"Firstborn sprang from a news article I read concerning gendercide. I was horrified to learn that over 37 million girls are missing in China alone, due to the One Child Policy enacted in 1980."
"I hope that teens recognize themselves in one of the characters and feel encouraged that they're not the only one going through those issues. I also hope they feel inspired to pursue connection with friends, family and God."
"That feeling of loneliness is one of our universal emotions. We all want to know that people see us, and like what they see! Readers will connect with this ache strongly."
"A New York editor who critiqued the first few pages of Child of the Mountains at a conference asked me, 'Why does Lydia speak that way'' I told her, 'These are the voices of my childhood.'"
Literary hybrid genres are popping up everywhere: Romance/Suspense,
Historical/Mystery, and more recently Young Adult/Amish novels
are finding a base of readers.
"I think many young people feel that they don't fit in, and this feeling is not helped by our society, which seems to force people into boxes and categories."
"I love the classic dystopian books, Brave New World and 1984, and I've always read those thinking, 'What if this kind of novel were told from a distinctly Christian worldview''"