The characters. I loved getting to hang out with characters as a reader, and I hope that I get to provide that for my own audience.

What would you do if you ever stopped writing?

Find another way to tell stories, I hope. I think, ultimately, writing is the sharpest tool in my tool kit, but it’s not the only one I’ve got. But I’d love to keep telling stories for as long as I’m able.

If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?

I think I answered this earlier! Forgetting embarrassing moments! Also making kitchen sink salads and sandwiches. I can almost always take whatever is in my fridge and turn it into a delicious sandwich or salad. Most of my superpowers are of the everyday variety, but they really come in handy. I just reread this answer and turns out I AM OLD NOW.

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?

Healing from my eating disorder. There were so many days when I wanted to quit, to give up, to let that way of harming myself get the better of me. The recovery was not smooth, nor was it linear. But looking back, I’m so proud of myself for continuing to commit to my recovery. It’s made all the difference in my life. I didn’t see then all the ways that what I was doing was building toward healing, but I can see it now and it’s beautiful.

What would your readers be most surprised to learn about you?

I’m not sure what would surprise them or not, but I did travel to Russia back when it was the USSR. So I’ve been to a country that no longer exists!

Excerpt: Travelers Along the Way

There seems to be no such thing as home in a war.

Keep reading for an excerpt.

IN THE MIDST

Earlier, at the fall of Akko

The former dominion of Yusuf ibn Ayyub, al-Nasir, sultan of Egypt and Syria
(or, to his enemies, Saladin)
Jumada al-Thani

587 Hijri—Summer, AD 1191

CHAPTER ONE

Oo-De-Lally

The walls of the city of Akko are not high, but they’re high enough.

I can see that now.

I’ve still got one handhold on the wall and I watch as my legs swing freely, high in the air. Dizzying, to say the least.

Terrifying, to say the most.

I suppose I should tell you why I’m dangling from the walls of the fallen city, but I haven’t much time. Zeena is already halfway down. She likes to remind me that though we’ve both been climbing date palms since we could walk, she is older and she, therefore, has more experience. Personally, I refuse to admit to her that she’s any better than I am.

But the truth is, she’s the better climber. I’m better with a bow.

That won’t help me here, though.