FAQs
These are a few of the frequently asked questions I’ve been asked over the years. If you have others not answered here, feel free to contact me. 🙂
Why did you release a new version of the books?
I get asked this a lot.
Initially, just the book size and paper colour were going to change. Whenever a book’s size and/or paper stock is changed, a new edition is released because the book size and paper type are attached to the ISBN number.
However, I decided if a new edition had to come out anyway, I might as well go through the books and see whether I would change anything 5 years after their original release. And I did. Adjustments were made throughout the books, however, the story ends up in the same place. I think the books are even stronger now and I’m happy with how they turned out. 🙂
Are the books Christian?
Were they written specifically for a Christian audience? No. Do they contain explorations of faith? Yes.
While the books contain some Christian elements, they are not ‘typical’ Christian suspense novels. They do contain occasional profanity and the raw nature of the subject matter may not be a match for some readers. Content guidance is located here.
The epitaph trilogy is one continuous story about love, loss, truth, and obsession spread over three books. As Kyrie journeys, she discovers the answers she seeks are not always easy—or what she expects. In the end, she makes her own decisions about life, love, faith, and truth. Readers are welcome to also. 🙂
Are the locations in the epitaph trilogy real?
Yes and no.
The towns featured in the books are not real. They are loosely based on many small towns that I’ve visited or lived in. The city of Amitola is also a product of my imagination.
Walmart is the only store in the books that is ‘real’. All other shops are a product of my imagination. If they bear a resemblance to or share a name with other businesses out there, it’s unintentional.
The Dove Mountain Resort in Arizona is real, but has been used fictitiously.
The ecolodge in Beauty for Ashes is based on Morgan’s Rock, a luxury ecolodge located in Nicaragua. While not specifically named, it is used fictitiously.
Do any of the names in the books have special meaning?
Many do. Personally, I find onomastics fascinating. Some meanings are explained in the books, but here’s a quick list of some of the main character and place names that have meaning.
- Kyrie’s name is based on Kyrie eleison. It means ‘Lord, have mercy’.
For those who thought the phrase in the Mr. Mister song was a person’s name, it makes the lyrics richer now, doesn’t it? 😉 - Levi means ‘joined; to join’ or ‘joined in harmony’, depending on where you look.
- Quoin is a cornerstone.
- Karin means ‘pure’.
- Beth is short for Elizabeth, which means ‘consecrated to God’.
- The griffin is a mythological creature which is used in heraldry as a symbol of strength, courage, and boldness.
- Murray’s last name, Shoales, is an anagram.
- Petra means ‘rock’.
- Jeff means ‘God’s peace’
- Kerusso means ‘to herald divine truth’.
Geographical/place names:
- Idyll was chosen because it’s a homophone, meaning different things depending on the spelling: idyll, idol, idle.
- Verity means ‘truth’.
- The name of the river in Idyll, Askook, is a native word for snake.
- One of the parks in Idyll is named Allegheny, which is a native word for ‘fairest river’.
- Amitola is a native word for ‘rainbow’.
There are others not listed here. If you’re interested in the name, look it up and see if it seems to reflect the person. 🙂
What do you hope readers will take away from the epitaph trilogy?
Wow. That’s a question and a half, isn’t it? There’s a lot going on in the books, with perseverance showing up as an underlying theme. Pressing on when bad stuff happens. Enduring when life gets exceptionally difficult. That said, I think what I’d like people to take away most of all is that love never fails. Where there’s love, there’s hope. Every act of love has a ripple effect. It could be as simple as a smile. Or as complex as forgiveness. 🙂
1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13 says:
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Do you have any works in progress?
I do!
Griffin turned out to be a popular character. I’m currently working on a novel tentatively titled Scars which delves into Griffin’s early life.
Once that’s complete, I’ll continue writing a novel I started years ago about a woman who has a daughter with Down syndrome. That one takes place in Verity, so watch for some familiar characters to pop up.
There may also be a novel about Levi’s journey.
How long did it take you to write the trilogy?
It took longer than I expected—about 8 years. During that time, I also raised three kids. 🙂
As a reader, I hate waiting for the next book in a series, so the trilogy was complete before its original release in 2019. Freshly polished, revised editions of Epitaph, Mourning Light, and Beauty for Ashes released in 2025.
What's on your bookshelf?
Quite a bit! I have about 400 books on my shelves and another 400 or so on my Kindle. While I will read almost anything that looks interesting, the genres I read most often are fantasy, mystery/suspense, and literary fiction.
A few of my favourite fiction books include:
- The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay
- Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
- The Farseer series by Robin Hobb
- The Liveship Traders trilogy by Robin Hobb
- Mordant’s Need duology by Stephen R. Donaldon
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien
- A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
- The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
- The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
- Embrace Me by Lisa Samson
- The Story Teller’s Secret by Sejal Badani
- Swan Song by Robert McCammon
- The Thief of Always by Clive Barker
- Weaveworld by Clive Barker
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers
- Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
- Mountains of Spices by Hannah Hurnard
- The Prodigal by Brennan Manning
- The Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny
- The Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley
- Book Lovers by Emily Henry
- The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
- Blue Hole Back Home by Joy Jordan-Lake
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
- Tomorrow by Damian Dibbin
- The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
- The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros
And many more, including classics like The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, the Narnia series, and Harry Potter.
Non-Fiction favorites include:
- Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis
- Love Does by Bob Goff
- Everybody Always by Bob Goff
- Living Waters by Brother Yun
- The Hiding Place by Connie Ten Boom
- Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan
- God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew
- The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
- Homestead by Jane Kirkpatrick
- My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
- The Lost City of Z by David Grann
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
- On Writing by Stephen King
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou