Last night, I was trying to sleep but actually lying awake, staring at the ceiling, wishing I hadn’t drunk coffee in the afternoon, when a scene began to scroll before my eyes. Like watching a movie or having a dream, the characters were so vivid, so real, and their conversation so charming. I sat up, turned on the light, pulled my Chromebook over, and scribbled down rough notes about the dialog I’d just imagined. And then I turned the lights off and tried to go to sleep again.

This morning, I was in the shower, washing my hair, when the same characters popped back into my head and started flirting again. I could see them at Maggie’s diner. I could hear the conversation they were having. And I knew exactly what happened next. I barely dried myself off before I was at the computer, typing madly, trying not to drip on the keyboard.

Such a fun, fun, fun feeling. And such a pity that the words and the characters and the scenes are NOT from the book I am working on. ARGH!

The good news (maybe?) is that these characters are clearly in the sequel to the book that I am writing. There’s no way I can reach their story until I make it through Grace’s story, because until Grace and Noah have their happy ending, Noah’s brother will not be visiting Tassamara. And he can not be happy-go-lucky flirting with a random girl in Maggie’s Bistro until he gets there. So back to Grace I go. But oh, inspiration is so delightful.

I don’t know when I’ll get to write this book and I don’t know what its name is and everything about it might change dramatically between now and then, but: Heather Allen is on the run, carrying with her a secret of life-shattering proportions.

Someday I will get to tell her story!