A Fine Line

Sometimes there's a very fine line between reality and fantasy, especially for writers like me to who love to create fictional settings based on real ones. I recently submitted a proposal for a three-book series set in a small town in Wisconsin that exists only in my imagination. However, it closely resembles the very real town of Wabasha, Minnesota, a charming town that I've visited several times while visiting family in the midwest.

Wabasha itself would make a lovely setting for a story, but I would worry about getting the details right, and I would really worry that one or more of my characters might resemble a real person who lives there. I don't actually know anyone who lives in Wabasha, but I wouldn't want anyone to jump to the wrong conclusion.

I wanted to keep the setting, though, so I hopped across the Mississippi and built a whole new town in Wisconsin, because as a writer, I can do that!

My town has a big wide Main Street lined with historic brick buidlings.

 

My town has beautiful homes that hug the banks of the Mississippi, and one that looks a lot like this one has been turned into a family-run B&B.

In my imagination I was able to give this home a stable full of horses and a beautiful gazebo that overlooks the river. Can you imagine a romantic interlude here? I can!

 

My town needed a name, of course, and again I looked to Wabasha for inspiration.

 

 

Every town has a cafe on Main Street, and in Wabasha it's the Rivertown Cafe. Hm. Rivertown. I liked that. That's how the town of Riverton, Wisconsin was created. Now I hope I get to write these stories about three sisters who call Riverton home, and the three men who come town and make it theirs.

 

Meanwhile, I'm happy to say I have two books being released in May.  Maggie's Way (Harlequin Heartwarming, May 1st, 2013) was originally published as The Man for Maggie (Harlequin American Romance, June 2007). It's been rewritten to fit the wholesome Heartwarming line, and I hope readers will love it every bit as much as the original. You won't find it in stores, but the larger print edition can be ordered from Harlequin and the electronic edition is available everywhere eBooks are sold, including Amazon.

 

 



Then on May 7th Daddy, Unexpectedly (Harlequin American Romance) goes on sale! This is the third book in my Seattle-set Ready Set Sold series about three women who run a business that renovates, stages and sells homes for other families while they search for their own home sweet homes and happily ever afters.

 

 

Throughout the month of May I'll be doing a series of guest blogs and giveaways, and also running some fun contests for my newsletter subscribers. To find out more, please drop by my website to find out where I'll be and to sign up for my newsletter. Happy reading!

 

Until next time,

Lee