Visiting Bridges (and a book deal!)

One of the first stops Ken and I made in our recent six-weeks-long trip was Winterset, Iowa, home of the covered bridges of Madison County and the setting for my newest novel, Bridges. (KEEP READING FOR A DEAL ON BRIDGES TODAY ONLY!)

We’d visited Winterset several times during the years our youngest son attended college in Iowa. And the charming town that inspired the bestselling novel The Bridges of Madison County was also the inspiration for my novel (although Robert Waller’s book “inspired” my own novel in a little different way than you might imagine. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so you’ll have to read Bridges to find out what I mean by that.)

You can’t drive across the covered bridges, but it was fun parking our camper in such a way that it looked like we did!

Ken noticed this patch of chicory growing near Holliwell Bridge. I loved the juxtaposition of the inspiration for both my Chicory Inn Novels series and Bridges, so had to snap a pic from this perspective:

Our entry into Winterset was the same as my hero, J.W. McRae’s, in Bridges. Here’s the first paragraph of the book and the exact spot where it takes place in real life.

J.W. McRae braked at the stop sign where St. Charles dead-ended at Clark Tower Road. He shifted his pickup into Park and rested his forearms atop the steering wheel, his chest constricting. If he didn’t know better he’d think he was having a heart attack.

Those of you who’ve already read Bridges know that there’s a special reason that the bridge pictured on the cover of my novel is NOT one of the Bridges of Madison County. But I love how this interior of Holliwell Bridge echoes the cover Ken designed for my book:

And now for that special offer! The e-book for Bridges is only $1.99 if you grab your copy TODAY! Click on the image below to get this special deal:

Speaking of bridges, less than an hour north of Winterset, Ken and I got to ride our bikes across the incredible, half-mile-long High Trestle Bridge near Madrid, Iowa. The artist/architect who designed this bridge was brilliant!