On September 8, 2020, I stood with my son and watched the beginning of something we couldn’t yet comprehend—the Almeda Fire. What started as a small blaze on the outskirts of Ashland, Oregon, quickly transformed into a force of destruction, consuming everything in its path. We stood there, eyes fixed on the sky, as the first helicopters arrived, dropping water buckets over the flames. The wind carried the fire forward, faster than anyone expected. It was only the beginning.
I didn’t have my camera that day. I wasn’t behind a lens, framing the chaos or adjusting for light and exposure. Instead, I was simply present—watching, absorbing, feeling. There was something deeply unsettling about witnessing it unfold without the buffer of a viewfinder. Maybe if I had been photographing, I would have felt some sense of control, some ability to document and make sense of it. But without a camera, I was just another person standing in the heat, helpless against what was coming.
In the days and weeks that followed, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had seen. The smoke hung in the valley for days, a reminder of what had been lost. Entire neighborhoods were gone, families displaced, lives forever altered. Even when the fire was out, the loss lingered. And in that loss, a story took root. I started asking myself: What happens after? Not just after a fire, but after any moment of devastation. What happens to the people left behind? How do you rebuild—not just homes, but relationships, identities, lives? That question became the foundation of Memories of an Ash Covered Sky, a novel not just about fire, but about the kind of loss that burns just as deep—the loss that happens when someone leaves, when families fracture, when people abandon, disappear, or walk away.
No family is perfect. We all carry wounds, some fresh, some scarred over but still tender. Whether through abandonment, distance, or the slow erosion of time, loss within families can be just as devastating as any wildfire. Memories of an Ash Covered Sky became my way of exploring that connection—how destruction and healing are intertwined, how fire, both literal and emotional, consumes but also reveals. The characters in this novel navigate the wreckage of their own personal fires, just as the people of Southern Oregon navigated the aftermath of Almeda. Some run. Some try to rebuild. Some sift through the ashes, looking for meaning. But at the heart of it all is a truth I believe deeply: No matter what happens, the door remains open for returning, for healing, for reconciliation.
The Almeda Fire changed the landscape of Southern Oregon forever, but it also revealed something about the people who call this place home—their resilience, their capacity for love, their ability to rebuild. And isn’t that the story of all of us? We lose. We grieve. We wonder if things will ever be the same. But even in the face of devastation, there’s always the possibility of something new, of something different, of something better. I wrote Memories of an Ash Covered Sky not just as a reflection of a tragic event, but as a reminder that even in our darkest moments, we’re not alone. That no matter how far we drift, love and acceptance are still possible. That even when everything has burned to the ground, there’s always a path home. Because fire takes—but it also reveals. And sometimes, what remains is stronger than what was lost.
This story has stayed with me for years, and now I’m ready to share the story inspired by tragedy. Memories of an Ash Covered Sky is set to release this spring; a novel about fire, loss, and the ties that bind us—no matter how far we’ve wandered. Stay tuned for more details on the release date, and if you want to be the first to know about preorders, giveaways, and behind-the-scenes insights, sign up for my newsletter [here] . Sometimes, after everything has burned away, we discover what truly matters. I can’t wait for you to experience this journey with me.
Have questions about my books, upcoming releases, or the real-life inspirations behind my stories? I’d love to hear from you! Drop me a line below, and let’s dive into the world of suspense together.