1. What inspired you to write the book?
I think the seed was planted when I was twelve-years-old and touring Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany. Seeing the replica bunk beds where the prisoners slept, the replica gas chambers, crematorium, and the real video footage and photographs right there, in the spot where so many innocent people were murdered, it shook me to the core. I never forgot that trip or the next two I took there. I couldn’t stop asking myself how the kids my age coped with being sent there. Later, I visited Check Point Charlie and learned a lot about the post war oppression of East Germany and was intrigued by the stories I heard about people escaping. Years later, I had a dream about the characters, the setting, and the plot for the Harmony Run Series, and it felt linked to that long ago experiecne I had in Germany. So, I went with it and used some history as parallels in the dystopian socitey I created.2. When did you realize that you want to write a book?I was seven-years-old. I saw my mom typing at her typewriter, working on short fiction stories, and I wanted to do that. I wanted to write…anything. I just knew I wanted to write a book eventually, and the feeling never left me.3. Who helped you in writing the book and please say about their contributions?Well, I write each book by myself, but sometimes I run ideas by my mother, to see if I’m onto something. After I revise and edit my book the first time, I usually have my mother read it to give me her editing tips. Then, I tune it up more, based on her suggestions, and I pass it to the “real” editing team. They work for the publisher, Winter Goose Publishing, who publishes my series.4. How is your book going to inspire the readers?I hope it inspires them to have hope, even when things aren’t going very well in their own lives. And I hope it inspires them to accept that regardless of our differences or where we come from in the world, we’re all just humans and should live in harmony.5. If you are given the chance to change one thing in your book what would it be?I don’t think I’d change anything with Nacreous, but if I could change anything in the entire series, I’d probably make Prismatic, the first book, just a little bit longer.6. How do you find time to write and which part of the day is best for writing for you?When I first started writing seriously, I would write when my first child was taking naps. Since then, I’ve had to adapt to writing in between my kids’ busy schedules. Mornings are the best for me. I feel more together at that time of day and can really write.7. Which books have inspired you the most, in the journey of writing this book?I think looking back at true stories from the Holocaust I found inspiration. I’ve have books my entire life, like The Upstairs Room, to name one, that are still on my book shelf. 8. What is the best advice, you would give for writers who are trying to write a book?I would tell them to follow it through all the way until they reach the end, before they start trying to edit and revise. Just finish the first draft, and then you can go back and clean it up.9. What are your hobbies?I love going for walks to the beach. I do it for exercise, but I have fun on those walks, too. I typically see a variety of birds near the sea shore and often dolphins, too. I also love to read, garden, and make healthy food. Mostly, when I have a spare moment to do anything I want, I write. I might just write a poem or take notes on story ideas, but I always gravitate to writing in some sort of form. I enjoy it more than anything else. 10. What can we expect from you in the future?I am plotting a new YA dystopian series as we speak. So, stay tuned…
About the Books:
Rare glimpses of birds are the only reminder of the freedoms Rain Hawkins once had. Now segregated into a mixed-race zone within the United Zones of the Authority, under tyrannical rule of President Nicks, Rain is forced to endure the bleak conditions set upon her. The possibility of a way out arises when Rain discovers an organized resistance called The Freedom Front, and learns that she, along with many other multi-racial people, has special abilities. Determined to overcome her situation, Rain sets out on a mission with the resistance that will fill her life with wonder, romance, and the undying hope for a better world.
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