What does "Undaunted" even mean, anyway?
Why did you step away for so long?
As a Christian, why do you write secular romance novels?
What age groups are your books appropriate for?

 

The Oxford dictionary defines undaunted as "not intimidated or discouraged by difficulty, danger, or disappointment." Merriam-Webster defines it as "not discouraged or frightened; fearless." For me, living an undaunted life isn't about the absence of fear but it means facing the trials, owning up to the mistakes, and keeping on no matter how many times you fall on your face. It's about facing a fear deeper than death - the fear of truly looking at who we are, the fear of failing to change or improve the things we don't like, the fear of being unacceptable even to ourselves. Because it's only when you face those fears and move through them, learning and adapting as needed, that you become a person you can be proud of - not in a prideful sense, but in the sense of being able to look in the mirror and genuinely like the person looking back. Undaunted living is about self-compassion, persistence to move forward, and the willingness to change and adapt what isn't working. It's about letting go of toxicity - yes, even your own. Living undaunted means embracing the space and the process of life: know better, do better, repeat.
 

Career-wise, all I ever wanted was to be a writer. I wanted to craft characters and create stories that gave people hope and encouragement - or at least, a place to escape reality for a while and be uplifted and entertained. But the only things more important to me than writing are my faith as a Christian and my dedication to my family. My children needed me to focus on being their mom, and being disabled meant that I was able to let writing sit on the back burner to keep my attention and effort focused where it was most important. Not writing broke my heart - but my daughters are worth the sacrifice, and they needed to see me give it, even if I couldn't always do it with a good attitude. 
 

My plan was never to write only secular novels, but romance is a soft spot for me because I believe Jesus truly loved people. I believe God loves us that way, and being disconnected from him is why our human hearts crave the thrill and excitement of romance. But when Jesus expanded his ministry beyond his own community, teaching and loving the Gentile as well as the Jew, he did it hoping to reach people who didn't already know God and hadn't previously had or responded to the chance to change that. I'm a long way from Jesus, but I hope my stories will involve God in ways that are as gentle as Jesus was, planting a seed or giving a little nudge of the heart. That's also why I'm adding a little more faith content to my novels during the writing and editing of the second editions - I was a Christian when I wrote all of my books, but I wasn't quite as bold back then. Still, I think Christians staying boxed into Christian-only genres and markets isn't the way to spread the love of God. Jesus went out to touch the rest of the world, and I want to follow his example.
 

Although my social media content and any eventual public content such as blogs or videos will be appropriate for most ages, my books are for adults only. They are secular romance novels, and they deal with complicated adult topics such as sex, abuse, drug use, etc. The goal for me as a novelist is to write stories that appeal to most audiences, and in order to do that I have to address and deal with the harder parts of life in a fallen world. I won't pretend sex, drugs, and rock and roll don't exist - and because they exist in the world, they exist in my books. That being said, I am a versatile author with interests in many different categories, and while all of my writing has a romantic element, some books may be more appropriate for some readers than others, so I encourage readers of my books to check the book summaries and posted genres to be sure they're getting what they're looking for.