by Lynn H. Blackburn
I was born in the mountains of Western North Carolina. My father’s family has lived there for generations, and my grandmother and many of my aunts, uncles and cousins still call it home.
As much as I love my hometown, I didn’t want to use it as the setting for my new series. This is mainly because I love the freedom of a fictional setting. I can mix and match elements from all my favorite places and meld them into one town that my characters call home, and that I hope my readers will wish existed in real life.
I spent hours deciding on the perfect name for my fictional town. Whenever someone asks me, “How do you choose a name?” I never have a good answer. It’s a combination of intention and intuition.
I didn’t want it to be a real place, but I wanted the name to be believable. I’ve always loved waterfalls and the idea of an iconic waterfall that gives the town its name rose to the forefront of my mind quickly and refused to let go, so that narrowed my focus. But not by much! The area I called home for my first ten years is known as “the land of waterfalls” for a reason. There are so many! Ultimately, I landed on Gossamer Falls for the name of my new town.
Then it was time to populate Gossamer Falls with interesting characters. Fortunately for me, my imagination didn’t have to work too hard to land on the idea of a large family that had lived for generations in the town. From there, it seemed reasonable that there would be another family, one that wasn’t quite so warm and loving, who would provide multiple opportunities for conflict.
After I’d decided on having a low-key feud that had existed for quite some time, it wasn’t much of a leap to knowing that at least one of the books in the series would have to bring the two families together. But I didn’t want to resolve the conflict too soon, so their story will be a few years down the road.
For the first book in the series, Never Fall Again, I wanted to explore the idea of how people sometimes flee to the mountains to hide. And Landry Hutton, the heroine of Never Fall Again, is hiding something that only one person in town knows anything about. She fled to Gossamer Falls to protect her daughter, and part of the way she plans to do that is to never, ever fall in love again.
Enter Cal Shaw, a man who is as equally determined as Landry to avoid romantic entanglements. Cal’s mother is a Quinn, and the Quinn family has lived in Gossamer Falls for almost two centuries. They make a habit of welcoming the lost and lonely and giving them a family. And before Landry knows what has happened, she’s practically been adopted.
And this is where the Quinn family and the Huggins family (my family in North Carolina) intersect. Our Christmases, Thanksgivings, birthday parties, and graduation celebrations can easily involve 50+ people. It isn’t unusual to show up and see total strangers in the mix. Everyone in the family knows they can always invite someone to come with them. We aren’t formal. We aren’t fancy. And as long as the guests know that Granny’s house is a no drama zone, everyone is welcome.
I had so much fun recreating this sense of warmth and welcome, with a fair amount of creative license, in Never Fall Again. My hope is that readers will fall in love, not only with Cal, Landry and Eliza, but with the entire Quinn family and their hometown of Gossamer Falls.
And if they don’t have a welcoming family of their own, maybe they’ll find some comfort in the arms of the one waiting for them in the pages of Never Fall Again!
About the Author
Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing swoon-worthy southern suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she’s a chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers living vicariously through her characters while safe at home in her pajamas! Learn more at www.lynnhblackburn.com.
About the Book
When country music star Oaken Fox joins survivalist Mike Grizz's new adventure show in the Alaskan wilderness, he just wants to boost his fan base. But when tragedy strikes, Air One Rescue EMT Boo Kingston and the rescue team will have to use all their skills and manpower—including Oaken—to find five missing women before a blizzard settles in.
Did You Know?
Dancing isn’t just a fun way to spend time with family and friends. According to Healthline online magazine, it has lots of health benefits and can be a great way to take care of your body, soul and mind.
Body: Regular dancing (150-300 minutes of moderately intense activity per week) can improve cardiovascular health. Its low-impact movements are perfect for people with limited mobility.
Soul: Whether it’s a dance class or dance party, being around other people has been known to stimulate mental health. It can also boost your mood by decreasing symptoms of depression and anxiety while helping reduce stress.
Mind: The coordination and memorization used while dancing challenges your brain, which is a great way to exercise your mind. Research at Harvard Medical School also suggests that it helps people maintain and even boost their ability to think as they age.
And perhaps the best benefit of dancing is that it’s something you can do for a lifetime. Dancing lets children burn energy and express themselves. If they’re involved in organized classes, they’ll also learn teamwork and discipline. For older individuals, dancing improves strength and balance, which can help prevent falls and injuries. It’s also a highly customizable activity, letting dancers modify movements to fit their skill levels and endurance.
I’ve always enjoyed dancing for fun (I have a coaster in my house that reads Dance Like Nobody’s Watching), but now I plan to do it more often—for fun and for my health.
-Karin Beery, Finally Forever
Why I LOVE My Local Christian Bookstore
“With so many books being marketed and sold online, walking into a local bookstore is a breath of fresh air. The smell of books, the feel of a book in my hand, and the sound of pages turning—all provide a sensory experience that is both inviting and refreshing.”
-Cheryl Schuermann, Raising Kids for Tomorrow's World
Comentários