• The idea for my first story came to me one morning while I was in the shower. As a stay-at-home mother of young children, living in a tiny apartment at the time, where else could I get a quiet moment to think?  Whenever I get stuck in the writing process, the shower is now my go-to place to work out the problem. I just haven’t worked out the problem of dripping water through my house as I jump out to record my inspirations.
  • My description of Henry’s bubbly tummy and pounding heart as he worked up the courage to knock on his friend’s door in Bring a Friend to Primary is a personal description of how I felt as a missionary at every single door I knocked on for 18 months. That nervous feeling never went away for me.
  • My two oldest sons were terrified of all animals and insects at the time I wrote Bring a Friend to Primary. The character of Henry is their complete opposite. As I envisioned the scenes of Henry bringing animals into primary, my own sons were the inspiration for how the other children react to the animals in the book.
  • I am an awful speller. As a child, spelling tests were my most dreaded tests to take. I could study a word for hours and not remember how to spell it the next day. This little fact makes me feel unworthy to call myself an author. I am so grateful for spell check and for the blessing of having family members who are great at editing. 
  • Growing up all I wanted to be was a dancer who owned my own dance studio, writing had never crossed my mind. When I received my patriarchal blessing in high school, part of it talked about pursuing my talents. It specifically mentioned that doors would be opened for me to write. I was raised with a deep love for books, but I had never considered that a talent of my own. As a teenager, I honestly did not think much of that line in my blessing. It was not until years later, when this story idea came to my mind, that those words really stood out to me and gave me the courage to submit my first story for publication. I love that God knows us better than we know ourselves and that he can see what we can become, even when we don’t see it ourselves.
  • The majority of the verses in No One is Quite Like You were inspired by real people in my life. Most of their names I have changed, but some I have kept. I had hundreds of ideas for unique talents I could have added to that book, but I had to limit the talents to a handful, or the book would have been endless! 
  • My first four children all appear in No One is Quite Like You. They are all pretty excited to see themselves come out in a book!