The Story Behind Never Really Gone
It's a story of courage, faith, and love.
I think every author wishes a story could come to them as easily as this. Now, almost six months later, seeing the proof copy in my hands, I can’t believe I dreamed the whole thing.
How it happened:
I awoke with Katy Perry’s song in my head:
When I’m gone, I’m never really gone
You think you’re moving on
But it won’t be for long, you’ll see
When I’m gone, I’m never really gone…
I didn’t even know who sang the song. I had to look it up. And then, I said, “Hmmm... Never Really Gone. That’s the title!”
I grabbed the notebook and pen from my nightstand (yes; I keep them there for times like this) and began writing. A whole dream, from beginning to end, played like a movie in my mind. That was about 4:30 AM. I didn’t stop until about 6:30 pm. There may have been a bathroom break somewhere in there, but I don’t remember.

When I finished, I’d filled every page of the notebook. The characters felt so familiar to me, like I’d known them. Of course, I hadn’t. It was the dream, still so fresh, and the few lyrics of that song were still playing in my head.
I contacted my cover illustrator that evening, gave her the plot, and described the characters. I often like to have the cover on hand while writing the story. Imagine my surprise to find that my illustrator, booked months to a year out, had an opening for me. In about a day, she asked, “How’s this?” I can’t lie. I shed a tear. The cover was exactly what I envisioned.
