Be sure to check out The War in Our Hearts!

Interview:

Paperback, hardback, audiobook?
 
Audiobook! I devour hundreds of hours of audiobooks each year, thank you ADHD brain that cannot focus on reading if my hands aren’t occupied doing something else as I listen. As for physical copies, I prefer paperbacks.

Pick a genre, any genre! 

Honestly my first love is nonfiction, especially about historical figures/events, because much of that information feeds into the historical fiction I write. For fiction, I read a LOT of kids’ books (MG and YA), especially historical, but there are some contemporaries I enjoy as well, and I like a good mystery or romance occasionally as well.

Did you publish your first book or is it for your eyes only? 

It is safely in a teal green folder for my eyes only. Although I enjoy teasing people with how utterly rubbish it is. (Because it is the ravings of a teenager.)


How many books/collections have you published so far? 

One novella and two novels (the second of which releases in May next year).


What genres do you write in (or hope to)? 

Historical fiction, although I have one WIP that’s a fictionalised memoir. I also have a historical romance coming down the pipeline – think 1930s-40s snappy comedy. Totally out of my wheelhouse, but the characters are SO FUN.


Do you do research for your writing or is it all in your head? 

I am OBSESSED with research! And I love doing it, so that works well for historical fiction.

To plan, or not to plan your plot? 

I always start with the characters. Then the characters either don’t shut up or won’t cooperate, never anything in between. The plot is always secondary to character development for me.

What route of publishing have you chosen? Do you plan to stick with it? 

I was initially with a small press; now I’m an indie. I’d love to be trad published someday, but I really also do like having full control over my work (and be on my own timetable, heh).

If you could live inside another author’s universe, which one would you pick? 

Probably Narnia! Puddleglum and I would be besties.

Do you currently have a WIP?

Do I ever NOT have a WIP? Lollll. Yes, I have like 5 in varying stages of completion. The one I’ll be working on in Jan-Feb of 2022 is a former middle grade novel that I’m re-writing as an adult novel, that I plan to release in 2023. It’s about a boy and a girl in small-town Oregon in 1925 who start uncloseting the boy’s family skeletons.


Tell me about the character you’ve created who is dearest to your heart. 

I’m going with Leni for this one (from THIS GREAT WILDERNESS that’s coming out next May). I poured a lot of myself into her AND she’s the reason I discovered I’m autistic.


What do you consider your *current* magnum opus? 

100% THIS GREAT WILDERNESS. I love all my stories, but this is the best so far and, I think, will probably always have a super special place in my heart even if technically/craft-wise something that comes along later outdoes it.

Do you have a favourite romance in your books? 

Hee hee. I love ALL the romances. But again I’m going with Leni and Raymond. For now. Because I’m going to be cagey about a future couple. Leni and Raymond are a couple of grouches clashing in the night, with Raymond’s eight-year-old son Anton as the sunshine character. It’s heckin slow burn, too. And only one bed/floor/wagon.

Do you listen to music as you write? 

Here’s my generic writing playlist. I also like orchestral stuff, such as Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. And here’s another one for #RussianBluesWIP that I also write to a lot.

Do you have any character art for your books, whether by you or another artist? 

I take my character sketches very literally. I don’t have any on my website for Ripples or This Great Wilderness yet (it’s on my to-do list), but I have a gallery here for The War in Our Hearts.

Who are your top 5-10 favourite writers? 

Bill Bryson, Jon Krakauer, Hilary McKay, Christian Miller, A A Milne, Erik Larson, Dorothy Sayers, Elizabeth Wein, Ellen White, Opal Whiteley.

Link us your book/twitter/goodreads or wherever we can best connect with you! 

All my social media links are here. I am most active on Twitter, though.