In the meantime, I want to talk a bit about Caralinda, Tennessee. Like most writers, I base places and people on locations and folks that I know well. Most heroes are blends of this, that, and the other guy that I know. Likewise, Caralinda is a combination of several small towns in northern Middle Tennessee.

Specifically, April’s cottage is based on a real home. Corn fields really do run right up to the edge of the yard, and a field road cuts through the middle of them, so that the first thing you hear in the morning is the clanking of farm machinery on the way to work. I’ve walked the corn fields, felt the cut of the blades.

The idea for the book also came from a couple of real experiences, which I can’t share here (it would give away the ending!). But the general inspiration for Field lies in the people, small towns, and farms of Robertson and Sumner counties, here in Tennessee.

Writers don’t have to look far for ideas. Usually they’re cropping up all around, even right next door.