Plans follows a widowed cybersecurity professor and her daughters whose long-awaited trip to Israel becomes a fight for survival against a violent stalker and an international conspiracy. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I have worked in a bank related business for more than ten years. There are many stories of people’s lives affected or even crushed by scams and identity theft, including my own. When I started this series more than fourteen years ago, the goal was to quickly turn the story into a historical novel. As ideas matured in my writing, it became clear that using a current issue would be a good hook for the first story. I turned to the business articles I had read on the issue of scams and to my sister-in-law, who worked in banking. These ideas became Aggie Haterius’ career.

The stalker is much more personal. Family history and a boss who was too eager for me to visit his home became Dr. Robert Sterling. The international conspiracy came from the business articles reporting that many scammers tie back to a few Asian countries. Also, my interest in procedural crime dramas influenced me.

The relationships among Aggie, Kae, Domi, and Claudia are central to the novel. How did you develop each family member’s distinct personality and point of view?

I am one of twenty-five cousins on my mother’s side of the family. I grew up close to most of them. Aggie is a combination of my mother, my aunts, and, of course, me. I created Kae, Domi, and Claudia from cousins, co-workers, and a little from my children. I gave each of them their own point of view to make it realistic. Parents and children don’t see the world the same. This will be explored more in the second book, “NO PLANS”.

Claudia’s desert excursion gives her an opportunity to step out of her sisters’ shadows. Why was that moment important to her character arc?

When the story opens, Claudia seems almost childlike, still playing pretend and having tantrums. During the course of the book, she realizes the European trip belongs exclusively to her sisters. This leaves her unanchored and open to belittlement by her sisters. We have all lived with moments where we don’t belong or are on the outside of a group looking in. Claudia represents all of us at one moment or another. The desert excursion gave her a sense of belonging and some importance; a way to show her sisters that imagination and reality can build together. The older sisters have forgotten that imagination is important for building and creating. 

In the long term, the desert excursion will give Claudia another much deeper arc, learning how to forgive yourself when the unexpected happens.

Also, these stories began because I challenged a child to do their homework for English class, and I would write a fiction story to match the required page count. I just kept writing after reaching the goal. Then the fun began. I had to tell them what I had written that week and what ideas were coming. It’s great when a teenager asks their parent to tell them about a story being written!

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