Behind the Scenes: Long Shadows

A Different Set of Mountains…

Long Shadows, the second book in the Lycanthropy Files series, is primarily set in the North Georgia Mountains. Why? I love it up there. Also, mountains can be beautiful…or creepy. In my stories, they’re both.

My parents have a place in Blairsville. We call it “the cabin,” but it’s really a three-story house stuck to the side of a mountain. There’s running water, electricity, and internet. It’s definitely not “roughing it,” which is fine with me. I’m a “no plumbing, no thank you” kind of person. The picture above is the February view from the porch, and I was definitely thinking about it when I wrote Long Shadows, which takes place in February. Some of the book was written up there, now that I think about it.

Yes! I remember having gotten my edits and needing to rewrite the deathbed scene (not going to tell you who’s – you’ll need to read it). I ended up scrapping what I had and completely rewriting it while sitting at the dining room table in the cabin. I find myself more relaxed and better able to focus while I’m up there.

The setting isn’t the only part of my life that I put into the book. Lonna is Italian, and so I drew from my own heritage when I wrote about her and her family. The Italian brownies she talks about are basically chocolate chip spice cookies, and they’re a staple of my childhood memories of going to my grandmother’s house. I can’t share the recipe – family secret – but I did send a batch to my editor that Christmas. Lonna’s aunt’s house is modeled off my father’s cousin’s house in Athens, Georgia, which was built in the early 1900’s. I spent many happy evening there when I was in graduate school at UGA.

I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to put some of my favorite places in my stories. I’m curious – where do you go to relax? Or, if you prefer, what is your favorite family recipe? Please comment and let me know. Cheers!

Click here to learn more about Long Shadows.