Against the Wind follows a sixteen-year-old girl living in foster care who runs away and steals an antique airplane, leading her to meet a quantum physics professor also on the run from the FBI and Russian mafia. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I’ve been a licensed pilot for nearly 28 years, but I’ve been flying with my father since I was a small child. He had his pilot’s license at the age of 16 and I’ve known of young pilots flying cross country and have always been impressed with that! As for the quantum physics aspect of the novel, the science behind it is absolutely amazing! Quantum computers will change our lives forever!

Your characters are wonderfully emotive and relatable. Were you able to use anything from your own life to inform their character development?

I think most authors have a storehouse of characters and character traits to call on when writing. Any teenage cross-country pilot shows remarkable independence and, in the case of Against the Wind, real courage. I wanted the physics professor to learn as much from her as she did from him!

I felt that there were a lot of great twists and turns throughout the novel. Did you plan this before writing the novel, or did the twists develop organically writing?

For me, it’s usually a mix. Certain key twists must be planned and others evolve in the course of the writing.

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

I am working on the next “Relic” book, featuring the moonshining hermit of Canyonlands National Park (see Moonshine Mesa for example). Thought a “series,” each novel is stand-alone.

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