People ask me all the time where I find inspiration to write my novels. I tell them everywhere.

This is the orchard that inspired me to write, “The Orchard Murders.”

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

When my husband and I would drive from the Sierra Foothills to the San Francisco Bay Area on the weekends, we had to pass this dark, eerie orchard on a lonely two-lane highway. I could feel a story in that orchard. It was dark on the orchard floor, even when the sun was blazing. Every time we passed that orchard, I would always tell my husband that I would one day write a story about it, and call it “The Orchard Murders.” My husband laughed at first, but then as time passed, every time we saw that orchard, he would ask me, “how’s your orchard book coming.” Then I would laugh.

Inspiration for “Kenton’s Vintage Affair.“

When we passed miles of vineyards and wineries on another two lane highway, I told my husband I would write a series of novels about a family-owned winery set in the wine country and call it “The Underwoods of Napa Valley.” I would talk about the characters in the book, “Kenton’s Vintage Affair,” while we drove down that highway. My husband always asked me to give him an update on Kenton each time we passed those vineyards and wineries. So I find inspiration for my stories everywhere.