Matriarch follows the story of a British soldier who explores an exotic country and uncovers danger, mysteries, and magic. What was the inspiration for the setup to this riveting story?

Actually, the inspiration was Cass, the young woman listening to her great-grandmother tell the tale. Hers is the real story in this book; everything else—while fun to write, and hopefully a roller-coaster of an adventure—is just build-up to that one moment in her life. That moment, that world-shattering revelation was what inspired the book.

I enjoyed the depth that you were able to bring to your character in so few pages. What were some ideas that informed their development?

First of all, thank you! For some of the story’s twists it was important to have characters that could be seen in very different lights. Each character needed to feel real before their arc turned, so readers could really experience the dramatic changes. Knowing where things were headed, I was able to plant some seeds in the characters’ actions and personalities early on, which I think helped add nuance to them.

For those who’ve read the book, this is most obvious with Ollie, but I think it’s most interesting with Ayla (Young Ayla). Because the change in her is really a change of reader perception. The story is framed one way, and because we tend to have certain expectations when it comes to such narratives, we impose certain facets of character onto her. Then as things progress, we see how mistaken we always were. (Which makes the climax hit all the harder.)

This is an epic adventure story that explores ideas of obsession and true love. What were some themes you wanted to focus on in this book?

That’s an interesting question. I actually was a little worried that people would have certain thematic expectations about the book based on the title. Which is to say they might think it’s a deeply feminist work, and then be disappointed to find most the action follows ex-soldier in the 1920s. (*I think it actually is a feminist work, only in ways not suggested by the title, which and only really apparent in the last twenty pages or so.)

And that’s the thing with Matriarch; you don’t really know what this story is until you get to the end. So one major theme would be peeling back the layers of reality we hold to be true and finding truths we could never have imagined underneath. And of course, themes of Fate and Destiny trickly backward from the end to touch every aspect of the story (which I’m pretty damn clear about right from the start!).

The feminist themes in Matriarch are a bit more subtle than you’d guess based on the title. Less about female power, and more about female agency. About the assumptions made by those in a position of power, and the harm such assumptions can cause.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

I’m currently working on my most ambitious work yet. Where my previous books have all been 100 – 220 pages, I expect this to run maybe 400.

The title is HAPPYVILLE, a portal fantasy which I like to describe as Over the Garden Wall meets Neverwhere. It’s about a young girl who’s lost her memory and finds herself in a strange land.

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