Tell us a bit about your family. My husband and I have a two year old daughter named Marin. She is truly the light of our lives. My husband is a doctor who specializes in diabetic limb salvage and foot reconstruction. We have a two year old daughter named Marin. She is the light of our lives. She is best buddies with our pound dog named Charley Brown. He mopes when she’s not home.
What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why? “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." - Philo of Alexandria. Kindness is my #1 rule. It’s practically my religion. We have no idea what someone else has been through, what fears are circling their minds like sharks. Life is hard and unforgiving. It is so important to treat each other with patience, respect, and grace.
What genre are you most comfortable writing? I really enjoyed exploring the fantastical elements in Moonlit, which are more prevalent in the sequel (and will dominate the third book.) It’s so liberating when literally anything I can think in my mind can become reality, even if just on paper.
Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? I’ve gone several rounds with writer’s block. Either I’ve written myself into a corner and I have to cut and redirect my characters, or my mind is short-circuiting and I can’t make my character do something as simple as move from one room to another. In that case, I use one of Anne Lamott’s tricks. She has an empty picture frame on her desk and she imagines the setting, and describes word for word what she sees in the scene to help her see it from all sides. Or I write a short story from that blocked point and intentionally kill off the main character just to get some juices flowing.
Can you tell us about your main character? Tanzy Hightower is a small town farm girl with an epic past. Fiercely independent, dark hair and eyes, tough, hard-working, not afraid to get her hands dirty, sensitive interior, not a girl of many words, gifted rider, keeps her cards close, burning for and terrified of making connections that matter.
Who is your publisher? My publisher is WiDo Publishing, a small press located in Utah. My experience with them has been amazing. They take their authors and books seriously, and I received a tremendous education during the editing process.
Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it? With the first book, I was terrified to let anyone read it. What if they hate it? What if they think I’m crazy? Going through the editing process made me much more willing to make mistakes, and to just go for it and fix it later if it’s terrible. I am not nearly as afraid of failing with the sequel – not because I don’t think I’ll make mistakes, but because mistakes don’t seem so scary anymore.
How important do you think villains are in a story? The villain is everything. Typically, the villain sets up the “why” of the story; it’s the villain’s responsibility to draw tight the proverbial noose. So the villain and his/her goals have to be just as tangible and well thought out as the main character and his/her goals. I really like to explore the gray areas of “good guys” and “bad guys.” Every main character will make decisions that could be deemed good or bad.
Can we expect any more books from you in the future? I am submitting the sequel to Moonlit to my publisher this month, and then I will begin work on the third and final book in the Moonlit trilogy. I’m toying with the idea of doing a few spinoffs, and exploring the past lives of other main characters. In September, I will appear in “Indiestructible,” which is a collection of essays from authors who are with small publishers or who self-published. All of the proceeds will be donated directly to BuildOn, which is a NFP that works to break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty.
Do you have any advice for writers? Never let someone else talk you out of it. If you want it, you have to make it a spot on your own priority list or it won’t get done. This usually means writing when it’s inconvenient (like me, who writes from 8pm – 12am or later.) Do it anyway. And when you’ve hit a stall, read, read, read.
Prologue The first anniversary of my father’s death was even harder on my mother. Back then, I thought she was haunted most by what she didn’t know. I refused to blame her when she raged above me on our staircase that night, drunk and sad and angry. When she made me promise I’d never ride again. When she hurled a half-full bottle of vodka at my face and it exploded on the wooden stairs at my feet. I hadn’t tried to get out of the way. She had just missed. I wanted to tell her that knowledge was no solace, that what you know can burn inside you until there’s nothing left but guilt and ash. I also wanted to protect her from losing the only piece of him she had left. So I didn’t say a word.
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