If you’ve read The Sunflower House, you likely found Schwester Ziegler’s nursing rules (and those of Hochland Home) to be harsh and harmful. They were based on a popular Nazi-sanctioned book. In 1934, a German pulmonologist called Johanna Haarer wrote “The German Mother and Her […]
I used dozens of pieces of music to write The Sunflower House, since music is a huge part of my creative process. Music always get the words flowing because it helps me get into character.
The dream of a white, blond-haired, blue-eyed ‘master race’ didn’t originate with Adolf Hitler. This idea was implemented in the United States decades before Hitler rose to power by American eugenicists, who sterilized tens of thousands of Americans through the 1970s, barred the marriage of […]
I’ve been thinking about light and dark this week, thanks to my chat with John Charles of The Poisoned Pen bookstore. John found The Sunflower House to be a hopeful book. I was glad to hear it, because I struggled to find hope during my research.
I didn’t set out to write about hope, not consciously. Yet early reviewers of The Sunflower House call it a hopeful book. As it turns out, the reason why hits really close to home. (This one’s for you, mom. ❤️)
What’s your muse? For me, it’s always been music. Music is the most reliable way to tap into the emotions I need to write honestly.
More than 200 rejections over 20 years? Yeppers! It’s been a long, wild, winding road to publication.
Taking a deep dive into research always helps me craft an authentic voice for my characters, because it gives them the freedom to move through a world in full color.
Rejection is often uncomfortable, but if you’re comfortable you’re probably not growing. Feedback, even when it feels brutal, is essential to improve.
Singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey lost her hearing at eighteen, but that doesn’t keep her from singing. Refusing to give up, Mandy found her way back to performing with muscle memory and by using visual tuners and trusting her pitch. She continues to write and sing even […]
