Jo Rowling was inspired on a train to write Harry Potter and Stephanie Myers had a dream that started the Twilight series. How did The Labyrinth Wall come about?

Ever since I saw the movie Labyrinth as a child, I’ve been fascinated with labyrinths. What a playground for imagination. Anything could be lurking around the corner. So, I’ve always been interested in writing in the setting of a labyrinth. But then I thought, “What if an entire civilization was living in a labyrinth… and they didn’t know anything different? What if I wrote a story from the perspective of a girl within a labyrinth culture?”

Then I began to think about the characters in this world and thought, “What if I explore a character that never had a childhood because she is actually a creation with the labyrinth? So, as a writer that would force me into a very strange perspective of someone learning to understand themselves and others for the first time?” And of course, where better to explore all of this than in a labyrinth, a place that holds so much mystery and possibility?

And writing the book was exciting too! My husband was a truck driver at the time, and I had decided to go on the road with him. So, The Labyrinth Wall was written during our time living in a semi-truck and traveling the country. It was an adventure!

Who are your favorite authors and did any influence The Labyrinth Wall?

There are so many I love! But if I have to narrow it down, I’d say Terry Brooks is my favorite author. The Elf Queen of Shannara has been my favorite book since I first read it in eighth grade, which is also about the time my love of writing truly began taking hold. I loved writing since I was little, but that’s when I really started doing it more in my free time. Over the years many others and encouraging people like family and teachers have inspired me to write. I’d also say that stylistically I picked up some influence from Suzanne Collins for the Obsidian Series.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I get this question a lot (or inquiries along this line). It’s more like people say to me, “I saw how you were getting at issues of repression” or they mention freedom, and companionship. It’s funny because I don’t want to be a preachy person by any means, so I wouldn’t say I’m writing messages that I want people to grasp. I’d more describe my writing as my own process of working through life’s struggles. If my journey of internalizing and learning through writing does grasp readers and mean something to them as well, that’s wonderful. And that is something I hear from people who have read The Labyrinth Wall, which is a great blessing.