FAQ

On Heart of the Matter

What was the inspiration for this story?
I was at a charity function for a local hospital I support, listening to a young mother talk of her newborn’s facial deformity. She spoke so passionately and poignantly of her experience, particularly of the surgeon who first came to talk to her and her husband when their child was just a few hours old. She described the confidence he instilled in her, and how he was the first person to tell her that her son was beautiful. The story was so moving that I came to imagine the attachment one must feel to a doctor who is saving your child. This became the genesis for Valerie’s story. From there, the novel grew organically, in a very character and relationship driven way that my books always develop.