I’ve had several people ask why I named the lead protagonist Rory. It’s a favorite name of mine. I actually picked it out years ago as the name I would give to my daughter. However, when she was born, I took one look at her and knew the name wasn’t the right one for her. Rory went back into my vault of favorite names, until it finally found a place here in my first novel.

The lead protagonist for every book I write comes from this mental vault of mine. Some of the names are linked to past people who left a mark on me, while others are names I simply love the way they roll off the tongue. ‘Rory’ stems from both categories. As a young girl I knew a boy named Rory. We didn’t hang out all that much, but I always thought his name would be fantastic for a girl—and I was right. It was awesome to finally give somebody the name Rory, even if she’s someone who only lives and breathes within the pages of a novel. She has lived up to my every expectation.