How long did it take to write your first book?

The idea for the world and some of the characters began in 2014. I started drafting the first chapters of the book that year. Over the next six years, I worked on the draft in fits and starts. Yet even when I wasn’t writing, characters danced through my mind, growing and changing and evolving.

I finished the first draft of the manuscript in June 2021. Then came edits. And rewrites. And edits. And rewrites. I’ll update when it gets published.

Religion plays a major role in your book.

That’s not a question.

Why does religion play such a major role in your book?

I grew up in a conservative Methodist church in south Georgia. I didn’t just attend church – I was active in it. I was vice president of my church’s youth group (I have no idea what my duties were). I went on mission trips in the summer. I went to church camps.

In college, I majored in Religious Studies. I became fascinated not just with what religion meant to me, but how religion in general – and Christianity in particular – changed and evolved over the centuries. I dove head-first into the ideas of all the great thinkers: Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Kierkegaard, and the rest of the dead white men who wrote about God and religious experiences.

Yet as I read fantasy novels, I didn’t see any that brought religious institutions to the forefront. Many had religious factions or mythologies that were brilliantly written, but none focused on a religious institution’s grip on society that I wanted to explore. So that’s why I built a world around that idea.

Does the Sanctum represent the church you grew up in?

No. The Sanctum is not any modern-day church, mosque, temple, or other religious institution. It has its own history, theology, practices, and hierarchy.

Are you religious?

I have lots of ideas about religion, religiosity, and what it means to be an adherent to a particular religion. It’s something I think about a lot, and usually, I have more questions than answers.

I think that religion’s role in society is like a hammer. Hammers can be used to build homes for those in need, hang beautiful art on the wall, or remove nails that could cause pain. However, hammers can also be used to tear down homes, break windows, and hurt people. The hammer has the potential to help or harm, and it depends on how people use the hammer.

Singing plays a major role in your book. Are you a good singer?

Hahahaha, no. Allow me to share two stories from my childhood to illustrate.

When I was in third grade, my singing was so atrocious that the music teacher relegated me to operating the lights for our annual holiday performance for parents. When I was older, I joined the youth group choir at my church. The choir director said he had never met someone who so consistently sang off-key.

So why is singing such a big part of the book?

I love music. I love listening to music and, despite my lack of skill, I sometimes enjoy singing along. To me, music is magical. It can motivate me, lift my spirits, or cause me to reflect on a somber situation. There is something in the combination of melody and voice that seems to transcend our earthly existence and bring us to another place. When I listen to Idina Menzel sing “Defying Gravity,” or Taylor Swift’s Folkore album, it lifts my spirits.

What did you do before you wrote your first book?

I graduated college with a Religious Studies degree, which may be the least practicable degree in the known universe. After receiving my degree, I moved to D.C. in hopes of changing the world. I spent a year working on hunger and poverty issues at a religious nonprofit, Bread for the World.

I then gave grad school a try, going for a Master’s degree in Religious Studies. But I dropped out after a year. Then I did what every young adult loves to do: I moved back in with my parents. I took a few months to think about what I wanted to do, and then I came back to D.C. I was an idealistic, Mr. Smith-Goes-To-Washington kind of kid, and I wanted to make a difference. So I spent seven years at the International Center for Research on Women, a group focused on improving the lives of women and girls around the world. Then I spent a little more than a year at Save the Children working on hunger and childhood education issues.

From there, I spent three years at a small communications firm and then a few years working on domestic education issues before becoming a political reporter for a small online outlet. Now I spend my days as a communications consultant.

In addition to my jobs, I volunteered for several political campaigns. The issue of voting rights is near and dear to my heart, and I have worked on voter protection issues in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020. If you want to register to vote or learn more about voting, please visit www.iwillvote.com.

Will you write another book?

That’s the plan. Or, as a former boss from South Carolina used to say, “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.”

What if folks have more questions?

Go ahead and leave them in the comments below. I’ll try to respond in a timely manner.