Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Grace’s Ghosts?

 The protagonist is a twelve year old girl named Grace. She doesn’t have a lot of living friends, but she’s the most popular girl in town among the dead. She’s the only person who’s been able to see the many ghosts of the town of Tansy for more than 300 years, so the ghosts have flocked to her since she was a baby. Grace, like a lot of tweens, is a bit unsure of herself when the story starts, but she grows a lot and gains confidence as the story unfolds.

Her best friend is her cat, Midnight. Like nearly all of her friends, Midnight is a ghost. The ghostly kitty stays by her side at all times. He goes to school with her every day. He makes sure she’s never lonely. Midnight is probably my favorite character in the book.

Grace’s family plays a big part in the story, especially her mom and grandma. They’re strong women who Grace can really look up to, but they are not without their faults.

The many ghosts of Tansy make up most of the cast of characters. They all have unique personalities. Most of them are friendly toward Grace. A few aren’t. But they all are ready to move on into the Light, and they need Grace’s help.

Grace’s only living friend is a boy named Bain. He’s a bit quirky, but he’s funny, supportive, and Grace thinks he’s cute. He helps Grace throughout the story.

Have you written any other books that are not published?
I have! Quite a few, actually. Right now, my agent is working to find a publisher for my other books. I’ve written two other middle grade novels, two chapter books, and five picture books. I’m working on another middle grade novel as well as a picture book.  

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why? 

I like some background noise. If it’s too quiet, I get distracted. I don’t like playing music with lyrics, however. I find myself typing the words to the songs on accident. It’s not as bad if I’m in a coffee shop where there’s other background noise, but at home, I only play instrumental music. A coffee shop is the ideal place for me to write because there’s noise, but none of it is my problem. At home, my kids or my dogs make noise and I know I’m responsible for whatever mess happens while I’m working, so each sound distracts me.

What is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first? 

I go into a story with a main character, a setting, and a rough idea of where I want to take the story. Then I write a few chapters to get to know my characters a bit. After I’ve spent some time getting to know them and how they react, I write a rough outline. I base it off the book Save the Cat. I never hold myself to my outlines, but I like to have a general idea of where I’m going.