Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Fun in a Small Town


First up, thanks to all the wonderful American Romance authors for inviting me to join them on this blog. They’re a great bunch of ladies and I’m so happy to be one of them.

My first Harlequin American Romance, Marriage On Her Mind, goes on sale this week. (You can see the cover at the right side of this blog)It’s the first of what I hope will be a series of books set in Crested Butte, Colorado. (The second book, The Right Mr. Wrong, comes out in February.)

While I’ve often written about made-up places, Crested Butte is a real, live Colorado town, one I visit often and have come to love dearly. It’s an old mining town turned ski mecca, with a penchant for quirky festivals that often involve costume parties. It seemed the perfect place to set a series of fun romances. While all the people in the book are products of my own imagination, I used many real businesses, along with many of the fun festivals from the town.

Of course, there’s a danger in setting a book in a real place. Since I don’t live there and am not a native, there’s a chance I got something wrong in sprite of all my research. Even though none of my characters are based on real people, someone might think they are. And while I meant the book to portray the town and its people in the most positive manner, someone might take offense.

Last week the county paper did a nice article about the book, and the bookstore on the town’s main street tells me they’ve ordered a bunch and will do a special display. Now I sit nervously on my hands and wait for the reaction from the town. I hope they appreciate how I’ve portrayed their home. I hope my love for the place comes through.

Over Thanksgiving I’m visiting the town and will be signing at the bookstore, so I guess I’ll find out then what they really think!

8 comments:

Heather MacAllister said...

Welcome, Cindi!
Cindi and I worked together on the BOOTCAMP anthology for Signature and was a fellow Temptress.
I've never been skiing, but I like the idea of quirky festivals :)

maldonadol said...

Hi Cindi.

I love it when writers take you on a journey where the setting is real. It takes me even deeper into a story when I know that some parts are true and that I could visit, if I wanted to :) It makes me feel apart of it.

Can't wait to pick it up. Enjoy the book signing in November!

Danny said...

I'm sure that warning they put in the books will take some of the pressure off. "People and events depicted in this work are fictional," etc.

I do believe I'm looking forward to reading MARRIAGE ON HER MIND a little more, since the setting sounds so interesting. :D

I went skiing only once on a junior high school trip. Nearly went headfirst into the lodge. Haha.

Linda Warren said...

Hi Cindi,
Welcome to American. I love small towns and have written about a few myself. They make for interesting stories.
I have your book and can't wait to read it.
Linda Warren

Anonymous said...

Cindi - I've read MARRIAGE ON HER MIND and absolutely loved it. I have been through Crested Butte but unfortunately didn't have time to spend any real time there. I too love stories set in real towns so I can "see" the town better.

Jennifer Faye said...

Cindi:

Congrats on your first HQ American. I love the line, especially the stories with small town settings. Can't wait to read 'Marriage On Her Mind'.

Jennifer

Cindi Myers said...

Thank you for the warm welcome, everyone!
Cindi

Nathalie said...

Hi,

it is nice that your local paper wrote a nice review of your book :)