I have always loved a good story. My childhood memories are full of inventing stories, acting them out or losing myself in them. The book that first captured my imagination in a big way was Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis. I hadn’t even read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but I was immediately pulled into the world of Narnia. I still regularly read fiction intended for a far younger audience, always in search of a tale that will once again transport me to another place.
When I grew up, I started my career in advertising and public relations, sharpening my writing skills by telling mini-stories on behalf of various clients. Then I switched professions and became a pastor, focusing on a much bigger story.
Now I’m trying to write for both kids and adults, letting all the various ages of me work and play together. My first two books were both years in the writing, but they both ended up getting publishing contracts within about a week of each other. The first is Perfectly Suited: The Armor of God for the Anxious Mind (Tyndale/Aspire). The second is The Inkwell Chronicles: The Ink of Elspet, (Hachette/Worthy Kids).
People sometimes find it a little odd that I am writing in these two very different channels, but in my mind, they seem tightly linked. I describe Perfectly Suited as the book that shares my personal struggle with anxiety and OCD, and writing The Inkwell Chronicles has been the therapy helping me through it. Both have felt necessary for my own well-being.
Book 2 of The Inkwell Chronicles is called Race to Krakatoa and it is now also available. The third installment of the series will hit shelves in fall of 2024.