The writing of every book or story doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Inspiration comes from many different sources, whether it’s a person, town, or even scent. For example, I can tell you where I was and what I was doing the first time I was aware of the smell of fresh-cut grass (which is not a part of Providence). There is always a story behind the story. Here are a few from this one.
- Providence was inspired by my brother’s suicide.
- The secondary character, Duncan, was named for my brother Michael. His middle name (Duncan) came from our maternal grandparents’ last name.
- Although none of the characters are based on real people, Melissa’s three children (Emily, Joshua, and Eli) were inspired by my brother’s three youngest children at the time of his death.
- There is a chapter that takes Melissa and Duncan to Alameda, California, which is where I considered my “hometown” growing up. They even drive by the little market that was just around the corner from where we lived.
- The only character that shows up in all three of the series novels is Pastor Kent.
- The first draft of Providence was titled Absolution.
- After receiving an unfavorable response to the manuscript by a well-known agent (who loved my writing but didn’t like the structure of the story), I threw everything out except one chapter and started over again.
- While writing the second draft of Providence (or rather, Absolution), I lost over 12,000 words of the manuscript in cyberspace. They had to be completely rewritten.
- Providence eventually landed me a contract with the above mentioned well-known literary agency.
- When my agent retired, I clearly heard the Lord tell me to let Him be my agent. He directed me my publisher Sandy Barela of Celebrate Lit Publishing.
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