Sweet Dreams at The Palace Hotel follows a woman who leaves her dreams behind to run a historic hotel and finds the live-in ghost a welcome presence in her life. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

The women in my family have embraced reinventing themselves when life knocked them down. Knowing their stories helped me regroup and reinvent myself when I felt beaten. In creating Nikki, who needed a fresh start, I wanted to give her a model, Victoria Wyatt, of someone who started over, created a life on her own terms and loved without restriction. Making Victoria a resident ghost “reliving” life’s important moments was inspired by my interest in ghost stories from Arizona towns.

Nikki is an interesting and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind her character’s development?

Nikki holds herself accountable for her own happiness. She accepts responsibility for choosing a life that will make her happy and investing herself in making it happen. She invites others into her world, celebrates their success and commiserates with their grief. Nikki is the friend or relative we all wish for, the one who provides emotional support without providing unasked for advice. She’s imperfect enough to be approachable and she believes in the power of friendship and love to change the world.

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

The everlasting quality of love. The value of friendship. The quality of family, either by blood or choice.

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

The third book in the Creekside Dreams series was just submitted to my publisher. Promise in a Dream, the second book in the series was released November 2020.

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