Weirdly, Marin's story started with Twilight. I'd read the book, then watched the movie, and I finally understood the fuss about Robert Pattinson. "If I were Stephenie Meyer, I would have hung out on that movie set constantly," I thought. So my idea began: with an author whose book was being adapted to film. For some reason, she was reluctant to visit the set. Why? I wasn't sure, but I listened to her. And as odd as its sounds, as I wrote, she told me.

These lovely, somewhat anonymous people stood in as models for my main characters, Marin the romance author and Sam the actor/musician. These pictures lived on my desktop wallpaper for an entire decade. They were my constant companions during the many years it took me to write, edit, and publish this book. Just seeing their faces makes me smile!

I listened, I wrote, I wrestled with plot points. Ten months later, I had a first draft...of 160,000 words! With undergrad and graduate degrees in English Lit, I knew that was about twice as long as needed. I whipped out my red pen and, on the advice of Stephen King's On Writing, killed every darling yet unnecessary scene in the book. What was left was a story I truly loved and felt confident in.

At 18 months in, I had a polished second draft. But one important piece of research remained: I needed to put myself in the setting I'd worked so hard to portray faithfully. Owning my own struggling business had some perks. After working night and day for six years straight, I could take a month off to immerse myself in the coastal English town I'd chosen for Marin's hideaway. Which - lucky me! - is exactly what I did.

On my first bus ride to Seasalter, I sparked up a conversation with my seatmate, Lee. She turned out to be a writer as well, and she was super supportive when I told her I was riding toward my first glimpse of the setting of my book. We became fast friends, and met up twice a week for rambling walks, dinners, and wonderful conversation. I treasure those memories and our friendship, which continues today!

Whitstable is Seasalter's hip yet charming next-door neighbor. It's a fishing town with a working harbor (harbour in the UK, of course!) and I spent many a dreamy afternoon wandering its quaint streets. Here's a shot of Harbour Books, which inspired Patricia's bookshop in Love on Paper even before I visited the area.

My wonderful new friend Lee was kind enough to read Love on Paper during my trip and proof it with her meticulous English eye. One thing she pointed out was that the place I had originally chosen as the hometown of fictional dreamboat Sam Quinn, Marin’s British love interest, is less charming than its name leads one to believe. She pointed me instead in the direction of West Malling, and I owe her a big thanks because it was perfect.

One weekend I took a special side trip to Fairlight, East Sussex, in between the medieval towns of Rye and Hastings. I enjoyed two nights in the B&B that inspired my vision for Sam's grandparents' house, which plays a pivotal role in both Love on Paper and its sequel, Love on Film. I took the name for Sam's film production company, Firehill Films, from the colorful local fire hills, shown here (thanks to Colin Smith and Creative Commons).

After my amazing research trip, I continued to tweak my novel, but I was really working up the courage to publish it. Then my fertility treatments worked, and soon I was tending to my amazing twins. But all the while, I was refining my book. I loved the characters too much to give up on them, so they waited and I waited until the time was right. Thanks for joining me on this journey. I'm so, so happy to share Love on Paper with you.