Architect follows the Keane family and Akolo across haunted houses, ancient worlds, faith, grief, and time itself in a supernatural fantasy about legacy, healing, and the true meaning of home. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story? 

The inspiration for Architect came from our own personal experiences of loss, grief and a bit of the supernatural. Starting in 2020 through 2023 we experienced an overwhelming amount of grief as we both lost our moms, over 12 people during Covid (which was already such hard times to live through), a nephew to a random gunshot from a neighboring apartment, and then we lost our home to a flood making it uninhabitable. We had to tear it down. We lost everything. Waking up daily to only face our grief was insurmountable at times. We tried a brain treatment called Cereset to help calm our brains from fight or flight mode, depression, and anxiety. During the sessions a story developed, and we sat down and voice memo’d our conversation back and forth for 3 1/2 hours. That ultimately became the entire story of our trilogy The Goodpasture Chronicles with Architect being the third and final book.

Akolo’s long journey gives immortality a heavy emotional cost. How did you approach writing a character who carries love, grief, and purpose across so much time? 

Even though Akolo has immortality, we wanted him stay human. Humans are the only creation that can carry so many complicated emotions. It was important for us to make Akolo relatable even though he was immortal. Everyone experiences love, grief, and consequences, all while searching for purpose. Akolo is no different than us.

Faith and restoration are important themes in the book. What did you most want readers to take away from the spiritual elements of the story?

Earlier in Akolo’s life, he makes a choice that alters his future. It’s a choice with good intentions, but it affects his future generations negatively. We gave him the storyline of immortality to also give him a chance at redemption, and sometimes redemption comes at a great cost. The weight of his story is heavy at times, but ultimately it’s a story of forgiveness, healing, and restoration. We want readers to walk away with hope that they, too, can receive healing, redemption, and restoration, regardless of the choices they’ve made in their lives.

As the third book in The Goodpasture Chronicles. What was the most challenging part of bringing these characters and mysteries to this stage of the series?

The most challenging part of closing the series was making sure that each character had their moment of resolution. The lives of the five main characters intertwine and affect one another. As a result, it was a bit of a puzzle to resolve each mini-storyline within the larger plot. But that’s also true of real life. Our lives intersect and intertwine with those of so many other people. We should be mindful of both our own storylines and those of others, as well as the lasting impact we have on humanity.

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