I grew up on a farm in Southwest Virginia, USA.

And it remains one of my favorite places on earth.

I come from a big family:

There are currently 23 members of our immediate family, and that number has been growing
year by year by God’s grace.

As kids, we would tend animals, run through bramble patches, haul water, pick berries and generally run amok in the best way. We all learned a lot from those days, both from mom’s wisdom and from just enjoying God’s creation, and taking dominion in mini ways, as we learned about life and death and caring for the animals around us, and tending for the land. I wouldn’t trade it.

Growing up on a farm, we got a taste of many things, like learning to appreciate getting out of muddy clothes and understanding hard work, long days, good laughter and real food, all things I am thankful for, and things that I’ve carried with me as I’ve learned more about what God has made us for, namely, for His glory. It is our job to use the gifts He gave us to glorify His Name,
and it is to that end that I have taken up the pen, now, as an adult.

As an adult, I still reside on the farm, taking up a very different job than I did as a kid, but still loving every minute of it, by God’s grace.

By day, I now work as a wedding and family photographer. By night, I write stories. In between, I endeavor to spend time with the people God gave me.

I am well kept on my toes by all of that.

When not writing, you can find me:

Sketching, painting, growing dahlias, hiking with my family to find new lakes and good views, picking up theology books that will mostly be written by Reformed men of old, and expanding the general history of Avriora, the world that both Sparrow in the Sun and Frost Light take place in.
The cool part about creating a fantasy world, is that there is always more than can be done, and always more history that can be explored, giving way to new stories: because our worlds will only ever be fragments of the real world, the one the infinitely creative God made.

Some of my favorites:

Books:

Till We Have Faces, by C.S Lewis.
Watership Down by Richard Adams.
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte.
The Home Ranch, by Ralph Moody.
Death by Living, N.D Wilson.
The Confessions of St. Augustine, by St. Augustine.
Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss.
A White Bird Flying, by Bess Streeter Aldrich.

Things to do:

Photograph couples and weddings, which is my primary job. So, I’m always editing. It just isn’t always books. But editing photos gives me plenty of time to listen to audiobooks, something I do a lot of these days.
Get coffee, and have a long chat.
Attending live concerts, especially at small venues. The smaller the better.
Talk about the things of God. We get to learn about Him. We should want to take full advantage of that and be in His Word and discussing it with others. I love a long conversation about theology. It’s a favorite.
Causing chaos with my family. There are a lot of us. Lord willing, there will be more. I wouldn’t trade it. We will be talking over each other, and yet still listening. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. But it will be a blast.
Horseback riding, pretty much anywhere. But my favorite place is on this one amazing ranch in CO, with one of my good friends who lives there.
Paint: I love acrylics. Occasionally, I get a wild hair and do character art. Mostly, I do landscapes. And Christmas ornaments. Don’t ask why.

Artists:

Daniel Gerhartz. If you are not familiar with his work, he does light like no one else. I want to own one of his pieces down the road.
@Peb_artist on instagram. Paisley is incredibly talented, and I have several of her pieces on my gallery wall.
Eloise Rosanna Brown: Does landscapes that feel like sitting by them for a moment. I have two of hers on my wall as well.
Madelyn Mutter: Western cowboys and cattle and horses, and they are beautiful in the best way.
Bill Anton: Westerns with light, clouds and texture. I love his work.
And many others who do a less ‘classic’ style art, and more character works, like Ellie Tran, Naomi Nash, Annie Parsons (who did Frost’s amazing cover and all my bookmarks), Maili Ailsa, Rooted Northern, Pineforest Melodies, and many, many more.

Musicians:

Josh Garrels
The Arcadian Wild
Sarah Sparks
Avi Kaplan
Lainey Wilson
Ben Zornes
Sons of Korah
The Gray Havens
Ben Rector

Beverages:

Iced earl gray, with maple syrup. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. I wrote most of Sparrow and Corvus while drinking this beverage.
Iced matcha, straight up.
Toffee nut and white chocolate hot latte.
Eggnog. Chilled. In a frappe. With fancy water. I just like eggnog.
Kombucha. I am informed this makes me sound crunchy, but I think that the real crunchy people are the ones who like eating bean sprouts without Phad Thai.

Writing tips:

Embrace that first draft. You can’t edit what you don’t have. But you can edit the daylights out of a completed draft. Let it be trash. It’ll help.
Don’t edit and draft at the same time. They use two totally different parts of your brain. Work with your brain: write the WHOLE draft, then edit.
Don’t wait for inspiration, learn discipline. Learn how to make a cup of tea, and just sit down and chop out some words. Those scenes written that way may someday end up being your best, and you will be thankful for that skill. Muse doesn’t always come. But deadlines will.
When stuck, pray, take a walk and pray, then make a cup of tea or coffee, take out a notebook and write through the stupidest version of the scene. Then, just put words on the page. 9/10, you’ll be able to move past that scene.
Every character in every scene has a reason for being there. Do they want gossip? Are they just trying to sit for a few minutes in their living room? Are they avoiding their sisters? Do they just want the peace that keeps getting interrupted? Are they wounded and unable to leave? Everyone has a reason for being in the room.

Book Series: