The Wish follows a woman in an abusive marriage who has not spoken in two years and who travels back in time to try and change her future. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story? 

My mother was abused when I was a child. I was helpless to do anything about it, and it is something I have been working through. Also, I’ve often struggled to speak, though not to the same extent as Elizabeth. I have become one of the more experienced teachers on my staff and I often feel an obligation to speak up on important issues, even when it is difficult and may cause conflict. 

When I was twelve, I changed schools and couldn’t speak to my classmates for two months. It wasn’t deliberate, I just couldn’t talk. As a teacher and mother, I have also witnessed selective mutism. Recently, I taught a boy who did not speak to adults, though he was in my class for two years. Sometimes he whispered to a trusted friend who would pass along his words or he would write to me on Post-it notes. Instead of writing half a page to a page for his journal each week, he would write volumes. There was so much he wanted to share and couldn’t, and that stuck with me. 

Elizabeth gets a second chance to change her path in life; she just has to find the strength to do it. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

Most people have a few regrets in their lives, things they wish they’d done differently. One of the things Elizabeth discovered is that she is still herself, no matter where or when she is. When she traveled back in time, she took her problems with her. To reclaim her voice (literally) and find happiness, she needed to overcome her fears. No magic could fix her, she had to confront her problems rather than avoid them. She needed to find an important enough reason to speak, and saving someone she loved was the right incentive.

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

I wrote about identity, second chances, facing your fears, speaking up, working through problems instead of avoiding them, love, and accepting differences. Elizabeth didn’t feel connected to anyone at the beginning of the story and was adrift. Through the story, she learns to forgive, to speak up, and to connect with others, especially Christopher, with whom she falls in love.

It was also important to me that Elizabeth represent the legions of women and girls who mask their neurodivergence and struggle to connect. In this way, it was an own voices story. I didn’t realize I was on the spectrum until I was in my late forties and learning this about myself has allowed me to apply a different lens to my life. I coped with this for most of my life without knowing that was why I felt different. It was lonely and exhausting. 

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

I have just finished writing the draft of Rebels and Saints: Catching Freedom, the third and final book in my Train Hoppers series. The first two books in the series (Switching Tracks: Out of the Trash and The Long Haul: Pursuit of Hope) will be published in February and June 2024. The third book should be available in the spring or summer of 2025. I have also started a second time travel novel as a follow-up to The Wish. 

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