About a year ago the early concepts for this book started to formulate in my head. I remember going to my Zumba class and looking around at the women there and thinking that none of them knew what was going on in my life and I had no idea what struggles—or joys they were experiencing either.
My father had just been diagnosed with cancer and there were other family issues that we were dealing with. But did I go into that class and pour out my heart to my fellow exercising buddies? No. I didn’t have that type of relationship with them and besides I rarely share such personal things at the time I am going through them. I just put on a happy face and answer robotically, “I’m fine. How are you?”
Most of us keep things to ourselves and don’t burden others with the challenges we are facing. Either we don’t feel comfortable sharing such personal things or we don’t think anyone would truly be interested. That was my frame of mind when I decided to probe into the life of Penny Haws, a minor character from “In the Quiet Heart”.
When Penny first appeared as one of Kate’s clients at the salon, I had no idea that she would be the star of my next book. In fact I didn’t know any details of Penny’s past. But as her story started to unfold, I quickly realized that she would need to interact with numerous people on a regular basis. A diner seemed the perfect setting.
Kate had been doing Penny’s hair at the salon for several years, but she knew very little about the older woman, which made for a perfect jumping off point for the next book. I absolutely loved discovering Penny’s story through Kate’s eyes. I hope you will too.
My father had just been diagnosed with cancer and there were other family issues that we were dealing with. But did I go into that class and pour out my heart to my fellow exercising buddies? No. I didn’t have that type of relationship with them and besides I rarely share such personal things at the time I am going through them. I just put on a happy face and answer robotically, “I’m fine. How are you?”
Most of us keep things to ourselves and don’t burden others with the challenges we are facing. Either we don’t feel comfortable sharing such personal things or we don’t think anyone would truly be interested. That was my frame of mind when I decided to probe into the life of Penny Haws, a minor character from “In the Quiet Heart”.
When Penny first appeared as one of Kate’s clients at the salon, I had no idea that she would be the star of my next book. In fact I didn’t know any details of Penny’s past. But as her story started to unfold, I quickly realized that she would need to interact with numerous people on a regular basis. A diner seemed the perfect setting.
Kate had been doing Penny’s hair at the salon for several years, but she knew very little about the older woman, which made for a perfect jumping off point for the next book. I absolutely loved discovering Penny’s story through Kate’s eyes. I hope you will too.
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