FAQS

What do you write?

I write Middle Grade and Young Adult Fantasy

What is The Winter King about?

The Winter King is a fantasy novel about an outcast girl named Cora who lives in a remote Nordic village ruled by a tyrannical god-King. Every year, this Winter King returns and curses the town with four brutal months of winter. Cora’s family is on the brink of starvation, so she takes extra work in the house of the high priest and soon discovers that the elders are harboring secrets that could change her village forever, if she can live long enough to uncover them.

What age is The Winter King written for?

While of course I think anyone could read and love this story, the ideal age would be 12-16. My 9-year-old recently read it and loved it too, so it probably depends on the child!

Will there be a sequel to The Winter King?

I am slowly working on one! It won’t be a true sequel (staying in Cora’s point of view), but there are plenty of other characters and places to explore inside that world. Stay tuned!

What is The Sinking City about?

The Sinking City is the story of Liona, the daughter of a patrician nobleman, who is forced to leave her family and start a new life as the assistant to the greatest magician in Venice. To survive, she must not only learn the rules of this new and dangerous world, but also find a way to remove the spell that binds her to Venice before the monsters beneath the city drag it (and her) underwater.

While The Winter King is meant to feel like a myth, The Sinking City is meant to feel more like a fairytale, but not the Disneyfied ones. The ones with fangs.

What age is The Sinking City written for?

The Sinking City might skew slightly older, although the target audience is still 12-16. If you have a more sensitive child, you may want to read it first.

What is The Second Greatest Thief about?

A13-year-old girl in New York's thieving guild signs up for a high-stakes airship heist, only to discover that her older brother—the city's greatest thief—is going for the same prize; if she loses, she'll be expelled from the guild forever.

What age is The Second Greatest Thief written for?

This is my debut middle-grade novel, which means it’s best suited for children ages 8-13. I would say that Thief skews older middle grade rather than younger because of the themes, the action sequences, and the complex world building.

Where do you live?

I live in a small university town in a rural pocket of the pacific northwest. I’m fortunate to live somewhere with wide open spaces right outside my front door. When I need my creative tank refilled, I can take a quick drive and find rolling emerald fields, winding rivers, and abandoned barns and granaries.

What is your favorite aspect of the writing life?

I have always loved school, and so one of my very favorite parts of writing is the research! Especially if I’m writing historical fiction, I love learning about other times and places, researching their clothing and habits and architecture. And once I have that setting framework in mind, I love researching my characters, writing up character sheets and diving into their psyches. I’m usually impatient to start writing once an idea has grabbed me, but I force myself to do the research first. And I’m always so glad I did!

Who are some of your favorite authors?

There are so, so many.

I grew up on Tolkien and Lewis, Brian Jacques and Enid Blyton, Terry Pratchett and Dianna Wynne Jones, T.H. White, and Megan Whalen Turner.

To find more of the books I’ve enjoyed recently, click here.