Many of your books are set in Appalachia, particularly southern Ohio. What do you enjoy about this landscape?

I grew up in the foothills of Appalachia and for me it’s the forested hills and the incredible wildlife. I’ve always loved nature and animals. This love of nature was nurtured by my mother Betty who always gardened and taught us a deep appreciation of plants, taught to her by her father, my grandfather Landon. I look at Landon as an environmentalist, teaching his children the great joys of conservation and preservation.

You mention your mother Betty. What the process of writing Betty the book like?

It all started with my mother Betty remembering and being brave enough to speak those memories aloud.

When did you know you wanted to write?

 I’ve written since I was a child. I would make homemade books out of notebook paper, binding them with my mother’s crochet yarn and publishing them under the publishing house I had created and named after my cat at the time, Sunshine Publishing.

 What are your favorite books to read?

For some reason, authors like Flannery O’Conner and similar southern fiction writers are linked to me via online articles, but I’ve never read O’Connor or similar southern fiction. I really enjoy fantasy with castles, witches, and dragons. I like escaping into that magical world. I also enjoy non-fiction, history and science, particularly the archeological sciences and anything to do with dinosaurs. I enjoy Indigenous, Egyptian, and Greek myths. I was raised on the Cherokee legends by my mother Betty.

What is your preferred method of writing?

I write longhand, with pen and paper. I only go to the computer when I have to put the book into a file for the publisher.

 Favorite color?

 I love drawing and doing artwork, so I have many favorite colors. Green reminds me of plants and the woods, which I love. The blue of bluebirds, butter yellows, and all the magical purple shades.   

Favorite movies?

Hocus Pocus, Misery, Needful Things, The Shining, Little Shop of Horrors, Indiana Jones. I grew up in the 1990s during the heyday of miniseries, and one of my favorites is Stephen King’s Storm of the Century.

 What hobbies do you enjoy?

Crocheting, baking, gardening, spending time with my animals and walking in the woods, imagining the fallen leaves are the footprints of dinosaurs.

Lastly, what’s an interesting fact about your books that not many readers know?

I slip in the names of pets I’ve had into my books. The brothers in The Summer that Melted Everything, Grand and Fielding, are the names of my rescue cats. Store names from Betty like Saint Sammy’s and Fancy’s Dress Shop are named after two other cats I had. Sammy lived to be 22. And Fancy lived to the ripe old age of 23. I’ve slipped in names of my rescue dogs like Dolly and Maggie Mae, and even a small turtle I rescued called Little Friend. Readers should know that oftentimes the names used in my books are me honoring the animals in my life.