​You say you minored in Cinema. What are some of your favorite films?
I almost majored in filmmaking, but this was at the start of the digital transition and the technical aspects of developing physical film were of no interest to me. The film Star Wars: A New Hope changed my life. When I was in college and the Star Wars prequels started coming out, I decided to go to film school. I met my now husband in a cinema class and we spent a significant amount of time in movie theaters watching The Matrix and Lord of the Rings movies. It was an amazing time.

Some of my all-time favorite films are Cloud Atlas, Monster, Arrival, Party Monster, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Dark City, and Blade Runner. I adore Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Wachowski's Matrix movies. I'm not typically a fan of horror, but I really enjoyed Let the Right One In, and Babadook; they both featured stunning cinematography and out-of-the-box storytelling.

​You got your master's degree in broadcast communication. What are some of your favorite shows?
With streaming, we're living in a golden age of television and programming. There are so many great stories being told. One of my longtime favorite shows is Doctor Who. Some of my other favorites are Lovecraft Country, Sweet Tooth, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Stranger Things, Good Omens, Big Love, True Blood, Tuca and Bertie, Bojack Horseman, Orphan Black, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Steven Universe, The Legend of Korra, Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, Killjoys, Warehouse 13, Gravity Falls, and On Becoming a God in Central Florida. My current hyperfixation is Centaurworld. The songs are incredible and Wammawink, a pink centaur llama is my favorite character.

Who is your favorite Muppet?
Gonzo because he's weird and whatever and he owns it! I love his optimism, and the fact that he doesn't care if he fits in. He's in love with a chicken. He has a whole watershow routine where he attempts to launch himself through a loop de loop and into an imitation leather recliner floating on a lake. He takes professional pictures of people at fancy parties just as the food spills onto their tie. He also has a deep sense of belonging in not belonging. The first time I heard his song in The Muppet Movie, I'm Going to Go Back There Someday, it was like a floodgate of emotion broke in my soul. I felt an emotional pang I had never experienced, and it is a feeling I channel often in my work; this profound sense of awe and wonder. It's a feeling of staring into the void and feeling inextricably connected to it.

So you like Gonzo. Were you kind of an oddball growing up?
Yes, and it's something I like to write into my characters now. I want young adult readers who feel like they don't always fit in to know they're not alone. As a young kid, I spent a lot of time in my head. Relating to other kids was often difficult. When other kids would say they wanted to be a teacher or a doctor–I'd say I wanted to be an igloo builder (because I'd just seen a video about it on Sesame Street).

As a kid I remember being bullied regularly. Fortunately I had a few really good friends who supported me. Most of the kids I knew were friendly but a couple individuals made it their special project to try and put me down whenever possible. Between the ages of nine and fourteen, one girl singled me out every day to verbally assault me. It really took a hit on my self-esteem. I stood up to her as best I knew how, but I never really knew what to say. What do you say to someone who points out your every mistake and insists you're "so stupid?" She got fantastic grades. I didn't at the time. She could hear instructions from the teacher and instantly "get it." I couldn't. What I didn't see then was that there was probably more going on in her life that made her feel like she needed to pick on me. She needed to put me down to feel good, despite all the amazing things she could do. Looking back, I feel sorry for her and I hope she's okay. I was also abandoned by a youth group once at Disneyland on Main Street. The whole group literally ran away from me as fast as they could. I was horrified and alone for a few minutes until two of the kids came back for me. "Those other kids are jerks," they said. "We're going to hang out with you." They hung out with me the rest of the trip. We stayed friends for years after and spent a lot of time badly quoting SNL and Monty Python, and being profoundly silly. I am so grateful for them.

Because bullying impacted me so deeply, and I know how much having even one supportive person can mean, I try to capture that scope-of-view in my work. I truly believe empathy is one of the strongest tools we have to healing past wrongs and building better relationships. Being aware of each other is the first step toward that kind of empathy.

What compels you to write?
I write because I feel things deeply, and I don't think I'm alone. I hope that my writing will connect others with themselves and with others. I'm a big believer in the transformative power of storytelling.

​I especially like writing young adult fantasy because I know what a hard time young adulthood can be; you're not quite a kid, and you're not quite an adult. I feel like today's youth face a host of very real and daunting challenges. I want them to have the emotional toolbox to navigate the world from a place of personal power and connectedness. For adults reading my books, I hope to connect them with their inner young adults and the wonder and strength they need to be their best selves and make the kinds of decisions that improve the world for future generations.