Dead and Buried follows a woman learning to manage her Kitsune heritage and magic, who keeps having curveballs hurled at her from psychic attacks, supernatural creatures, and restless spirits. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story? 

If I can quote Aerosmith, “Half my life’s in books written pages. Live and learn from fools and from sages.”

That pretty well sums up my life. Especially my younger years. I was a “surprise” baby, and my siblings were much older than I was. While I was loved, I really didn’t fit in. Then my father died when I was in grade school. By Junior High, my brothers and sister had all married and moved out of the house. So, I learned early to roll with the punches using books as my escape and humor as my armour.

Many of those books were in the Sci Fi/Fantasy realm, and I’ve always had a particular fascination with mythology or comparative religions.

I found Tai’s character to be believable and relatable; her emotions and responses felt real even when dealing with all the paranormal situations she was thrown into. Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your character’s life?

As I indicated, I had to learn to roll with the punches as a child. I kept Tai as human as she rolled with her punches. She also uses humor as armour, even though she has less of a filter on her mouth than I do. 

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

It is a lesson that we all need to learn – acceptance, resiliency, and personal growth.

Can you tell us where the book goes and where we’ll see the characters in the next book?

There are a planned nine books in the series – literally one for each of the nine tails that a Kitsune can have.

Book three has Tai and friends in New Orleans, where she meets distant family and makes new friends. Of course, there is plenty of growth – and it is not all for her. I hope to have the book available on Amazon in February.

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