The Aftertime follows a Monacan boy and an English boy who develop a complicated friendship in 18th-century Virginia at a time when cross-cultural friendships were looked down upon. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Many years ago, my youngest son asked me, “What if you had a weapon that had the power to heal if it was never used in anger?” The question blew me away, especially since it was coming from an eight-year-old. It started me thinking about we all have this “weapon” inside of us, such as our words or actions. Which hand do we hold this weapon in, the hand of retribution or the hand of healing?

When I started outlining the story, I liked the idea of these two boys, who could not be more different becoming friends. It was because of this friendship, that the knife in the story becomes empowered with the ability to heal. Hate is handed down from generation to generation in many cases. With this knife, it was a physical reminder that anger, and hate are sometimes the easy option. Restraint is harder but if we take a moment to try to understand another person it can sometimes lead to healing.

The historical aspect really came from my father. He was a history buff, so growing up I spent a lot of time going to battlegrounds and historical sites. I also studied American Civilization in college, so that helped.

What was the inspiration for the relationship that developed between the characters?

This really came from watching the relationship my children had with each other. Each of them, has such vastly different personalities and interest so observing my eclectic family was all the inspiration I needed for character development.

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

I like that friendship can just develop organically. It doesn’t need to be forced on children. Whatever issues the parents or adults in their lives may have with each other, children often will overlook that. Adults sometimes will stop on the surface of a person because of past experiences. Whereas children can feel or sense what another person is like on the inside. I believe that is because children haven’t developed preconceived notions about groups of people yet.

I also, like the struggle of Zack in the book. He is the baby of the family and is in that in-between stage of liking being the baby of the family but not wanting to be treated like a baby. He is frozen mid-step so to speak. Zack wants the freedom that comes with growing up. Yet he does not want to take responsibility for his actions nor face the consequences of them either.

What is the next book that you are working on and when can your fans expect it to be out?

I am working on an early reader chapter book. I can’t go into too much detail, but it deals with a child’s first encounter with life changes. I am so excited about it! We just signed on a wonderful artist to work on the project, and I cannot wait for its release. I am hoping around summer of 2025.

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