Blog Archives
The Pain of the Past
Caroline’s Purpose follows a once-promising athlete and equestrian who, after an accident, struggles to navigate college, broken relationships, and haunting memories, while trying to find purpose in a life that feels hollow. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
My inspiration for the setup of my story was my own journey. I tried to be the best at different things, only to come out on the other side hollow and disappointed. I wanted to encourage readers that God always has the best purpose for our lives. We don’t have to rely on ourselves. We don’t have to strive to be the best at something for fulfillment or to find our identity or value. Our identity and value are found in who God made us to be. Caroline needed to discover that by losing the identities she had worked endlessly for. Her pain is relatable for anyone who has lost dreams or the identities they created for themselves. God uses our pain to bring us back to Him and the value He created us with
In many contemporary coming-of-age fiction novels, authors often add their own life experiences to the story. Are there any bits of you in this story?
There’s a whole lot of me in this story. I played softball in high school and was a pitcher. I chose not to play in college because I didn’t think I was good enough. I was offered an academic scholarship to the University of Arizona. I lived out my dreams of pitching for the U of A through Caroline. At U of A, I majored in Equine Science. A riding accident in middle school led me to playing softball. The Equine Program at the U of A was my return to the horse world, like it is for Caroline in the book. Luna, the weanling, is based on the weanling I was assigned in the weanling class. Her name is Goldee, and she is now my horse. Edison is based off of the real-life Edison I leased and then owned until he had to be put down two years ago. Edison is the horse who gave me my confidence back. He wasn’t abused, like the Edison in the novel, but he was a huge part of my healing and moving forward.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The themes that were important for me to explore in this book were God’s purpose for each life and healing from the pain of the past. It is easy to get stuck in the pain, especially when multiple dreams have fallen apart. It is easy to feel like God has forgotten about us or doesn’t care about us. I wanted to create a story to show readers that God always loves and always cares and always has a purpose for us. I wanted to create characters that would show that healing is possible.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
I am currently working on the sequel.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
When she meets Connor Taylor, Caroline finds that he is able to relate to her pain more than she would have thought possible.
With the help of Edison, an abused horse, Connor seeks to help Caroline learn to use her past as a stepping stone towards the future.
As her relationship with Connor grows, Caroline must make a choice to conquer her fear or to stay where she feels safe. Their relationship and her future hang in the balance.
A Frequently Misunderstood Sea Creature
Pontus and Electra: To the Depths of the Sea follows two lonely great white sharks who find purpose and connection in each other. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It started with a single shark fact: Great white sharks are often solitary creatures, though there are exceptions (sharks are occasionally found travelling in pairs). I wanted to explore the idea of loneliness through the lens of a frequently misunderstood sea creature. Initially, I had no clue what the book was going to be about other than that. But as I progressed with the concept, I began to incorporate themes of adoration and resilience, eventually settling upon a heartwarming and tragic tale of two sharks. The more I researched the issues plaguing sharks, the more the underlying messages began to shape the story—but originally, it started from a singular fact I happened to come across online.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Ultimately, the most important and relevant theme in Pontus and Electra to the Depths of the Sea is the environment, and the senseless havoc wreaked upon it. When I began writing the book, I knew little about shark finning. It was only when I did my research on the most prominent issues affecting the species that I discovered the practice—and realized this book was so much more important and so much more necessary than a silly book about two sharks. It became imperative that I shine a light on this matter, painting it in a way that allows the reader to sympathize with the beautiful creatures and approach the topic first and foremost with empathy.
The writing in your story is very artful and creative. Was it a conscious effort to create a story in this fashion or is this style of writing reflective of your writing style in general?
Yes and no! Pontus and Electra to the Depths of the Sea is my second novel in verse, and my third collection of poetry overall. It is both a reflection of my prose writing and a newfound style I needed to lean into in order to write this book. Writing Pontus and Electra to the Depths of the Sea as a full-length novel in prose felt as though it would not work for me, as the poetic manner allows for a more dream-like and whimsical experience for the reader (it also allows me to experiment more with my methods of storytelling). In a way, I made the poetry flow like the ocean.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
For the last year and a half (alongside other projects), I have been working on Good Kids, Bad Choices, a long and timely novel combining the high school experience with modern-day American politics (and a sprinkle of my personal experiences as well), exploring themes of bullying, injustice, power dynamics, and rebellion in the school setting. So far, I’ve been releasing two chapters a week on my Patreon, but when it is finished, I plan to self-publish. It is still unclear whether it’ll be my next release or if I’ll publish a book from my backlog in between, but either way, readers can expect it to be released in 2026 (or late 2025).
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Welcome to the lonely life of Pontus. Until the most pivotal moment of his life (other than the day a thick darkness consumed the waters), he believes he is the only great white shark in his underwater world.
Welcome to the lonely life of Electra. Until the most unexpected moment of her life (other than the day a monster snatched her mother from the waters), she believes she will never find comfort in another again.
Together, Pontus and Electra find meaning in their lives through unconditional love and the hope and joy of company in an expansive ocean. But plagued by humanity’s horrors and a drizzle of existential dread, their bonds are tested, and the innocence of a romance under the sea will never be so simple again.
As unconventional as it is captivating, Pontus and Electra to the Depths of the Sea is both a romance and a tragedy told in poetry. It is a testament to the terrors of our habitats and a story of true love outside human norms. As an award-winning teen author’s third work of poetry, it stands out as a book every person who cares about the environment should experience at least once.
Diabolical Domains
Navigating Darkness follows a sixteen-year-old boy as he descends into a world of supernatural horrors where he is pushed to the brink of madness by a malevolent force. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I’ve been interested in the realm of the supernatural ever since I was a young boy. With the revelation that “truth is stranger than fiction,” I was led to a great gathering of experiences, a story that must be told. Who were these demons waiting for darkness to enter my room and feed off the fear of a child? It’s been said that fear is a spirit, and it was my motivation in writing this story to bring to light that which dwells in diabolical domains and to expose the enemy of my soul with the light that overcomes the darkness.
Which character in the novel do you feel you relate to more and why?
The main character of the story is a teenage boy named Lucas Mofit. And without a doubt, I find Lucas to be the most relatable to myself. I recall the angst and rebellion of my own teenage years. Sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, coupled with supernatural experiences, weighed heavily at times on my own adolescent soul. And yet, I managed to find light in the darkness, much like Lucas. The name Lucas means “bringer of light.”
How long did it take you to imagine, draft, and write the world Lucas finds himself in?
To imagine the world Lucas finds himself in, I only needed to recall my own journey through darkness. However, It took years to draft and write the manuscript. There were many obstacles along the way. There were days when I would finish my coffee with no ink on the page. And then there were those days when the creative juices were flowing, and the coffee would go cold.
I find a problem in well-written stories, in that I always want there to be another book to keep the story going. Is there a second book planned?
I never started out writing Navigating Darkness with the intention of writing a sequel. I was totally invested in the story from beginning to end. Although, after receiving such positive feedback and a desire to learn more about what happens next to Lucas, I’m left wondering myself. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Haunted by fears and supernatural signs, young Lucas Mofit must face his demons or risk losing his mind. Having found a way to escape the pressures of the day, sixteen-year-old Lucas looks forward to a night of self-indulgence. What he gets is more than he wants. In the woods, a dog is chasing its tail in a ring of smoke. “The Devil?” It’s the first sign. Day after day and night after night, they continue―visions and voices, omens and nightmares. His friends seek to console him, but to no avail. He feels all alone . . . But he’s not alone. There is something wicked with him, something frightening and foul. He can’t take it anymore. Finally, he breaks. He cries out to God, and God hears him. All is well until it happens again! Lust leads him to darkness. And in the darkness, a dog is chasing its tail.
Reliving Trauma
Helipads in Heaven follows a successful author who is given the opportunity to become a test subject for time travel and travel back in time to her childhood. What inspired the setup of your story?
Helipads in Heaven was heavily inspired by myself and my own experiences. As such, the story came from a question I would often ask myself: “If you could travel back in time and see your younger self again, what would you say and what would she think about you?” From there, I began to develop a short story based on this question, which soon became the groundwork for Helipads in Heaven.
When traveling back in time, Goose discovers that she has forgotten some memories of trauma from her childhood and must weigh the cost of helping her 10-year-old self and jeopardizing her future life. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
All of the driving ideals behind the development of Goose/Dillon were based on myself. I knew I wanted to create a character that was heavily inspired by who I was at ten years old, from her short, curly hair to the bomber jacket she would wear even when the weather was too warm. With that being said, Goose is, in many ways, not like myself. She’s much bolder than I was at ten years old, and she’s much braver. In many ways, I made both Goose and Dillon (Goose twenty years in the future, going by her real name) better versions of myself, but of course, they still had flaws and vast room for development throughout the story.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
When writing Helipads in Heaven, I knew that, at the surface, I needed to explore themes of bullying and trauma and, more specifically, how this affects both characters and people on a larger scale. For example, Dillon is thirty years old and reliving trauma she experienced when she was ten. On a deeper level, I wanted to explore childhood dreams. Every child is asked what they want to be when they grow up, but how many of them keep that dream all the way to adulthood? There are so many children with huge dreams, such as Goose, who are told they can’t achieve them, and this, in turn, negatively impacts them. I was a child who was told that my dreams were too big, and while I ended up proving those who said this to me wrong, I knew it was something that was important to cover in this story.
What is the next book that you are working on and when can your fans expect it to be out?
My next book is called Neverfar, the third book in the Neverdying series. It will be released on June 30, 2024!
Author Links: Goodreads | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon
World-renowned author Dillon Hershkop has everything she wants in life, but getting there hasn’t been easy. Now thirty years old, she has achieved almost everything she dreamed of as a young girl: A dazzling career, a devoted fan base, and a picture-perfect family—but despite all of this, she is also painstakingly bored.
That is why, when Dillon receives the opportunity to become the test subject for a time-traveling experiment hosted by JPL’s brand new Center for Experimental Science, she seizes the opportunity to explore La Cañada—and the places she grew up around—without any immediate reservations. In exchange, she can write a brand new memoir both about time travel and the nearly forgotten experiences that shaped her into the talented woman she is today. That is, if she returns. Dillon is soon thrown head-first as an adult spectator into the complicated world of her ten-year-old self—fondly nicknamed Goose—from her love of helicopters, writing, and all things Elton John, to her unreceptive fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Vincent, her sourly judgemental classmates, and the missed opportunities of a fourth-grade writer with a smothered voice.
As she observes the childhood she does not entirely remember, she begins to realize that there are reasons for the holes in her memories—things she must not remember, because if she does, it may become impossible to stand back and watch the oil of her bottled-up trauma be poured into a fire from a distance. And if she goes against the direct orders of the laboratory, the effects of tampering with a nearly unknown science may permanently disrupt the fabrics of time, space, and Dillon’s existence.
From the teenage author of You Won’t Know Her Name, Helipads in Heaven is a deep and heartwarming adventure of time travel, childhood ambitions, and at the core, a love letter to unique children and those who dare to dream.
See the Light Again
All I See Are Dark Clouds follows a vampire filled with guilt over the death of her best friend who now dedicates her life to helping other nonhumans adapt to life in the human world. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I always had 3 stories in mind. All I See Are Dark Clouds was different as I knew exactly what I wanted to portray, grief. Not only did I want to portray grief, but also how one can eventually overcome a dark time and be able to see the light again even if they don’t think they deserve it.
Cammie struggles with her past and how to live her life now as a vampire. Is your main character someone you would get along with usually?
Back in The Darkest Side of the Moon when Camille is introduced, she is a typical teenage girl full of drama that at times can be a turnoff. Now in All I See Are Dark Clouds, Camille, or Cammie, is a shell of herself who generally pushes others away, but has matured beyond her years. Her maturity would be someone I would get along with, if she would let me in.
How do you balance the demands of writing with other responsibilities?
Determination and commitment. I’ve started many writing projects in the past that I never finished. COVID-19 helped me get back in the writing seat when there weren’t many places to go, and I found myself working from home which is why I incorporated the true event into All I See Are Dark Clouds. Learned a lot about myself and writing style in the process as well as gained the confidence to share my stories.
What would you advise young writers trying to build a publishing history or an author platform?
It takes a lot of patience and time. There are many lessons to learn along the way. It’s not about the end goal, selling an abundance of books, it’s about the journey and the steps one takes outside of their comfort zone that allows one to learn and grow.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Website | Amazon
LITERARY TITAN 