What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
I’m often asked where I get my story ideas. I usually respond with, “I shake my family tree, and the stories tumble out.” On the surface, my new book, Secrets of the Cryptids, starring werewolves and Bigfoot, may not appear to come from my family tree. However, the theme of not belonging comes from my lived experience. Like Hayil, I was the kid with her nose in a book (now a computer), and like her, I knew in my heart I could never become the person my mother wanted me to be. I was too fat, too ugly, too lazy, too much of a daydreamer—you name it. I was never enough. It took me half a lifetime to realize that I could never measure up to her impossible standards—even if I tried. I finally understood that I wasn’t the problem; she was.
It was freeing, and I wanted Hayil to experience that feeling when she discovers who she really is and how powerful she is. I wrote Hayil Rose for every woman who has ever been told she wasn’t enough, wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t the “right” kind of family member. She’s for the woman who suspects she has more in her than she’s ever been allowed to show. She’s for all of us. She’s funny when she’s scared. She’s stubborn when she’s hurt. She doesn’t trust easily—and when she does, it means everything. She’s for all of us who arrived late to our own becoming.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
Secrets of the Cryptids is about found family, fierce hearts, and the courage it takes to become who you were always meant to be.
