A standard English class question is, What is the author’s purpose? The answers to choose from are: to entertain, explain, inform or persuade. We all write for a variety of purposes. Leaving a list of chores for someone has a very specific purpose!

In Hummingbirds, Pennies, and Hope, I created characters with real life experiences of seeing hummingbirds, finding pennies, and receiving messages from deceased loved ones. The main character is a teenage girl, Anna, who does a report on angels which leads to surprising consequences. The book entertains, informs, and I hope is inspirational!

Since I enjoy learning as well as being entertained, I researched Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) when I wrote In God We Trust. I learned that the apples he planted were not for eating, but for making cider. Water wasn’t always available, so the settlers made cider. The main character, Ted Song, is an Anointed One which means he possess extraordinary gifts and he learns a lot about John Chapman when he is sent to Maple Grove, Ohio.