Traveling about the United States has always inspired my writing. I guess that is why, when I have the time, I prefer to drive places rather than fly. Besides the names of mountains and lakes, the town and street names catch my eye. For example, my grandparents lived in Buzzards Bay on Cape Cod. Now doesn’t that sound like a great place to set in a story? Other “east coast” names that fascinate me are Nantucket Sound and Owls Head. The name Poughkeepsie in New York just makes me smile. It sounds like fun—and would be a light story. Roanoke and Claymont give away their “stuffy” British backgrounds. The name Nags Head makes me wonder what happened to the poor horse there—or was it about a discontented woman? (Probably neither—but there goes my imagination…) Women seem to get little respect from history as the names of most places related to them are similar to Crazy Woman Creek, Maggies Nipples, or Squaw Hill (all of Wyoming.) Even old names of streets such as Gallows Road and Persimmon Tree Road start stories spinning through my head. Seven Locks Road—now there just has to be a story about covering up a murder in…

What sparks that excitement inside that urges you to write? Is it a news report, a TV show, a person, or a place? For my debut book, The Angel and the Outlaw, a historical romance, it was the setting that captured me and begged me to write. Growing up in San Diego, I often visited the Old Pt. Loma Lighthouse with my family. My imagination would take flight there, and I’d conjure up scenarios involving the cliffs, the tide, and the caves. As a child, the news reports of people stranded when the tide came in made me nervous enough to keep a close eye on each and every wave while exploring the tide pools (and have nightmares about tidal waves!) The stories of shipwrecks off the coast added even more adventure to the mix. The Old Pt. Loma Lighthouse was built in 1854. Through its 36 years of service the light keepers saw many of the things I mention in my book such as the community picnic. The light keeper, having a perfect view of the ocean, would hang a red flag on the railing when he spotted a pod of the California Gray whales migrating to alert the…