How did the world or characters first appear to you,  as an image, a feeling, or a line of dialogue?

Characters appear to me in a pivotal scene that reveals something meaningful about them. Sometimes it’s a demon praying for deliverance, or a woman betrayed to a magical goddess by the man she thought she could count on.

Your book explores the balance between the greater good and individual agency. What drew you to that theme?

I like to have long hypothetical conversations with myself and one day I asked, what if the evil villain was fighting for the greater good? How would that feel to the character paying the price? Whose side would God be on?

Which scene or moment changed the story for you as you were writing it?

When I was struggling with the ending, I experimented with a few. What felt right took a few weeks to develop. I tried a definitive ending where she killed the antagonist and escaped to upstate New York. I thought about the emotional arc but eventually I decided on a happy for now ending where she embraces her inner demon but is still finding her footing.

What kind of research or lived experience shaped your characters?

I researched antiquity, Ginny was taught to read/write on the bible after all. I explored stories of demons and our general concept of them. Then, I decided to make the demons the aggrieved and stay away from the Biblical origin story. It’s a mystery until late in the series.

How did your setting influence the tone or mood of the book?

I use the weather extensively in my books, particularly two and three. Book two, Demon Sins, takes place in winter. I play around with showing her evolving inner blossoming and contrasting it with the seasons. I also have a couple of scenes in New York City and surrounding towns which provided an interesting backdrop of big city and small towns.

If your protagonist could give one piece of advice to readers, what would it be?

Sometimes the thing you fear most is the best thing for you. Ginny feared her inner demons, but in the end, that’s what gave her the power to survive, and that’s what helped her meet Gabriel and face off against her enemies.

What surprised you most about the story once it was finished?

It took ten years, and I think I needed every one of them — I matured alongside Ginny, and sometimes through her. Ginny’s strength, and the role of her faith were probably the biggest surprises.

How do you hope readers feel when they turn the last page?

This is the first book in a trilogy. At the end of the first book you should feel like Ginny is safe for now, hopeful for humanity, egging her on and a bit curious as to what’s next. At the end of the third book, Demon Deliverance, I will have revealed my point of view and a happy ending but I want people to think about their own: Was Jerry really evil? What does redemption look like? What was the most important theme, the one that resonated?

What’s next,  are these characters done with you, or do they still whisper?

The characters definitely still whisper. I have two other books in the same world in the works featuring different female characters. I think Layla and Emma each deserve their book and then maybe I’ll experiment with Henry’s character. His power intrigues me and he’ll have his own demons to contend with after what happens to him in this series.