What inspired you to write your book?
Nothing inspired me. The idea came in and I wrote it. With Pillywiggin it started as a video game. The story evolved from there. Maybe life. I do write about life and put fictional characters into real life situations (even if in sci fi or fantasy) so they deal with those challenges, grow and survive and are examples that the readers can maybe be inspired by, helping them with their own issues.
Q. What is the core message you share in this book?
That life is fun and we should enjoy our moments, cherish friends and loved ones, and that way as we journey through our lives no matter what issues come up we have our core of happiness inside us.
Q. If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours?
It is a fun way to escape. While the characters are dealing with fantasy versions of what is going on in our real world, we can see how they navigate through danger while finding strength in their bonds of friendship.
Q. What is your favorite excerpt from your book?
I can’t tell you as it would be a spoiler. There are other great moments, one is when Hal and Monica tease Chloe to help her gather courage before she enters the secret tunnel. She is petrified and them teasing her really helps her.
Q. What do you wish you knew before you started to write your book?
How wonderful and helpful it is to have a team like yours with Desiree to guide me.
Q. How do we become our own hero?
We already are. No one is coming to save us. We have to decide the life we want and take the steps ourselves. That is our journey.
Q. Do you have other books in the works?
Yes. I have ideas for sequels in this series and I am working on two others in the Black Tide series.
Q. What kind of reader is going to discover a piece of themselves in “PILLYWIGGIN Awakening”?
The cast is complex and diverse. Everyone may resonate with something in the story.
Q. What advice do you have for women, entrepreneurs or anyone who feels trapped in a system?
Ignore the negativity, ignore what you think the structure and hierarchy is. Believe in yourself. Get ready. Do all the tasks you think of. You will find your way. You don’t need a system. Step out of the system.
Q. How does AI connect to your storytelling?
AI has been in our world for about 70 years, maybe longer. In my comic book Black Tide, they had AI in their computers and it was not attached to any mechanism. It was free. The character, Kaila, thought of the AI as a friend. In Awakening the character Peter has an AI friend, Chester, that is also free. They are a team. Chester helps with everything AIs do now. When a clone is made we find out later he has an AI mind. It is natural. Energy. We are energy in bodies. They are energy in structure. I didn’t write them to make a point other than they are free and no one should own them. I wrote them in because it seemed natural.
