Thanks so much for having me, Bree! I’m thrilled to be making an appearance on Bibliophile Reviews. I love this site!

I truly stumbled into it. I was VP/Operations of a bank, and had no plans to ever do anything else. I was pretty sure I would retire from that field someday. And then, in the midst of a corporate merger, I started writing the Abigail Phelps books—primarily just for stress relief! Writing didn’t really become a career, per se, until I felt God calling me away from that high-intensity corporate management world I was in. Through a series of events which only make sense if you believe, as I do, that God had a plan all along, I ended up on staff at my church, where I not only get to do work I’m passionate about, but also devote time and energy to writing.

I always talk about the first writing award I ever won, which was for a state-level contest in 2^nd grade. The subject of the essay was all about which living person you would have lunch with if you could, and what you would discuss with them. Well, it was the eighties, so as you can imagine there were lots of mentions of Reagan, Gorbachev, Thatcher, etc. I chose John Stamos who was playing Uncle Jesse on Full House at the time. (Unlike now, when he plays Uncle Jesse on Fuller House!) And I won an award. At the time, I didn’t look at it as a significant moment in my life, of course—at least not in terms of extended impact! But now I look back at that as a reminder to trust myself. I don’t tend to like boxes very much, and I don’t tend to think inside of them very often. Sometimes that’s scary. Things would certainly be easier sometimes if I did. But I believe my reason for writing is the knowledge that I have something unique to contribute. That doesn’t mean that who I am will appeal to everyone, but I have finally reached a point in my life when I can embrace who God made me to be…even if who He made me to be is a bit quirky!

The whole idea of those books began with a (seemingly) simple concept. I wanted to write a story in which almost all of the characters are actual celebrities or well-known figures, apart from one…Abigail Phelps. But Abigail is the center of it all, and it’s very much her story. But by surrounding her with characters who the readers already know (the Kennedys, George Clooney, Colin Firth…just to name a few), I got to do two things: 1) I had built-in backstory, and 2) I got to play with the readers’ expectations and preconceived notions a bit. Abigail was developed from there. With all of those characters in place, her story began writing itself. And then that took a crazy turn when I learned about a real-life historical Abigail Phelps from Simsbury, CT (where, as it turned out, I had already written as my Abigail’s hometown). I tied my Abigail into that real history. It’s really an amazing story, and I was blessed enough to get to travel to Simsbury for a book appearance. I got to eat at a restaurant called Abigail’s and visit the Phelps Homestead, and witness all of these other pieces of history which, at least in my mind, were the legacy of my fictional character’s family. (See what I mean about it writing itself??)

Well, like I said, I just wrote for stress relief! I never intended to publish the books. In fact, I didn’t think they would be books. I was just writing…and writing…and I kept writing. Before I knew it (in about nine months) I had written about 300,000 words. By the time a lot of scaling down happened, and I decided to self-publish, a series was the only way to go.

Yes, actually! In the fall, my first novel for the Christian market will be published by Revell. It’s a Christian romantic comedy called The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck. It’s the story of a steamy romance writer who becomes a Christ-follower, and then discovers that reconciling her former career with her faith and her future is more difficult than she had imagined.

In many ways I know 2017 is going to be one of the busiest years of my life, and I definitely have goals which are a part of all of that busyness. But my biggest goals for the year all center around trying to listen to God, and go the direction He leads. Also, I want to relax more, which seems a bit laughable to me at times. (Reminder: 2017 is going to be one of the busiest years of my life!) I think it’s a matter of working hard when it’s time to work, and finding a way to let it all go for a while when it’s time to relax. That’s the tricky part for me…

I know it is such a cliché for the romance writer to reference Austen, but I’m going to say Pride and Prejudice. Not only do I get completely lost in it in a way I don’t get lost in any other book, but something about that book makes its way into everything I write. Ever. Jane Austen created a formula that works. That’s all there is to it.

I’ve been on a journey with Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist. It was a gift from someone who understands me well enough to know how much I struggle with the concepts Shauna tackles. It’s one of the most impactful books I’ve ever read.

Unfortunately, I haven’t read anything in 2017 that I didn’t write! So far it’s been a season of editing and writing, and every free moment has been devoted to that. But The Red Door Inn by Liz Johnson is next. The third book in the Prince Edward Island Dreams series will come out this summer, and I am frightfully behind!