As an author, I’m often asked what first inspires me to write a story. All writers are different when it comes to their muse, but for me it’s always a sense of place.

I’m the kind of person who does her homework before visiting a place. I pour through any information I can find in regards to the locals, something the place might be noted for, historical points of interest, how the town or region may have differed 50 or a hundred years ago. And, as a result, I always leave with a visceral sense of place.

That’s exactly what happened the first time my husband and I visited the small fishing village of Cedar Key, off the west coast of Florida. When our weekend was over, not only did I feel that the town was exactly what I had heard or read about beforehand, but I also knew both the town and the people resonated with me in a way that would require a return visit. Over 15 years and many visits later when my husband retired, we knew this was where we wanted to relocate.

And once again I found myself doing extensive research. Would I be able to live in a place that had no doctor, no pharmacy and no movie theater? Not to mention, no nail salon, no vet and no major shopping. Most of these services, I learned, are about a 50 minute drive to a medium size town and on a larger scale, the university town of Gainesville was one hour away.

After giving it a lot of thought . . . my answer was a resounding yes. It was abundantly clear to me that it was more than a fair tradeoff. To live in a town with virtually no crime, a place where people actually know your name and wave, a fishing village where five generations of the same family live and work, a town without one traffic light where the speed limit is 20 mph. Factor into this that I would also be surrounded by Mother Nature—an island with water pretty much everywhere I looked (a definite plus for a Pisces), a night sky with stars as bright as diamonds (there’s no light pollution), trees filled with bald eagles and osprey, and a formation of Ibis that comes onto the island each morning and leaves at sunset. I knew I was in my element and after over four years here, I’ve never looked back.

So it was this strong sense of place that inspired me to write my debut novel with Kensington, SPINNING FORWARD, being released October 27. I quickly came to realize that as beautiful as my island paradise was, it was the people who made the island irresistible. Hearing their stories and learning their folklore, my fictional story came together.

I knew my main character would also be a transplant to this charming and picturesque island; although, her circumstances would differ greatly from mine. She would come to love this island because of the people, because of their strong sense of community and the way they cherished family, and she would be a much different woman by the time my story ended.

Could my story have taken place somewhere else? I think not. With a different setting I would have a different story, different characters . . . maybe good, maybe bad—but not this story.

The inspiration I draw from this place has led to a second book in the Cedar Key series, as well as a Christmas novella in an anthology headlined by Fern Michaels (both books will be released by Kensington in November 2010).

So now tell me, do you have a place that inspires you—as a person, a mother, a traveler? If so, where is it? And why does it call your name?

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