The Story Behind the Book

The author tells us the story why she wrote You Belong Here Now:

“I wanted to explore our universal longing to find a safe and loving place in the world, and to inspire those who feel powerless with a story that validates our ability to make change, because justice isn’t always made by big shots in high courts, but more often by someone with just enough power and temerity to put one finger on the scale. By placing these three orphans in desperate search for a new home in Montana, I was able to share my love of this untamed landscape, suggesting that in the community under the big sky there is room for everyone and every creature.

My father’s family comes from the ranches of Montana and the characters in this book are based on those lives and voices. I hope my novel might help readers better understand those who, like my family, farmed and ranched in the American west, a forbidding landscape where folks toiled among the beautiful wild horses that roamed the hills and rocky soil of early 20th century Montana. But most of all, I want to tell a story of hope and acceptance that will lift my reader’s spirits.”