As my new website was being developed, I thought it might be fun to have a personal blog where I could take you a little deeper into what happens before a new book hits the shelves or is ready for download onto your favorite reading device. Authors are often asked where we get our ideas or why we decide upon a particular setting. I thought it would be fun to share some of those tidbits from time to time. At left is the beautiful cover of To Love and Cherish, the second book in the Bridal Veil series. To Have and To Hold is the first book–just in case you missed it. Bridal Veil is a stand-alone series, each book having new characters and set at a different time, but all of the books are set on beautiful Bridal Veil Island.

  Those of you who read my books know that I love history and that I’m very drawn to unique settings. If the books are set in an historic setting, I go and visit so that I can take pictures, study the history, and get a feel for the area. If it’s an imaginary setting, I try to visit a place that is at similar to what I have pictured in my mind. If you’ve already read the first book in the Bridal Veil series,  you know that it is an imaginary island. However, the idea for Bridal Veil was developed after a reader mentioned Jekyll Island while talking to me at a book signing. I did a bit of research about Jekyll Island and was fascinated. After visiting with Tracie Peterson, we decided such an island would be an ideal setting for a co-authored series.

Because we wanted our island to be set in close proximity to Jekyll Island, we went there to research and spent five days in Savannah, Brunswick and Jekyll Island. We set out to learn about life in the area during the late 1800′s and early 1900′s. We wanted to gain insight into lives of  the wealthy residents who owned the beautiful cottages or lived in the magnificent clubhouse during the winter months, but we also wanted to learn about the people who worked on the islands so that we could give a view of the “rich life” from their perspective.

We had great fun exploring the island and gathering information, purchasing research books, and gleaning tidbits from local historians. We learned about the live oaks and loggerhead turtles, and saw the sunset over the river and rise over the ocean. We stayed in a room at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel with a balcony overlooking the lawns where visitors played croquet while we envisioned how different a game of croquet would have looked in the late 1800′s. No women wearing shorts and tank tops back then! Over a period of days, we sat on that balcony, surrounded by the sights and sounds of beautifuly Jekyll Island and formulated our ideas for the Bridal Veil series.

These were the first steps toward the creation of the Bridal Veil series. I’d love to hear your comments and ideas about anything you’d like to see on my blogs.