Why I Write What I Write . . . .

On one of the questions I am most often asked is, “Why do you write books set in England?”

And considering I am from the midwestern U.S., it is an understandable question!

I truly think what we read as young people has a profound and lifelong effect. When I am asked, “Why is a midwestern girl writing about England?” the answer comes back to the books I read at a young age: The Secret Garden (at about the third grade) followed by and Jane Eyre, which my sixth grade teacher read aloud to us with such emotion and mascara tears.

So, my love of British literature started early.

Why romance and mystery?

Falling in love with the Trixie Belden series solidified my early love of mysteries. And later, the romance of Jane Austen further developed my love of the historical romance genre, and led me to set my first novel in Regency England.

What about you? Which book(s) did you read at an early age that led you to love your favorite genre(s) to read or write now?