There’s nothing quite like a road trip. They were the hallmark of my childhood complete with the old green and faux-wood station wagon with the back-facing seat and space for one of us to lay completely down in the back when we wanted to sleep. Circus peanuts, sandwiches at rest stops, AAA guidebooks, and the seat belt game for the kid in the middle. And oh, the fights among us kids followed by the never acted upon warning to cut it out or one of our parents would come back there. Remember those days, Gen X? We drove everywhere back then and no distance seemed too daunting. Our trusty wagon towed a pop-up camper with hard-sided luggage strapped to the top and only failed us once when the suitcases came loose, spilling all over the highway. So when I wrote a book about a road trip with an old man who’s supposed to be dead and a young girl willing to risk everything to give her brother a safe home, I was prepared. I knew road trips. Except the road ahead for Mack, Brandi and Sy is very different from my experiences. With no money, dwindling gas and very little…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A LIGHT IN THE FOREST 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A Light in the Forest is a heartwarming and suspenseful tale about resilience and strength. A young mother on the run from an abusive relationship hides in a town with dark secrets, discovers a mystery connected to her in ways she never anticipated, and finds that the love of a family can be found even in the unlikeliest of places. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I lived, worked, and went to school in southeastern Ohio for six years; an Ohio native with roots in Cincinnati and Cleveland too. My other novels have taken place in the mountains of Colorado and Alaska, but my early days in the hills of Ohio were calling to me and I wanted to set a story there that brought out the beauty in the place and the people. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Vega has lived a fairly isolated life during her years on the road, her house a van she shared with her late mother. But she wanted a family, a…