Welcome to our inaugural #MouseMondays!

One of the joys of being a writer is hearing from readers who come to love your characters as much as you do. But I’ve wanted to find a way for us to all share the love together.

My editor, Katie, had the brilliant idea of tapping the hashtag #MouseMondays across social media for me to share special Mouse related tidbits with you—backstory for places Mouse visits or people she meets, photos, perhaps a little news, a blog here, a playlist there, and, of course, answering all your non-spoiler-y questions.

But it would also be a place for you to get to share your favorite quotes, your feelings about characters, maybe some artwork (Anyone tried illuminating your initials like a medieval manuscript?), your questions and theories—basically sharing ANYTHING Mouse related.

I mean, who doesn’t need some Mouse in their Mondays? A little kindness and compassion, some healthy defiance of cultural expectations and a dash of Devil-may-care.

I hope you’ll join me every Monday for #MouseMondays. And maybe invite a friend or two to join.

I thought an appropriate place to start would be with introductions. At almost every event, someone asks me where Mouse came from, where I got the idea for the story, and I get to tell them how I met Mouse. I thought I might share that story here for those I haven’t gotten to meet in person.

I was heading home for the holidays. The kids were content in the backseat with a movie, and I stared out at the empty rice fields of Northeast Arkansas. She came like a flash in my mind. A young woman standing at the edge of a battlefield looking out over the raging violence, gazing at one soldier in particular. I knew we were somewhere in history because the men wielded swords and battleaxes on horseback. But it was the woman’s face I found compelling. It was full of defiance and determination. I had to know what she was so determined to do and who or what she was hell bent to defy.

I think I would have lost her though if it hadn’t been for her name, carried like an echo on the wind: Mouse.

I was hooked. I grabbed a napkin off the floorboard and sketched it all out. I had to know who she was and where and when she was. It took me a long time to get her to reveal her secrets. I know why now—those were some pretty dark secrets to keep.

So how about you? Did you have first impressions of Mouse? What about the other characters?

I hope you’ll come join in the fun of #MouseMondays.

(There might be a bit of news to share coming soon. ;))