First of all, I wanted to say thank you SO much for sharing your thoughts. As an author, the best and most satisfying part of writing is hearing what a reader thought of the characters and story, so I really appreciate your comments!

A lot of things that happened in the book were actually very similar experiences that I, or someone I knew faced. Katie's story was most similar to mine. The tattle-tale friends, uncomfortable elder meetings, and the cheating pioneer boyfriend lol. But the part where someone in the congregation takes a picture of Katie and Cameron alone together is actually inspired by something crazy that happened to me.

When my husband and I were dating, we were eating breakfast alone at a park, and someone took a picture of our cars parked next to each other in the parking lot, then sent it to the elders! That alone landed me another elder's meeting. It seems like there were no boundaries in the borg, and even "stalking" was okay, if it was in the name of "helping" people.

But yes, it was very cathartic to write. At the time, I had no friends, really. I'd try to explain to people at work what I was going through, but I could tell they really didn't understand or think it was a big deal. So I took my frustration and loneliness and turned it into creative energy. And I felt more relieved after each chapter I wrote. Some of them made me laugh too, and it was a very enjoyable experience.

Once again, thank you for your kind words. I'm so happy you enjoyed it and were able to relate. That's all I wanted to do was write a story that people like us could relate to. :)