because the murder is of an Indigenous woman, and the island is the home of the Island Nation Band (a fictitious Indigenous tribe), it allowed me to explore very important themes of gross injustices that have been happening in Canada regarding murdered and missing Indigenous women. The story also explores the racism Indigenous people continue to experience through the white inhabitants’ treatment and resentment of the island’s original inhabitants, many of whom still live on the island. Tying these themes together is also the theme of bridging the generational gap with understanding and compassion as the younger characters Elias, Holly, and Hugo struggle to find their place in a world that at times can seem filled with senseless hatred.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?

I find it interesting that some readers wonder if there was a story that takes place before the opening scene of Underneath the Fireflies. Maybe they intuited it! The truth is, I had started a novel, entitled The Walker Trait, which focuses on a woman with extra sensory ability, an ability to pick up on residual energy resulting from violent or evil actions. This woman, whom I named Grace, struggles with her empathic powers. After all, who would believe someone has visions of past crimes? Grace’s power is engaged because illegal activities take place at the Danton Electronics company in Toronto, where she works. The backstory reveals that Grace is adopted but has biological parents who are also empaths. They gave her up at birth to protect her from opportunistic individuals who learned about their exceptional abilities and wanted to exploit them. Grace’s adoptive mother, Maria, is actually her aunt, who, together with her husband Leo, rescue the infant Grace immediately after birth. I liked the story, but something about it led me to writing Fireflies rather than it being ready to be a story on its own, and I abandoned it 100 pages in. I believe a story has its time and its place to come into the world. Perhaps when the time is right, I will finish it as a prequel.

Now, I am working on a sci-fi thriller. The working title is Unseemly Visitors. It involves an interstellar portal where two other-worldly humanoids find themselves transported to Earth. It’s new territory for me as I explore the concept of a universal overlord, referred to as The Council, a restrictive Directive forbidding interplanetary contact, and cosmic bounty hunters exterminating those who engage in such transgressions. Most importantly, I’m having fun!

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