The Soul’s Awakening follows a reserved, chronically ill woman who chooses medically assisted death to escape her suffering, and instead of finding peace, she is hurled into a series of metaphysical realms examining her own psyche and human experience. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I wanted to write a trilogy about death, life after death, and life after life after death (as N.T. Wright calls the Resurrection). I was asking myself, given our current knowledge of theoretical physics, cosmology, near-death experiences, terminal lucidity, and so on — and thinking on Revelation and the Zoroastrian Gathas — what would life after death and the Resurrection actually be like? I wanted to start book one with my main character’s death but didn’t know how she would die. As I thought on it and researched background information, the main character came to me, with her double name and personality and soul family. But I still didn’t know how she’d die.

Then one day she told me — in the way characters often drive the narrative — that she would be dying via MAiD, Medical Assistance in Dying. I was not happy. I didn’t want to get into that. Even though I have strong opinions on how it’s a failure of relationships and medicine, I find it emotionally distressing. But my character Charlotte Elisabeth insisted. And so I reluctantly agreed and read up on the technical aspects as much as I could tolerate.

The metaphysical realms were inspired by the Gospel of Mary. In reading this gospel in the Nag Hammadi and comparing it to the four gospels of the New Testament, I realized it agrees with them, reflects the culture of the time, and provides a compelling foundation for what happens after death. Near-death experiences that I’d read about and watched documentaries on also provided inspiration.

What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?

Ever since I was a teen, I’ve wondered why people do the things that they do. That’s why I chose psychology as my specialty in university. But fiction lets you break the boundaries of accepted wisdom, dig into diverse disciplines, and explore. I find myself drawn to tragedies created by irrational fear, self-centredness, resistance to change, justifying abandonment, fear of others knowing our core selves, the superficiality of modern friendship, “blood is thicker than water” myth, the 2D perception of life is only material, the arrogance that youth know better than older generations while at the same time insisting life experience counts as valuable as learned knowledge, free will and God, and death and grief. As much as romance is popular — for good reason! — I also think we haven’t yet tapped true intimacy.

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

This book began with me writing a play on the Resurrection, based on a close reading of the four gospel accounts. I’d gotten fed up with the focus on the Passion Play when the main point of Easter is Jesus’s rising not his death. Shouldn’t the theme be life not death? I discovered aspects of the gospels’ accounts I hadn’t noticed before, which got me curious.

I wanted to explore what dying actually is — as much as current research and various scriptures tell us — and what happens after we die beyond the usual popular story tropes. And then dig into what it means to be immortal. I don’t believe we’ll get bored and end up yawning, “Been there, done that,” nor that it’ll be all harps and roses and stress-free. We’re a curious species who thrive on exploring. Our brains and minds have incredible untapped potential. I believe that the brain and mind are not the same and wanted to work that out. In addition, N.T. Wright pointed out aspects of the resurrected Jesus that gave me pause to think on what kind of beings we are and will become.

Putting these together, I asked myself: What would life really be like after death? What are we meant to accomplish as a person before we die? What is the nature of existence? What does euthanasia reflect about ourselves and a society that declares it good? Can we ever fully live when we close off parts of ourselves to others? What is Hell and the journey to Heaven like? What is death?

When will book two be available? Can you give us an idea of where that book will take readers?

I’m aiming for book two to be out at the end of 2025. It’ll relate to Charlotte Elisabeth’s next phase of her Soul Track: reconciliation.

Of course, Charlotte Elisabeth resists! After all, how can a spirit reconcile with a material human being still physically alive on Earth who can’t perceive spirits? I explore how.

After passing through the Barrier, she tries to run away from this unexpected challenge. But she encounters new characters on their own Soul Tracks who befriend her and the Lion’s family who’s out for revenge. She learns a bit more about the mysterious man we see in book one. When Charlotte Elisabeth realizes she has to reconcile with not only her immediate family but also harmed animals and unknown ancestors, she attends Heaven School to learn how to exist in her new form and survive on Earth before being sent back to either succeed in reconciling or start on the path to second death.

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