When I lived in the U.K. there was a wood not far from my house, The Savernake Forest. It is famous as the only ancient forest in Britain that is still under private ownership. The Marquess of Ailesbury, the current land owner, graciously opens the forest to the public nearly every day of the year. I used to walk in that forest often and did a lot of my best thinking there. It is both beautiful and haunting, and I spent many solitary hours there dreaming of what it must have been like a thousand years ago. It was some of those memories that were the inspiration for Banbrae Wood.
The second inspiration for this book was my husband's insistence that the powers that be have invented a weather machine which is controlling the world's weather. It's a fun thing we joke and speculate about. But when I started doing research, the technology is not that far away. These are the kinds of things that make me love fiction. I recently took an online class from the remarkable James Patterson. I loved listening to his advice and his stories. One thing he said that I will always remember (and I'm paraphrasing, here) is that he does not write reality. He writes about things that are possible and tries to make them entertaining. So whether you believe that a weather machine will ever be on the horizon or not, in this book you will meet Wanda, my version of what a weather machine might be like.
Soon I will be starting my next Chloe James Mystery. The first book in that series was published last Spring. How the Light Bends was a very fun book to write. Set on the beautiful Monterey peninsula, Tom and I spent many wonderful hours there, golfing, exploring and eating. The James' sisters will be back with another adventure this winter.
As always, thank you all for your comments and please keep them coming!
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