What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Reclaimed Dreams?
The Exposed Dreams series was inspired by a what-if question that stuck in my head while watching Fixer Upper on HGTV. What would happen when it was time to pass down the Magnolia business to the next generation? When I wrote the first three books in this series, I focused on the adult children in the family, chasing their dreams and falling in love. In the background, their parents’ marriage was crumbling under the strain of change and grief.
So many readers wrote to me asking if Jo & Dom were really going to be alright, that I knew I had to write their story. What began as a short novella turned into a full length novel tracing the ups and downs of their 40+ year marriage to its eventual redemption. The bulk of the story overlaps their children’s stories, interspersed with flashbacks to happier times.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Reclaimed Dreams, what would they be?
I can imagine Jo riding in Dom’s truck, windows down, on their way to Santa Cruz falling in love during the summer of 1978, listening to Right Down The Line by Gerry Rafferty.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I have always loved romance. Contemporary, historical, paranormal, I love it all. I’ve been reading them since I was 12. That is absolutely why my mind tends to build stories that promise a happily ever after. They are such a wonderful emotional experience.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
The Love Con by Seressia Glass, The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon, All The Feels by Olivia Dade, and Electric Idol by Kate Robert.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
I really loved writing their first Christmas. I wrote a novella, Decked Out, that follows the main characters of book two (Stripped Down) through a disaster of a first Christmas. It was fun to create parallels and show the origins of family traditions by writing about Jo & Dom’s early holidays. I also loved writing the twist in the “grand gesture” scene. I can’t say too much, but I had my editor pumping her fist in the air shouting “Yes!” Very gratifying!
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I lead the #latenightwritersclub on TikTok, and for every evening of writing sprints, I light saint candles with famous folks on them. We’ve gone through the Schitts Creek crew, Ted Lasso’s entire cast, The Golden Girls, and PBS stars from my childhood. The group even convinced me to make a candle with my face on it so they could order one for their writing spaces! So I’m writing this sitting next to my Saint Eva candle that says, “Good Words Everyone!”
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
There is an awful lot of hard work and compromise that goes into making happily ever after last forever, and it is worth it with the right person.
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