Jen Weaver
Jen Weaver and Gayle Veitenheimer are the authors of the new middle grade novel The Mystery of the Missing Falls, the first in a new series.
Q: What inspired you to write The Mystery of the Missing Falls, and how did you create your characters Luka and Ember?
A: The Mystery of the Missing Falls really started as a book we wanted but couldn’t find.
Jen: I wanted a series like this for my kids.
Gayle: I agreed and wanted books like these for my grandkids.
Jen: We both love mysteries and adventure stories, and we want to give kids that same page-turning fun while taking their spiritual lives seriously too.
Luka and Ember represent so many of the kids we know. They’re brave, kind, smart, and they ask great questions. They’re not perfect and they don’t have to be. They’re also very different from each other, which makes them a great detective team.
Gayle Veitenheimer
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
Jen: The true ending was a mystery to us at the beginning too! We knew the major pieces before we started drafting, but books change a lot as you write. Clues change. Our characters needed things to get messy and to go wrong.
And as authors, we pace big discoveries so they happen at the right times. That’s one of the fun—but challenging—parts of writing mysteries. We’re constantly considering what the reader knows, what they think they know, and what we want them to discover next.
Q: How did the two of you collaborate on the book? Can you describe your writing process?
Jen: We have different creative processes, and we’ve learned to use those differences as a collaborative advantage. We start by talking through the big-picture story—the mystery concept, discipleship theme, characters, setting, and major plot points.
Gayle then builds beat sheets to map out what needs to happen and where the mystery is going. We review together, work out any details we notice upfront, and then Gayle drafts some initial chapters. She’s a concise writer with a strong instinct for keeping the mystery moving. She focuses on essential action, plants clues we’ll need later, and gives us a clear story framework to build from.
Gayle: Jen is more about characters and scene development. She works from my starter chapters to craft relatable, believable characters and scene dynamics, including emotional arcs, vibrant settings, and action. After Jen’s developmental passes, including some new chapters, we jump on Zoom to read out loud and edit.
Jen: There’s lots of prayer, spreadsheets, spiral notebooks, and long conversations. Occasionally, we realize a brilliant clue or treasured scene completely breaks the mystery, so we need to scrap it and rewrite that part.
Gayle: Prayer is a big part of our process. We always ask for God’s direction as we write. So it’s fun when we realize God had planted things in the early draft that we didn’t catch until revision and His “surprise” met a plot point need we were already discussing.
Jen: It's definitely a collaborative process, much like the team theme in the book. It’s great that we don’t have to write exactly the same way or bring the same strengths to the table. Our series is better because we’re crafting it together.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the novel?
Gayle: We hope that readers finish the novel knowing that life with God starts now. Not when they’re older. Not when they can drive, go to college, or get a job. Now. God, our good Father, talks with His kids. They can talk to God and learn to hear His voice as an elementary-aged student, just like Luka and Ember. At home, at school, anywhere.
Q: What are you working on now?
Gayle: We are currently writing Book 4. This time, the kid detectives are at STEAM camp and murder is afoot. But don’t worry, parents, the victim is a robot. Book 4 explores the idea of finding truth in a confusing world, rounding out the themes of identity and belonging in Book 2 and overcoming fear in Book 3.
Q: Anything else we should know?
Gayle: The Kingswell Kid Detective site, KingswellKids.com, offers a Book Club for kids with maps, codes, mad libs, and other activity printables, and insider scoop on the coming novels. The site also offers parent resources like Secret Clues, pairing spiritual content from the book with Scripture and application, and resources for teachers and homeschoolers.
The Mystery of the Missing Falls is available wherever you like to shop for books.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with Jen Weaver and Gayle Veitenheimer. Calling all junior detectives! Follow along on this virtual book tour and enter to win one of five copies of The Mystery of the Missing Falls by Jen Weaver and Gayle Veitenheimer.
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