What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write My Road Goes Ever On: Rise Again?
My writing journey began years ago while my husband was still alive. He encouraged me to write reflections about the Christian themes in The Lord of the Rings, which I was using in our homeschool. His support helped me publish that book. After he passed away, I faced raising my large family alone, and I had no idea how I was going to manage.
With the same spiritual tone, but not focused on LOTR, I began a regular blog post, relating my journey as a widow, mother, educator, and author. That became my My Road Goes Ever On series, of which Rise Again is the third book. It is less about raising kids now that my children are grown, but it offers wider reflections about a world that seems intent on tearing itself apart in a maelstrom of new innovations we hardly understand. It’s a human-to-human reflection, trying to remember above all the most noble value of drawing out the good in others.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of My Road Goes Ever On: Rise Again, what would they be?
Not a “fun” response, but if I listen to music, I usually choose classics. I love Mozart, and his Requiem speaks poignantly to the pathos of human experience.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I read a variety of books: biographies, histories, mysteries, sagas, sci-fi, and some fantasy. I’ll read almost anything with a good recommendation or if it catches my eye. Maybe that’s why I write in a variety of genres.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
C. S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces, a history of Tolstoy, and Book 4 in the Maisie Dobbs series.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
I enjoyed writing You Can’t Own a Cat. It unfolded as I wrote it, and I understood my relationship with my pets better afterward.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
Peanut M&Ms have a secret power to awaken the creative muse.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
Will the good of others through the goodwill of God.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
That self-reflection is an opportunity to be quiet, ponder, and listen.
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