The Fire Within follows a teen outcast learning to use his unique sensory gift as he navigates life in a post-apocalyptic desert compound. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story? 

I’ve always been fascinated by characters who have to overcome a disability or a weakness. Finn’s inability to call on the nova-field makes him a danger to himself and everyone around him in a very dangerous post-apocalyptic world. His disability makes him an outcast. It also forces him to become more in tune with the world than those who practice novamancy. How we turn perceived weakness into strength makes life interesting.

I grew up without a TV, so I read pretty much every sci-fi and fantasy book printed in the 80s and 90s. Stories like Mad Max, the Hunger Games, LOTR, the Divergent series, even 1984, are so fun because they let us imagine a world not too far from our own where everything goes to hell. What role would you play in that new society when the niceties of modern life vanish? This is a question my friend group has been asking for years and was a big part of the inspiration for The Fire Within. 

What is it that draws you to the science fiction genre?

Anything is possible. I like to blend sci-fi and fantasy because magic and science of a distant future are essentially interchangeable. I got a degree in physics eons ago and I fell in love with how strange the fundamental rules of existence are, especially when delving into the very small (quantum physics) or the very fast (relativity). The fact that hardened scientists have their assumptions regularly challenged by the mysteries of the real world is incredibly hopeful. We still know so little about how the universe works, which means anything is possible.

What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?

One of the things I love about young adult stories is the simplicity of the fight between good and evil. In the literature I grew up with, evil was typically one-dimensional. Bad guy=pure evil. YA stories have evolved quite a bit since then as our readers have realized there is nothing more boring than a one-dimensional character. The only guideline I set was to make the characters feel real, relatable. No one is good at everything, we all make mistakes, and bad things happen to everyone. How we respond to those challenges shapes us as people. I have these conversations with my daughters on a near daily basis. For some, these challenges make us hardened and bitter. Others rise above and never lose sight of that childish wonder and hope. I try to show a bit of both in my characters.

Character building reminds me of the old Cherokee story of two wolves: A Grandfather is teaching his young grandson. “It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offence when no offence was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way. But the other wolf, is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper.” “He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, because his anger will change nothing. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, because both of the wolves try to dominate my spirit.” The boy looked into his Grandfather’s eyes and asked, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?” The Grandfather smiled and said, “The one I feed.” 

As a writer, I get to feed both wolves hearty meals, which is what makes writing so much fun.

Can you give us a glimpse inside the second book in The Ashen Legacy series? Where will it take readers? 

Absolutely! Ashara is a divided world—aboveground, a searing desert battered by nova storms and scorched by the terrifying Ignavari; underground, sprawling caverns house the magical Dusker kingdoms, ruled by a feudal society that thrives beneath the frozen glaciers. We spent the majority of the first book aboveground. The second book dives deep into the Dusker kingdoms where Finn will face a new set of challenges, where the threats aren’t as obvious as a giant fire monster trying to melt his face. It doesn’t make the threats any less dangerous however. Finn will need to fall back on his perception and his friends if he is going to survive the political backbiting, the magical monsters, the mystery of the waxers, and make some progress on how to fight the Ignavari. 

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