What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
Over thirty years ago, I watched an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show about a little girl whose mother drove their car into the water. Years later, Oprah reunited the now-grown woman with the man who dove in and saved her life. I don’t remember all the details anymore, but I remember how deeply that story stayed with me. I found myself wondering what happened after the cameras stopped rolling. How did surviving something like that shape her? Her family? Her future? Those questions stayed with me for decades until they eventually became Mermaid. While every character and every twist in the novel is fictional, I’m endlessly fascinated by what happens after the defining moments of our lives—how love, family, forgiveness, and even heartbreak shape who we become. That’s a thread you’ll find woven through all of my stories.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?
Music always finds its way into my writing, and Mermaid definitely had a soundtrack. May: “The Beauty of the Rain” – Dar Williams. May never give up on hope, and neither does this song. Buddy: “All for You” – Sister Hazel. Buddy in four minutes. The sisters: “After All” – Dar Williams. Every time I hear it, I think of May and Kate. Buddy’s journey as a firefighter: “Cold Missouri Waters” – Richard Shindell (from the Cry Cry Cry album). If you know the story behind that song, you know why it had to be on the playlist. Did I mention I’m a sucker for a second-chance romance? 😊 Buddy and May actually claimed three songs over the course of writing Mermaid: “(What a) Wonderful World” – Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon & James Taylor; “You and Me” – Lifehouse; and “I Won’t Give Up” – Jason Mraz. Apparently, one song just wasn’t enough for those two.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
My bookshelves are a little bit of everything, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love romance, rom-coms, women’s fiction, and literary fiction. But if I’m being honest, what I really love is talking about books. I’m in three book clubs because I love the conversations every bit as much as I love the books. One focuses on literary and award-winning fiction through my local Books Inc. Another is through my local library (I’m also a total library fangirl. Librarians are some of the true heroes in our world!), where we follow the Great Books Reading & Discussion Program and have tackled everyone from Aristotle and Socrates to Emily Dickinson. The third picks a theme: food, Hollywood, walking, and everyone recommends a different book inspired by that theme. So yes… clearly, I love reading books. But I love, LOVE, talking about them.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
One of my reading goals this year—thanks to the Books Unbound podcast for the idea!—is to read the favorite books of the people I love. Right now, my nightstand holds an Amish romance by Shelley Shepard Gray alongside Lost Horizon, Party Girl, and A Separate Peace—favorites of my mom, dad, and son.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
Without a doubt, it’s the scene in Ole’s Waffle Shop where Buddy and May are trying to reconnect after years apart. It’s tender. It’s clumsy. They tease each other. They say the wrong things, then somehow exactly the right things. Sometimes the sweetest moments aren’t the big declarations of love. There are two people sharing waffles, making each other laugh again, slowly realizing they still feel like home to each other… and wondering if their battered hearts are brave enough to take one more chance. I do have another favorite scene involving the two sisters…but it’s a spoiler, so my lips are sealed. 😊
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I wish I had a more glamorous answer involving a lucky mug or a cat supervising my every word, but I’m actually pretty boring. 😊 I’m a morning writer. My favorite writing days start with a long walk, followed by breakfast, my second (of three!) cups of coffee, and a few uninterrupted hours with my characters before the rest of the world comes knocking. It’s a routine more than a quirk—but it works for me.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
One of my favorites hangs on the wall in my office. It’s Edna Mode from The Incredibles: “Luck favors the prepared, darling.” (And yes, you absolutely have to say it with all of Edna’s fabulous snark.) Right next to it hangs Edward Robert Hughes’s painting Midsummer Eve. Every time I look at it, I think about that young woman wandering into the woods, never imagining she’d find fairies. I hang them side by side to remind me: yes, have a plan—but leave room for the unexpected magic.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
Life is messy. Families are messy. Love is messy. But I like to believe there’s almost always a way forward. If readers close Mermaid feeling just a little more hopeful than when they opened it, I’ll be happy.
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