As much as I love writing stories, without proper insight and information into some of the places my characters visit or live, or even what they do, it wouldn’t be believable.

Some of the books I truly had to do some research for were:

• Secrets They Never Told: I needed a ton of research about the Outer Banks because I’d never been there, but I have always wanted to go

• The Backup Superhero Series: One of the short stories for the universe involved the characters using an underground tunnel series in New York City, which required me to research if it could be possible, and what they would need to find to navigate them

• Kale Stone: An Outlier’s Tale: I had to do research into what the environment would be like in the desert and how they could survive on the vegetation there

• Escape City: I needed to research what types of riddles would work and what a man-made river running through the city would involve

My goal is to bring great stories to readers, but it isn’t possible without knowing the right details.

Here is just a glimpse of what I researched for Secrets They Never Told.

What have I been up to?

Books for kids

First and foremost, I was able to deliver free books to 86 kindergarteners at Clay Elementary School before summer started. It was so sweet to interact with the kids and see what books they were interested in. And many of them remembered me from when I visited them in the winter.

Children’s Book

I have been slowly but surely working on my next children’s book, and the illustrations are coming along. My hope is to the get this one out in the fall.

Slower Writing Season

This admittedly is a slower writing season for me, as I truly try to slow down and enjoy the time with my family, while my daughter is out of school for the summer.

I can’t believe my kiddo is going into third grade!

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What most people don’t know is that I love zombies. To me, they are more complex than people make them out to be because they are essentially our loved ones come back to life…just not as they were. And to be faced with a true zombie apocalypse, I, for one, would have a hard time getting comfortable taking out creatures who used to be human.

Anywho, because of my love for zombies, I wanted to try my own hand at the zombie genre.

However, I couldn’t just create the same elements that I’ve seen time and time again. So that was when I started thinking. What else could I combine with them?

The Elements that Made Escape City

I am, in a sense, forever a kid when it comes to loving amusement parks, zoos, and aquariums. But, since it’d be a short-lived story for two of these places, I decided to choose an amusement park as a setting for the story.

Now the questions were:

• Why were zombies at this amusement park?

• How could I keep the story here the whole time?

This was where the escape room element came into play.

As escape rooms have been growing in popularity, even for kids (not mine, though), why not make an amusement park experience combined with an escape room-style element?

This made me develop the concept of an escape room-style amusement park where groups of people could pay for an adventure of experiencing a zombie apocalypse, while trying to solve puzzles to make it to the heart of the city for extraction in three days.

Why Young Adults as the Main Characters?

I still enjoy the occasional young adult novel, even now in my 30’s, like so many other readers. And, for the most part, young adult readers are more inclined to choose a book of this topic, especially when characters like them are in it.

So this was why I chose a dynamic of five teens as the story’s main characters. One teen is new to the life of wealth, and four influencer teens embark on the journey of a lifetime with her. Their different experiences are what set them apart.

As I wrote the story, the characters’ rash reactions in certain portions made more sense based on their age and inexperience.

In addition to this, they weren’t as aware of what was going on in the park because the adults are in charge. This, in turn, leads to confusion, the longer they go without being able to reach help.

Adding Bonus Content

As a reader, I love finding bonus content for a book. It one, helps me understand the book’s universe more. And two, it provides a cool feature that adds to the details of the story.

For the survival guide provided by the Bronston Family Amusement Park company, I took some inspiration from Zombieland. In Zombieland, the protagonist has rules he follows in order to survive the zombie world. One of them is double-tap. (In other words, shoot them again to make sure they are dead.)

So, wouldn’t it be nice to add a survival guide for people entering the park?

At the back of the book, readers can see this guide.

You can see it here:

Survival Guide To Escape City (400 X 600 Px)

4.4MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

In addition to this, I also wrote a short story that provides insight from the perspective of the Escape City park employees as the park is spiraling out of control.

You can get it here

In Other News

The grand opening of the new location of Expressive Avenue is coming! And I placed new items on my shelf.

So if you are local, I would love it if you stopped by!

Items for everyone from handcrafted vendors.

See the Event here

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I am on a mission to make sure books get into kids’ hands because I was a kid who lost access to books when school wasn’t in session.

If you have children’s books you are unsure of what to do with, Free Little Libraries are located nearly everywhere—especially at parks. So instead of donating them to a store, please consider a Free Little Library instead.

Find one near you

My Space at Expressive Avenue Moved!

Indie Books to Read

Daniel Sawyer is at his lowest point. He’s lost his job after his fiancée has left him. His future looks bleak. Until London crime lord Eddie Fowler enters his life changes in an instant.
While getting away from it all with a break in the paradise island of Antigua, a chance meeting changes Daniel’s outlook on life. Events rapidly escalate and before long he’s locked up in a dark and desperate prison cell in the Bangladesh mega-city of Dhaka. As the guards attempt to beat a confession from him, a chance encounter with a young street vendor presents an irresistible opportunity for escape.
Now it's not only the police Daniel has to evade. The notorious Mastaan, the local Bengali mafia, is also out to get him, not to mention Eddie Fowler’s top henchmen. The net is closing in and with the help of his friends, Daniel faces a dangerous and gripping escape across continents, taking him through India and eventually on to the Amalfi coast of Italy.

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The first time I met my best friend’s boyfriend, he was rude to me.
Sure, Gabriel Francis was all cheekbones and dishevelled hair with a voice that made women swoon and incited bidding wars with record labels. A pure drop of light in a sea of grunge. The soul of a romantic poet.
None of that swayed me though.
I didn’t trust rock stars.
Besides, he was off-limits.
But as Annika’s infatuation grew, and we were forced to spend more time together, I became enamored with Gabriel, too.
A friendship was forged, and we became each other’s muses.
My art. His music. An artistic collaboration, nothing more.
Until I heard the lyrics to his new song. So eerily familiar. And just like that, my dreams were shattered. Fate had done me dirty, and I tried my best to forget him.
Even so, I couldn’t help wondering, How much would you risk for a once in a lifetime love?

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She’s survived the streets, the cartels, and her own family’s betrayals. But when Sandra’s only friend is killed, vengeance is the only path left.

From the neon-lit back alleys of Miami and Chicago to the sun-bleached estates of Palm Beach, Sandra fights her way through a web of drug lords, human traffickers, corrupt cops, and the dangerous women who pull their strings. Each step deeper draws her closer to her estranged grandmother—a ruthless matriarch with an empire built on secrets and blood.

As Sandra navigates a world where power is everything, and trust is a luxury she can’t afford, she must decide: is she willing to become the very thing she’s always hated to survive—and to win?

Fast-paced and unflinching, this is a story of family, revenge, and the cost of clawing your way out of the gutter.

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The Perfects rule Ridgeview High, and nerdy Rachel Lord is obsessed with everything about them--their perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect boyfriends, perfect lives...
But after Rachel gets into an accident while searching for a missing friend, she wakes up in the body of Dani Maguire, her former best friend who dumped her for the Perfects long ago. As Rachel struggles to live her life as Dani, she finds out the life of a Perfect isn't so perfect after all. And as she learns the long-buried secrets responsible for her out-of-body experience, Rachel discovers she is more powerful than she could have ever imagined...and that power beats perfection every time.

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And…I was able to draw some inspiration from my 8-year-old daughter, a little girl who loves llamas.

The story is written, and I am currently working on illustrations. And what my daughter doesn’t know is that since she helped me with the story, she will be credited as a co-author.

Behind the story: My daughter loves llamas, but said that no one else in her class loves them. And that they question why she loves them so much.

So we meet Laurel, a girl who loves llamas and wants everyone else to love them too.

We can expect this around fall.

The Backup Superhero Series

Last week, you got a sneak peek at the next installment of The Backup Superhero.

I have sent it out to readers for feedback and hope to get it to you all soon!

Kindle Unlimited

Did you know that most of my books are available on Kindle Unlimited? And I just put The Lies We Keep there….and it’s already gaining page reads!

Author Event

I had such a blast attending the first Local Author Book Fair event at the Ephrata Public Library this past weekend. How wonderful it was to meet readers in my hometown. And to make new author friends.

And, the library took The Lies We Keep to put in their library collection! Huge win!

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Here is a sneak peek at the next installment of The Backup Superhero Series.

October 30^th, 2021

Who would have guessed that doing the right thing would get you into so much trouble.

“Thank you for coming in promptly, Tanser Girl,” Jenner said, gesturing toward a small questioning room beside him. “The FBI has some follow-up questions for you regarding Level A superhero Goffman.”

Nodding silently, I hobbled through the metal-framed doorway, each step sending a sharp pulse through my aching ankle, urging me to find relief.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the small, gray metal table in the center of the room, where two FBI agents sat rigidly on the far side, their crisp black suits adding to their intimidating presence. The dim overhead light pooled weakly around the confined space, deepening the shadows and amplifying the room’s unnerving, oppressive air.

“Please have a seat,” the older FBI Agent stated. “I’m Agent Thomas, and this is Agent Samson.”

Nodding in answer, I eased myself onto the black metal chair, causing its legs to scrape across the concrete floor. “Sorry.”

Agent Thomas shuffled through a stack of papers on top of an open manila folder, his lips pursed as he did so. “As you are most likely already aware, each superhero in the league and police officer known to have contact with Level A superhero Goffman is being questioned about their knowledge of his espionage.”

“I am,” I replied meekly, feeling smaller and smaller under the Agents’ glares.

“Now, can we ask you to recount the events that led to your final encounter with Goffman?” Agent Thomas asked.

I shifted in my seat to get more comfortable with the metal material and began. “It started when I went to find my friend, another Level D superhero, Dwighter. He was at a high-class bar where the other Level A superheroes hang out, and Goffman happened to be there as well.”

“Why were you trying to find Dwighter?” Agent Thomas asked.

“He was promoted to Level A status after taking credit for a successful save, and I hadn’t been able to get in touch with him since it happened,” I explained.

“I see, “Agent Thomas stated, scribbling notes on his paper. “Proceed.”

“Dwighter was extremely intoxicated, but before I could do anything to help him, Goffman asked to speak to me outside the bar,” I explained. “So, I followed him down the street, and he began talking about how I felt like a leader and how I would do well in the spotlight, but that Level D’s had their place in the superhero world, and I needed to understand that. He also said that Dwighter was a problem that would resolve itself, and said that if something happened to him, people would assume it was an accident since he was frequently drunk. That was when he said he needed to take Dwighter home because he was extremely intoxicated.”

“Then what happened?” Agent Thomas prodded.

“I—I followed Goffman and Dwighter because I had a gut feeling something wasn’t right.”

Agent Thomas placed his pen down, his stern gaze now focused on me. “And did you call for backup?”

“Well, no.”

“Why?”

“Because if I were wrong, then I would look spiteful for my friend having gotten a promotion that Level B through D superheroes only dreamed of. But what Goffman had said caused me to worry that he might do something to Dwighter for breaching an unsaid understanding among the superhero league,” I explained.

“Sounds like the system is a little broken, doesn’t it? Is that something you were hoping to change? Something you thought bringing Goffman down could help you change?” Agent Thomas questioned.

“What? No!” I stammered. “I mean, yes, the system is broken. And of course, I would love to be considered any level higher than I am now, but not at the expense of someone else.”

“Continue,” Agent Thomas said, his gaze looking downward as he again wrote notes.

My hands trembled beneath the table, hidden from view, but I could feel every quiver betraying my resolve. When was I going to be taken seriously? Forcing myself to focus, I clung to the thought that I had done the right thing, or at least, I hoped I had.

“I followed Goffman to an abandoned warehouse and found Dwighter tied up between Goffman and another man with a gun. Goffman had told the man to make it look like an accident and that the news framing Dwighter of espionage had already been planted at the news station before leaving,” I said. “So, I rushed in and knocked out the guy who accidentally shot Dwighter in the leg, but he made it out alive.”

“Did you report it then?” Agent Thomas prompted.

“No, but it was because I wasn’t sure if anyone would believe me. Goffman was a Level A superhero, and it was our word against his,” I explained, feeling my heart hammer in my chest.

“But so was Dwighter,” Agent Thomas countered. “Why wouldn’t they take his word?”

“Because unfortunately, Dwighter has a track record of drinking heavily, but never while on the job.”

“What about the man who was about to murder Dwighter? What happened to him?” asked Agent Thomas.

“I knocked him out and we left him there.”

“So, someone who could have been tied to Goffman and giving us any information is now gone?” Agent Thomas said flatly.

“Well—I suppose so,” I answered quietly.

“Please continue,” he prodded, his mouth forming into a thin line, showing his frustration.

“So…so, I took him to the owner of Hero’s Cave Bar, Frank Bears,” I said.

“Why not a hospital?” Thomas questioned.

“Because I was afraid that if I took him somewhere public, Goffman would only find him again and follow through this time,” I stated.

“I see,” Agent Thomas said. “And are you aware of Mr. Bear’s career history?”

“No, I am not. Before that night, we only knew each other on a first-name basis.”

“Hmm, interesting? Why would you take an injured Dwighter to him?”

“Because Frank has always been there for Level D superheroes, and he values us. I trust him,” I said.

Agent Thomas put down his pen again. “Mr. Bears has a rich history with the police and the superhero league. He was a police officer for ten years before he became a vigilante. And then his actions caused more vigilantes to come forward. After this, Jenner and the Mayor helped Mr. Bears form the Superhero League.”

In the face of this new information, my jaw slacked open in awe. This couldn’t be the same grumpy old Frank that barked at every patron from behind the bar. The same curmudgeon who listened to our woes and poured us another beer after a hard day’s work.

“Yes, so not a totally wrong choice,” Agent Thomas commented. “But not the one I wouldn’t have chosen if I were you. Continue.”

Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, a tangible reminder of the deep waters I was wading into. There was no sugarcoating it; I was in trouble. Serious trouble for what I’d done.

I hope you enjoyed a sneak peek of the next installment of The Backup Superhero Series.

As of right now, I am working on a title and a cover, which will be released as soon as they are completed.

In other news…we aren’t far away from my next event!

I truly hope to see you there, as I will have:

• Book Lover T-Shirts

• The Lies We Keep

• Anywhere Else

• Secrets They Never Told

• The Day the Gnomes Moved In

• Today I’m Not Laurel

• Dandelion

• In My House

• The Great Box Makeover

• Escape City

• Dandelion Read and Learn Kit

As this is the Ephrata Public Library’s first local author event, you taking the time to tell someone else or share it on social media would do so much!

Hope to see you there!

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One of my best-reviewed books is my young adult novel, Anywhere Else.

This book is near and dear to my heart because it deals with tough themes such as alcoholism, toxic family members, and homelessness. And I felt it was crucial for younger readers to learn about these topics in a positive way. And I am so thankful to have heard two high school teachers put this in their classroom libraries.

But what made this book more relatable was that I personally dealt with alcoholism in familial relationships and toxic family members, which helped bring elements of the characters to life.

What is amazing about this book is that the 5-year anniversary is coming up this September.

What does this mean?

I am going to release a new edition of the book and add an epilogue to the end in celebration of it’s 5 year book birthday!

It reveals a little more about the entanglements of Leena’s life and how they still affect her despite her recent positive life improvements.

I decided to do this when readers asked if I would be willing to make a sequel. However, I didn’t feel there was enough story to make one. But this epilogue allows readers to get a little of what they want.

Here is the updated book cover I am still experimenting with.

If you loved Anywhere Else, here are some other reads like it.

When tragedy strikes, Sadi is left orphaned and adrift, forced to live with her estranged aunt as her college dreams crumble. But as she grapples with loss and rejection, a long-hidden family secret emerges, threatening to unravel her world completely.

After losing her parents in a tragic accident, Sadi’s life takes a sudden turn as she moves in with her unfamiliar aunt, Hayley. Rejected by every college she applied to, Sadi faces the daunting task of breaking the news to Aunt Hayley that she’s not ready to leave.

As Sadi navigates grief and uncertainty with the help of her best friend Parker, a shocking revelation shakes the foundation of her existence. Hidden family secrets come to light, forcing Sadi to confront her past and question everything she thought she knew about herself.

In a quest for truth and self-discovery, Sadi must confront her deepest fears and embrace the uncertain future that awaits her. With each revelation, she edges closer to understanding her true identity and finding the strength to forge her own path forward.

Finalist at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2025 in the category of YOUNG NEW ADULT (FICTION) (17 YEARS AND UP)

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Piper and her older sister could not be more different. Tati assumed guardianship when their parents died, and in Tati’s eyes, Piper is a troublemaker with no direction. Piper knows what she wants, but it isn’t the buttoned-up life that her sister has in mind. Usually, Piper can lean on her best friend...except they aren’t speaking, just when Piper could really use a confidant.

Escaping to their apartment complex’s pool for some space, Piper is stunned to see Henry. Her Henry. The boy who, three years ago, she met at this same pool. Together, they walked the beach and shared a kiss. It was a perfect night. Then she never saw or heard from him again.

Henry is back in Florida to spend time with a dad he barely knows and escape the tangled relationship he left at home. Fate has brought Piper and Henry back together when their lives are the most complicated. With no one to depend on but each other, Piper and Henry must confront their painful pasts and the tumultuous present. Is this the start of another goodbye or a second chance at love?

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After a childhood filled with poverty and neglect, Beyah Grim finally has her hard-earned ticket out of Kentucky with a full ride to Penn State. But two months before she’s finally free to change her life for the better, an unexpected death leaves her homeless and forced to spend the remainder of her summer in Texas with a father she barely knows.

Devastated and anxious for the summer to go by quickly, Beyah has no time or patience for Samson, the wealthy, brooding guy next door. Yet, the connection between them is too intense to ignore. But with their upcoming futures sending them to opposite ends of the country, the two decide to maintain only a casual summer fling. Too bad neither has any idea that a rip current is about to drag both their hearts out to sea.

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The Backup Superhero wasn’t supposed to be a book. It wasn’t even supposed to be a series. It was just me trying something new.

Well, back when I was beginning to build my newsletter, this was when the Marvel Universe dominated everything. Superheroes were everywhere.

I needed a way to engage readers, so I decided to blend my love of superheroes with a format that felt different.

So, each week I would send out a new edition of my newsletter, and with it came a piece of The Backup Superhero. Think of it like releasing episodes weekly.

At the time, I wasn’t sure what it would become, but what I did know was that my readers were enjoying it.

When I wrapped up the final installment, I expected polite silence.

Instead, my inbox filled with one question:

Would you turn this into a book?

After it was all said and done, The Backup Superhero ended up novella-sized and morphed into a series of novellas. Each one focuses on a different character in the universe.

What is The Backup Superhero?

I loved the idea of superheroes, but I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing. So, I actually drew some inspiration from the CW show Arrow, based on the comic book character. Arrow is basically a vigilante who is considered a superhero.

And then the thought hit me.

What if vigilantes weren’t rogue?

What if they were licensed? Structured? Tiered?

What if they worked with law enforcement instead of against it?

The Backup Superhero follows a league of powerless heroes — trained, ranked, and assigned to assist law enforcement. No super strength. No magic. Just skill, discipline, and hierarchy. They work in tandem with law enforcement and are separated into tiers. And Tanser Girl? She’s Level D. The bottom rung. Tanser Girl, was placed in the lowest tier of the superhero league. What it boils down to: she does all of the grunt work but never gets credit for it.

As one would assume, something goes awry as another lower-level tiered superhero tries to take credit for their work and messes up the carefully orchestrated system.

Who are the characters?

Tanser Girl

Tanser Girl has spent seven years doing the work no one notices. Level D. Bottom tier. Always present. Rarely credited. And when her fellow Level D superhero takes credit for a save, it leads her to step up to right the wrongs that follow.

Dwighter

Dwighter is another Level D superhero who works with Tanser Girl quite often, and who took Tanser Girl under his wing at the beginning of her career. However, Dwighter is also a known drunk in his off hours and isn’t highly regarded among the superhero community.

Frank

Frank is the barkeep of Heroes Cave, a bar where Level D superheroes hang out after shift. What Tanser Girl, Dwighter, and many other people don’t know is that Frank is an ex-cop who had a large hand in the beginnings of the creation of the superhero league.

The End Result

What started as a way to grow a newsletter became a universe I’m still building in. And it reminded me of something important: sometimes the experiments become the stories that define you.

Author Event

Don’t forget about my upcoming event at the Ephrata Public Library on April 25th! This is Ephrata Public Library’s first Local Author Book Fair, and you won’t want to miss it. See you then from 1-4!

Indie Reads

Will you stay a soldier, be the hero, or become something more?
The demons have attacked. The Kingdom of Aschheim has lost their king and crown prince. Now, the first princess and the second prince must prove their worth as they both struggle to be named as the true successor to the throne. They will stop at nothing to prove their worth, even if it means sabotaging each other’s efforts to save the kingdom and the human realm from the demon threat.
Echo 1 is a soldier, raised on the battlefield of a world buried in an unending war. His body and instincts, honed beyond the limits of a normal human through years of constant combat, have been further enhanced with augmentations. He is supported by his combat AI and armed with the most technologically advanced equipment available in his world as he cuts a path of blood and death through his enemies.
After a fierce battle, Echo 1 finds himself in a strange new world. His augmentations aren’t functioning, and his body is heavy and sluggish. His combat AI is offline, and he no longer has access to his combat armor or his equipment. The only piece of equipment he has is a strange round shield that he can’t remove. He soon learns that the strange shield has marked him as the weakest and most cowardly of the seven legendary heroes who have been summoned to the Kingdom of Aschheim to save humanity from the demon threat.
Armed only with a shield, Echo 1 must navigate a world that views him as weak and incompetent while he tries to find a way to repair his combat AI before the next demon attack. With his new mission decided, he must answer the question: Stay a soldier, be the hero, or become something more?

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When a clone threatens to tear her city apart, can a failed superhero rise to the challenge?

Grace Grey has a secret. She is the world’s first superhero, Beacon! Most know her only as a police tip line operator. After losing a loved one during her first major defeat at the hands of the supervillain, Arson, Grace hung up her suit. But when a laboratory experiment goes wrong, creating a homicidal Beacon clone who threatens to tear the city apart, only the real Beacon can stop her. Now, Grace must overcome her tragic past, reclaim her reputation, and save her beloved city - and herself.

If you enjoyed the thrilling action of Marissa Meyer’s Renegades, you’ll love the intense suspense and heroic journey of Grace Grey in Beacon - The Hero of Heartland.

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The Lies We Keep has been my largest release to date. In its first month, it sold twenty copies, an exciting milestone for an indie book and one I don’t take lightly.

Since its release, I’ve been asked the same questions over and over:

• Where did the idea come from?

• How long did it take to write?

• Why mystery?

So, it felt right to start here with the story behind the story.

What Inspired The Lies We Keep?

If you’ve ever driven Route 322 through Pennsylvania, you know the stretch I mean.

Miles of trees with hiking trails tucked just beyond the shoulder.
A road long enough that your phone signal flickers before it then disappears entirely in numerous places.

On family trips to Harrisburg for the Farm Show Complex or to Hershey for a day at the park, we pass through that expanse of trees often. My 8-year-old daughter’s Disney playlist usually fills the car, and every time, we give the same warning: the signal might cut out here.

One drive, as I watched the tree line blur past the window, my brain began to wander. I don’t know why my brain works this way; it just always has.

What if two people were hiking out there… and one of them got hurt?
What if they couldn’t move them?
What if there were no cell service?

Would the uninjured person try to drag the other?
How far would they have to go for help?
Would daylight—or darkness—change everything?

And then came the question that changed the story entirely:

What if one of them never made it out, not because of the injury… but because someone else was out there, too?

That was the moment the seed for The Lies We Keep came to be.

How Long Did It Take to Write?

This was my first mystery novel, and I won’t pretend I wasn’t nervous.

I knew how the story needed to begin.
I knew how it needed to end.
What I didn’t know was whether I could pull off the space in between the pacing, the misdirection, the slow layering of truth and lies that a mystery demands. But I wanted to see if I could do it.

I leaned heavily on books that reminded me why I love the genre:

• Juniper Isle

• Survive the Night

• One for Sorrow

From the first draft to the final revisions, the book took about four months to write, followed by a focused rewrite period, plus invaluable feedback from alpha and beta readers. I also leaned on my author friend, Melissa Roos, who generously shared her experience writing mysteries when I needed a second set of trained eyes.

Why Mystery?

It’s no secret that I read in various genres, and mysteries are one of them.

It invites readers to believe they’ve solved the puzzle, then moves the pieces while they aren’t looking. Red herrings feel convincing, and just when you think you know the truth, the rug is ripped from underneath you. And the truth, when it finally arrives, changes how you see everything that came before.

But if I’m being honest, there was another reason I chose this genre.

I wanted to know if I could do it.

The Characters of The Lies We Keep

Heidi

Heidi is the story’s protagonist. The emotional center that everything else rotates around.

When she discovers her husband’s infidelity, her life fractures in quiet ways rather than dramatic ones. Feeling betrayed and lost, she begins to piece together what is left of her life in an effort to regain normalcy.

Writing Heidi was challenging because she isn’t impulsive or confrontational. She’s thoughtful and reserved. I found her to mirror a little bit of myself, to be honest. The kind of person who carries her pain privately. To move the plot forward without betraying her personality, I had to ask myself repeatedly: What would someone like this actually do next?

In many ways, that meant slowing down and trusting subtle choices to matter.

Steven

Steven is the kind of character who exists more in absence than in presence.

He made mistakes, many of them. He wanted more than he had, believed he deserved it, and chased it without considering the cost. But he also tried to course-correct. We had a chance to see his redemption arc.

That tension between who he was and who he wanted to be was essential. Steven isn’t a villain or a hero. He’s human. And in a story built on secrets, it shows how there is always a way to atone for our choices.

Detective Harrison

Detective Harrison enters the story exhausted.

Working out of Camden, New Jersey, has worn him down. He spends hours working cases that feel endless. And then Steven’s case lands on his desk, different, layered, unsettling enough to pull federal attention into the investigation.

I didn’t want Harrison to be infallible. I wanted him to work for every answer. To make mistakes. To miss things. Because real cases don’t unravel cleanly, and neither do people.

Watching him navigate unfamiliar territory, professionally and emotionally, became one of my favorite parts of writing this book.

What other possibilities did I have for the cover?

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