Winter is almost here. I’m sitting next to a big bay window watching this crazy fall weather. Huge trees bending under the strong winds blowing in a combination of rain, sleet and, oh yeah, bursts of hail. I’m thinking about what my character, Olivia, would do. Yep, she would build a fire in the fireplace, snuggle under an afghan and begin a new romance novel, probably with a glass of wine at her side. She’s more ambitious than me! I choose to write. Not that writing isn’t ambitious! It can be tough going at times. I put my characters in danger then I have to save them. Sometimes, I just have to kill them off and hide the evidence. They fall in love, then I make them fall out of love, then by the end of the book they find love all over again.
I was at one of the good places in my life when Olivia suddenly happened in my head. And, like Olivia, I had reinvented myself several times. The setting had to be Marblehead and the Lake Erie Islands because they too had gone through changes and still remained strong. I enjoyed writing In The Shadow Of The Lighthouse and spent many fun times visiting old haunts and climbing on the rocks of the lighthouse. I’ve taken what I remember of the area and changed various places to fit the story. It still is, and always will be a magical place for me.