What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Weeping Willow? What inspired me to write Weeping Willow is my love of history. I enjoy all historical time periods, especially because of the fascinating settings they can offer. In Weeping Willow, I went with 1950s America because I wanted a setting that lent itself to an outlaw tale. The technology was just enough where a moderate amount of movement could occur (i.e., cars with decent speed,) but not so much that catching the bad guys would be easy (i.e., modern investigative abilities.) If you woke up in the world of Weeping Willow, what is the first thing you would do? I would purchase an era-appropriate automobile and cruise around. As stated above, I adore period pieces, and it would be amazing to cruise through the south and take it all in. Not only that, I would venture across the United States and absorb the breathtaking display of 1950s retro Americana. If you had to write a blurb for the last book you read, what would it say? Many books attempt to imitate Downton Abby without success. This one doesn’t quite succeed, but it comes close. The time period might be more advanced, but the familiar concepts are there—glorious estate, wealthy family with deep roots, social tensions between the family and the commoners, global unrest as the backdrop. The cast of characters is multi-dimensional, the tension is constant, and the setting is astoundingly accurate. It doesn’t quite capture the genre-defining masterpiece that is Downton Abby, but fans of such work would appreciate the noteworthy attempt. Where did you write Weeping Willow? Weeping Willow was written in my bedroom. In effect, this is how I spent the entirety of the Covid lockdown. The idea, outline, first draft, and revisions all occurred while I was home on work restrictions. And writing the book was the perfect escape because it transported me out of the current reality (at least for the mornings and afternoons) and into a fictional place of cops and robbers and classic cars. Pretend you qualified for the Olympics this year. What sport would you compete in? The 5,000-meter run. As an avid runner who enjoys shorter distances at speed, I would love to compete in this event. I would surely come in dead last, but it would be fun!
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