The most important purpose in my life is to testify that Jesus is the living Son of the living God. Any way to do that is okay by me. The book idea came to me at a very difficult crossroad in my life. I felt the way to survive was to take my focus off of my problems and concentrate on our Savior. In doing that, I was given the concept for this book and I couldn't wait to share it. When we let Jesus lead the way, there is always light at the end of the darkness.

Master presents the story of Christ in such a unique manner. Where did you come up with the plot and all of the historical facts?

Right from the scriptures. There are a few places where servants of the Master are alluded to. I just ran with that idea. I've always loved learning about Judaism and the history behind the Bible. Our family even celebrates the Jewish holidays. But I know my knowledge is limited, so I sought true experts. I met a wonderful array of people who were eager to help with the project. And for months, the library was a second home to me.

Almon seems so real. How did you create a character that could interact with Jesus and his family and in the Jewish society so realistically?

For me, Almon was real. Of course there were people all around Jesus, people whose stories we do not know. Their lives were changed by the Master. Almon presents just one possibility. Remember, this is a novel and yet it remains true to every word that Jesus spoke. None of the sacred was altered. Not a single word.

In your book you portray Judas as a multi-faceted character. How did you develop so many dimensions out of such a limited context?

Judas, like us, was human, so his character was never flat. No person is ever all bad or all good. Judas, above everyone else in the New Testament, teaches me of the Atonement. Jesus is a God of unfathomable mercy. He loves all of us. If we weren't flawed, there would be no need for His role as our Redeemer. My understanding of Judas helped me to understand and worship Jesus that much deeper.

Master has left readers feeling closer to the Savior. The reviews have been tremendous. How does that make you, as the author, feel?

The goal is always, always to bring people unto Christ. To hear some of the comments and to read the reviews makes me realize that I had little to do with this process. It works because of Jesus, not because of me. All I really did was type out His story. And it is His story. It was fun doing all of the research.