FAQs

Where did you go to school? Where did you grow up?

I was born in Alberta, Canada. My dad was serving as the President of a Christian college at the time, and both my parents were Americans. My sister was also born in Canada, but we were all Americans. We moved back to the US when I was only 5, so all of my schooling—from elementary school through college—took place in Washington state. Then I ended up back in Canada (Vancouver) for my graduate work, at Regent College.

So, my degrees are in Biblical (BA) and Theological (MA) studies. In other news, I got as far as a green belt in Tae Kwon Do, which is about halfway to a level one black belt. Besides writing, my other careers were in full-time youth ministry, and working in the financial services industry.

Who are your biggest creative influences?

People who take a stand for what they believe in inspire me. In our current culture that tends to put me on the outside. But that’s okay. I take my faith seriously. This will date me, but I grew up on the LOTR and Narnia series. In fact, I read through all 3 of the LOTR books in as many days. Yeah, I know! They impacted my imagination…and messed up my eyes for a few days, too. 😂 It took a little longer to wander through all of the Narnian landscape, but Lewis moved me with his characters, world-building, and themes.

Many years later, Rowling also influenced me. I’m also very happy to crank up King & Country, or crack open my Bible, or listen to an amazing sermon. Calling something “progressive” doesn’t make it progressive. But I love writing with progressive music by Audiomachine, Hans Zimmer or Jo Blankenburg jamming in the background. Here’s my playlist!

Will you come to my school/library/town?

I love visiting with my readers! There are usually three ways author events happen for me:

1. Sometimes (but not for a while because of the pandemic), I will plan an event at a local bookstore or library if I’m already traveling to visit friends and family.
2. Someone invites me to visit, like a school or bookstore. That’s why the best way you can help get me to your town is to let your bookseller/teacher/librarian know that would like me to visit.
3. Because I do a lot of Zoom meetings (for work), I might soon try Facebook Live events. (Follow me on FB so you’ll see when those happen)

Can I interview you?

Let’s see! Send your publicity requests to my publisher: support@prepareforrainpress.com

How can I write you a letter/send you something?

Of course! I love receiving letters and emails from my readers! For snail mail or email, just go to my “Contact” page (the link is at the top of this page) and fill out the email form; you will also find the address for my P.O. box there.

I do my best to reply to everything. And…sometimes I just don’t have time. So, other great ways to interact with me are on my Facebook and Pinterest; I’m pretty responsive on those platforms, so drop your questions in the comments.

See also…

• FAQs about my books (coming soon)
• FAQs about writing (coming soon)