• Revolutionary Love

    Love perseveres in spite of obstacles. Love gives without any guarantee of receiving. Love sacrifices until it hurts and then sacrifices some more. If I told you those themes are part of my latest novel, you might guess I’m a romance writer, right? Well, they are, but guess again. The Revolutionary is a dystopia. Wait. Dystopia? You mean one of those futuristic novels so dark they make the problems of our own world look like a walk in the park? Yes and no. Though dystopian novels have certain bleak characteristics, I think that setting paints the perfect contrast to the hope characters are fighting (and sometimes dying) to gain. How…

  • AOA Teacher Authors Message of Hope

    The following article was featured in my school’s company newsletter, and the editor who conducted the interview graciously gave me permission to share it here with you. I’m so blessed to work at a place that supports my writing!  *** The genre of dystopian young adult fiction has become highly popularized in recent years with blockbuster novels like The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Giver; however, Alpha Omega Academy teacher Kristen Hogrefe knew she wanted the genre to offer more than just entertainment. “I wanted to offer hope,” the first-year AOA teacher said in a phone interview from her home in Spring Hill, Florida. “Dystopian novels are oftentimes so bleak.…

  • Heritage in American History: Jefferson Memorial

    A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of chaperoning Alpha Omega Academy’s first field trip to Washington, D.C. Students from the states and abroad converged at Dulles and Reagan airports to start a week-long tour of our nation’s capital. Never having been to D.C., I soaked up the history and culture like a sponge. Day after day, I witnessed landmarks that revealed our country’s faith-based heritage and the wisdom of our early leaders. Blessed. That’s how this trip made me feel. Not only was I thrilled to explore “history” with an amazing group of students and chaperones, but I also felt as though God had given me a gift, an affirmation…