Meet Ohio Author Sarah Lindsay Peterson

An Interview with Author Sarah Lindsay Peterson

Meet Ohio writer Sarah Lindsay Peterson. Her debut novel, A War Through Destiny, released in 2025, is romantic fiction based on the life of Stacy Matthews, an American-raised exile who begins dreaming that she must protect the lost heir of Dukhovia.

From Sarah's website, “Crafting and perfecting this novel and other related titles since childhood, Sarah writes from a place of passion. Her unique ability to see her characters not just as pieces of a story, but as her friends, allows her to create deep, meaningful, and intricate stories that will keep you begging for the next page!” 

Welcome, Sarah!

GM: What’s the first thing people should know about you as a writer?

SLP: My writing is seen as an expression of multiple things. One, I use it to teach the lessons I have learned both as a mental health therapist and as a human being. Lessons on life, on love, on purpose, on humanity—all to bring us towards a more peaceful, accepting existence. Two, I first created my characters, and this story, when I was eight years old. I knew them as people before they ever had their name written on a page. I know their favorite colors. I know their middle names. I know their biggest fears. They are not just characters to me, but friends.

 
GM: How did growing up or living in Ohio shape your writing style or the stories you tell?
SLP: I based the cities and small towns that are present in my story on where I grew up. Therefore, the weather patterns, the wooded areas, etc. are all consistent with what I have witnessed. The story originally took place in Ohio and had the characters move to Kansas in the second book, however, this was a change made to fill some plot holes the older I became.
 
GM: Was there a specific moment when you realized, “Okay, I’m definitely meant to be an author”?
SLP: I said from the moment I was five years old that I was going to be a “nurse and a writer”. The nursing dream was quickly silenced when I found my passion for the mental health and social work field, however, the dream of being a writer only solidified and never died. I was certain this was meant to be when I became an adult and started teaching my clients that we aren’t all good at everything, we’re good at our purpose. I grew up not being good at anything others seemed to be: sports, hair, make-up. But I could sit down and pump out a book like it was nothing. Though I struggled to recognize my strength as a writer due to lack of support until very recently when I began to win awards for A War Through Destiny. Prior to publishing, no one had ever read it through! I worried I was published nonsense that only made sense to me as someone who, at the point of publication, knew this story for over 19 years.
 
GM: Congratulations on your awards! What part of the writing process feels the most fun for you, and what part makes you want to hide under a blanket?
SLP: FORMATTING MADE ME WANT TO CRY. I’m not a tech savvy person at all. But the feel of sitting down and having words pour from you without so much as a thought—that’s the beauty.
 
GM: Do you have any quirky writing habits or rituals that help you get into the creative zone?
SLP: I like to play white noise to aid in focus. I can’t do music with words or it’s a distraction. It’s sort of full-circle moment because I remember in elementary school, the teacher would ask if we wanted music on when we worked. I would get frustrated because everyone else would yell yes and I struggled so hard to focus with it on. So, I never considered it as a tool to help me. It’s funny all I needed were the lyrics removed.
 
GM: Which of your characters do you feel the strongest connection to, and why?
SLP: Grace! She was the first one I ever created. I remember I was playing “school” and my “person” was leaving to head to the locker room. I was trying to think what this girl’s name would be when the name “Grace” entered my mind. The rest of her story just started to pour after that. It’s so cool I can remember that one moment that started it all. The moment God told me: this is it. This is what you were born to do.
 
GM: What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about your newest book?
SLP: It took me nearly 20 years to publish! Despite the first edition taking me less than a month, I rewrote A War Through Destiny multiple times. This was due to age as well as losing the book and having to start over for various reasons: computer crashes, computer stolen, etc. Luckily, I hand wrote all my books first and had the bones to work with to start again! AWTD is the first in a series and all of it felt like I was born to write it! The first three books were done within two months of each other. The entire series (ten books) were completed within the first year.
 
GM: When you’re not writing, where are you most likely to be, at a coffee shop, bookstore, hiking trail, or somewhere totally unexpected?
SLP: Doing something with my daughter’s is the most likely answer—mom life. We enjoy movie and game nights, shopping, going out to eat, etc. If I get a moment on my own outside of writing—I honestly wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Write more?
 
GM: What’s a book you’ve read recently that made you think, “Wow, I wish I’d written that”?
SLP: The Demon King by Cinda Chima! I love her writing style and the depth to her tales. Also the amount she wrote shows a passion for the world she created.
 
GM: What’s next on your creative horizon, anything you’re excited to tease for readers?
SLP: Book two is in the works! Mom life certainly makes the quickness of pumping that out a challenge, but I do plan to complete the series. Though, I’ll look a bit different than it originally did.
 
Connect with Sarah…
Website: https://www.authorsarahlindsaypeterson.com/
Facebook: Sarah Lindsay Peterson Author