When A-M Mawhiney retired after a 40-year career as a social worker and university professor, she never expected to become a novelist. During the COVID lockdown, what began as an attempt at journaling turned into a creative journey that produced three books and an entirely new chapter of life. In this episode, A-M Mawhiney shares how her characters often surprise her, why she chose to write hopeful science fiction and fantasy rather than dystopian futures, and how a pair of determined preteens inspired her second novel. She also reflects on growing up in Sudbury, Ontario, witnessing one of the world's most remarkable environmental recoveries, and why community collaboration remains one of her greatest sources of hope. It's a conversation about creativity, reinvention, resilience, and the transformative power of stories.