Articles

Apr 28 2016

What will you be reading this summer?

Author: Anna J. McIntyre • Discussion: No Comments

While summer doesn’t technically arrive for a couple months, here in Havasu we’ve been feeling the arrival of summer, with increasingly warmer days, in spite of yesterday’s rainstorm. In about a month our local schools take off for summer vacation.

For some readers, vacation time signifies extra reading time. If you enjoy light, happily-ever-after romances, you might consider adding some books from my Unlocked Hearts series to your summer reading list.

One of my favorites is Sugar Rush, which takes place in my home town of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. If you take a closer look at the book cover, you’ll see the London Bridge in the background. In case you don’t already know, Lake Havasu City’s founder, Robert McCulloch, bought the London Bridge in the late 60s and transported it from London to our little desert community, where it was reconstructed and officially opened in 1971.

Another reason I’m partial to Sugar Rush—it includes my dad’s homemade hot fudge recipe. If you like chocolate (and who doesn’t) you have to give it a try.

Of course, summer is weeks away, so maybe you should just read Sugar Rush now.

Aug 15 2014

Inside Haunting Danielle

Author: Anna J. McIntyre • Discussion: No Comments

I’ve created the fictitious seaside town of Fredrickport, Oregon for my new Haunting Danielle series. I try to set my stories in locales I’m familiar with. Our son lives in Portland, and during one of our last trips we took a drive along the coast, even stopping by the Astoria house used in Goonies to snap a few pictures. I thought the Oregon coast would be a perfect setting for Haunting Danielle.

In my Coulson Series, the fictitious town of Coulson was patterned after my hometown of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, even down to how it was founded. Sugar Rush was actually set in Lake Havasu City, and While Snowbound was inspired by a mountain community we once lived in, Wrightwood, California.

I’ve been working on the book’s blurb—or book description—for the first book in the series, and this is what I have so far:

If the old house doesn’t need too much renovation, Danielle Boatman intends to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast. Since she has never visited the property, she’s not sure what awaits her in Oregon. One thing she doesn’t expect to find is one of the house’s previous owners still in residence. After all, the man has been dead for almost ninety years—shouldn’t he have moved on by now?

Feb 09 2014

Welcome to Coulson

Author: Anna J. McIntyre • Discussion: No Comments

Of Coulson’s Wife, one reviewer wrote it was “a bit far fetched.” I thought about that observation, wondering what about the story he found unbelievable. I don’t think the human story of Mary Ellen and Randall was far fetched, especially for that moment in time.

I then wondered if the reviewer was referring to the fact Randal Coulson founds the town of Coulson. If that was the part he found difficult to believe, well, truth really is stranger than fiction.

Coulson and its founding were inspired by the true story of my home town, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The fictional community of Clement Falls was inspired by the Hualapai Mountain near Kingman, about an hour from Havasu.

Coulson is approximately 15 years older than Lake Havasu, but they share a similar history. I suppose I could have really thrown an unbelievable element into the story – like have Randall Coulson buy the London Bridge, take it apart, drag it across the globe and reconstruct it Coulson. But, they already did that in Havasu.