Don’t you wonder how many times you’ve planned something only to have it not work out or be interrupted by something else? Too numerous to count, right?

On a recent trip to Hawaii after publishing AS WE FORGIVE THOSE a month earlier, I decided to put some thought into my next novel which I’d roughly planned. But nothing more came to mind. Meanwhile, a completely different story came through and it was set in Hawaii. I’d heard a few times when firsting writing some years ago, Hawaiian stories weren’t really popular because readers wouldn’t resonate with them. And after all, if I wrote a book set in the midwest where I’m from, it would be a new world to readers from elsewhere, but one they could relate with.

But how do you not write a book that comes to you so vividly as I experienced? Having no computer or notebook along, I used the hotel stationary to jot down thoughts as they came along, so I wouldn’t forget anything. And so my new novel was born.

What are your thoughts and opinions of a novel set in Hawaii?

Do you think going with your gut instinct overrules other suggestions?[image error]