Harlequin Heartwarming

SIT-DOWN SATURDAY WITH LINDA HOPE LEE AND SILVER RIVER SECRETS

What is this story about?

     Silver River Secrets is about Rory Dalton and Lacey Monroe. They meet in high school, fall in love, and plan to marry and spend the rest of their lives together. Then, just before graduation, something terrible happens that tears them apart. Rory stays in town, but Lacey leaves, returning only periodically to visit her grandmother.
     Fast-forward ten years. On one of her visits, Lacey discovers something that prompts her to search for the truth about that fateful day. Will Rory help her? Or does he just want to bury the past and move on?

Where did you get the idea for this story?

Silver River Country

My stories often begin with a setting, and such was the case with Silver River Secrets. On a trip to Idaho, I visited a small town in the central part of the state. Driving along the highway, I happened to glimpse an old abandoned house. Not unusual to see abandoned houses and barns along the highway no matter where you go, but this house for some reason intrigued me. It looked so forlorn and lonely sitting there beside the road, stuck in time, with life passing it by. Why hadn't it been torn down? Why hadn't it been kept up? Why did no one live there anymore?
     That's when "what if" took over. What if something terrible happened in that house? And what if the people who lived there couldn't bear to remain but neither could they bear to destroy the house? And so there it stands, a bittersweet reminder of both happiness and tragedy.

Do you have a favorite scene?

     One of my favorite scenes is the one in which Rory and Lacey visit the house together. Something they have never done:
   
     Rory held open the screen while Lacey unlocked the door, and they went inside. The air smelled of mold and dust and made her choke. She let her eyes adjust to the light of rooms long hidden behind drawn blinds and then stepped into the living room, where an overstuffed chair with torn upholstery, a scarred end table and a couple of straight chairs were the only remnants of occupancy....
     In the hallway, they approached the stairs leading to the second floor. Rory stopped and looked up toward the landing.
     "No," Lacey said. "You don't want to go up there."
     "I do. I want to see the room where it happened. All these years I've only imagined what the room was like. Now I want to be there. You can stay here or wait in the truck."
     "No, if you're going up, I'll go."
     Gulping down a shaky breath, she climbed the steps, Rory behind her.

     Will their experience in the old house bring them closer? Or will it drive them farther apart?

Did you do any research for this story?

One of Rory's favorite classics

     Rory collects and restores classic cars, a subject I needed to research. Lacey likes the classics, too, and has one of her own.

What are you working on now?
 
     Another book in my Return to Willow Beach series. After that, I'd like to set another story in Silver River.

       Happy Holidays, everyone! Please take a look at the other December Heartwarming books. Catch a Fallen Star, by Amy Vastine; Christmas in the Cove, by Carol Ross; and Meet Me on the Midway, by Amie Denman.