Sanctum launches the Dragon Guild series with a powerful blend of Indigenous lore, futuristic tech, and raw emotional stakes as a Cherokee teen battles her destiny to reclaim her identity and save the world. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Although a latecomer in a previous series, Gabri had been a key character. I had introduced her as a baby in the final book, and when the story ended, she insisted her story had only begun. The Dragon Guild series is her story, and Gabri is the inspiration. 

In Sanctum, the story quickly moves from a familiar scene born in an earlier book to a whole new world with a host of challenges my character must face.

Since reading Anne McAffery’s Dragonriders of Pern many years ago, I have been fascinated with intelligent dragons who form bonds with humans. Sentient, mobile plants, the Aracai, came to me in visions and had a strong role to play. As the scenes unfolded, new scenarios came up, drawing me deeper into Gabri’s world and the people, dragons, Aracai, and evil creatures inhabiting it. 

Gabri is an intriguing and well-developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

As a teen, Gabri takes her extraordinary powers for granted. She deeply loves her family and Donny, her self-proclaimed, older protector. She’s easily annoyed and has no qualms about using her abilities to get her way, but she isn’t mean. When she loses everything, all she has left are her core values. I wanted her to be relatable, with an ingrained respect for the Creator and for her parents’ beliefs and ideals. Throughout the story, she makes them her own while adding to them.

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

I believe obstacles to interacting with people and cultures different from our own can be overcome. We all face challenges like neediness, fear, danger, and difficult relationships. What does it mean to bond with others through love, kindness, and understanding? How should we react to evil? Those themes weave through Gabri’s story organically. They may not come to mind, but through the characters, the reader will experience them. 

How did you approach blending Indigenous spirituality with sci-fi elements like aliens and frequency manipulation?

Research has taken me down rabbit holes leading to amazing discoveries. I learned everything–color, sound, motion, objects–has its own frequency. Every object in the universe, Earth included, produces its unique sound. I’ve always believed aliens have interacted with Earth for millennia, leaving plenty of evidence. And I believe in God, my Creator, and in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Indigenous people have their own deeply held beliefs, many of which are not at odds with mine. The Creator is infinitely creative, and nothing exists without him. We couldn’t imagine it if it weren’t already in existence somewhere. For me, it’s only logical that aliens exist, science is the discovery of what is already true, and God has made it all. 

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