For Parents and Teachers

As a parent, you're the best judge of what is and is not appropriate for your child. But I want to be as helpful as I can! Often, parents simply want to know if a novel has sex in it. Sex is never depicted in my novels. Is there kissing? Yes. Some books have more than others – use the "Contact Me" form if you need to know which ones. 

Are you a parent who looking for cuss-free books? The Saving Mars series is swear-free, since Marsians and Terrans don’t use our contemporary swears.

What about drinking or drugs? My novels don’t include drugs or drug abuse. In the historical fiction, there are references to drinking ale, small beer, wine, and (rarely) medicinal spirits. I would consider it to be similar to the tavern or banquet scenes from Disney’s Tangled, or Beauty and the Beast.

How about magic? My novels fall in the broad category of “speculative fiction,” which is just a fancy catch-all for books with science fiction or fantasy. In my case, being married to someone with a PhD in Physics, I skew science-y for the speculative elements of my stories. However, I do have one series and one standalone where the speculative stuff is straight-up fantasy. In Siren Spell, there are magical creatures: sirens! In the Five Kingdoms series, I have built out a world where the some creatures have what humans call “magia.” Sirens, water worms (dragons), and golden fish have “powers,” and sometimes they gift their magia to humans. Other times, humans steal the magia. Or try to. You won’t find incantations or spells or rituals, however.

What about mental health? I am a strong advocate for healing from mental illness, so in some of my novels, depression and anxiety are present in some characters. Self-harm and/or suicide are not depicted.

If you have other specific concerns, I would love to provide answers. Just shoot me an email using the “contact” form and ask away!