On Process...

I’m often asked how I come up with ideas for books.

I don’t typically spend a lot of time reflecting on it. I’ve used writing as a therapeutic tool since I was young, so my standby reply typically mentions that. But this summer, my process shifted a little bit, and it opened up my writing in a new way.

I started the summer promising myself that no matter what, I would draft a novel. The last complete novel I wrote was in January of 2024, and lots has happened in my life since then that I’ve desperately wanted to write about but haven’t have the time to. Quite honestly, like an old, trusted friend, I’ve missed writing. I’ve started several projects - 10 pages here, 50 pages there - but nothing that had fully came to fruition. When the summer began, I knew I needed to write. So, I planned for it. I rented the office. I carved out the time. But on day one, I sat down at 5:30 in the morning in my new digs and realized I had no idea at all as to what I wanted to write about.

In a bit of a plot twist, I turned to my town for inspiration.

There’s a bed and breakfast - well, there was a bed and breakfast - down on Linnell Landing Road in Brewster, Massachusetts, called Linger Longer by the Sea. It was comprised of a large main building and then several smaller houses and cottages around it on this massive piece of property literally right on the beach. The photo above is the main house, taken from Linnell Landing Beach.

A few years ago, rumor had it that the family who owned it was shutting it down, selling off the homes and cottages on the land, and breaking up the interior space into condominiums. It made me sad. I love B&Bs. I think the notion of a B&B was romanticized in my brain thanks to watching Dawson’s Creek in my younger years. Once Airbnb became a thing, it became pretty obvious that real B&Bs would be on their way out, similar to what happened to taxi cabs once Uber started growing into the company it is today. I find B&Bs to be charming and lovely - and it was very easy to imagine the main house of Linger Longer as a character. What would it feel like to be on the cusp of bankruptcy? On the brink of collapse? Where something that clearly had such an opulent and rich history was in danger of being shut down? What kind of story could make that happen? How would the characters go about saving it?

So, yes, you read that right. The house was my first character in my new novel.

I imagined what the fictional inn would look like, but that was easy. This past year, right on Main Street in Brewster, they’ve been renovating a different old B&B formerly called the Sea Pines Inn. Well, now it’s called Charm on Main and holy cow, you guys. Take a look at this house.

Is that not the most spectacular porch you’ve ever seen?

So, now, picture that house in the spot on the beach in the photo above - and voila. The Sandbar B&B - from my hopefully-one-day-to-be-published novel The Off Season, is born.

Typically, I’d start with an actual human in mind when I write a story, but in this case? Seeing these two massive structures in my town being changed and rebranded made me feel as if they could be characters themselves. Having that unfold right before my eyes made me want to write about it.

I really leaned on my town and the people in it this time around, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I needed inspiration, and it was right there in front of me.

Since coming back to New York last week, I’ve been slowly plodding away. I wrote ten pages this week. It’s not a lot, but it’s keeping my head in the story, which is important.

This week, we head off for a last hurrah of summer, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to steal a few moments to keep on toiling on this. It’s a book I already love so much. Hopefully, it’ll be in your hands in another 1-2 years.

In the meantime, the next time you’re looking for inspiration of any kind? Look right outside your door. You never know what wonders await you there.