Beneath the Surface: Writing Invisible Foundations

Every story in the Private Encounters world begins with a question that won’t let me go. With Invisible Foundations, that question was simple but powerful: What drives someone to build a life that looks perfect on the outside — even when it means starting from nothing and rewriting the rules?

Following Grayson back to his early days was like stepping into the quiet before the storm. I’d already lived with him as the confident, calculating man readers meet in Unforgettable Encounter, but here I had to strip him down to raw ambition and the stubborn belief that he could climb from rags to riches. Writing those moments — late nights of study, the sting of rejection letters, the quiet victories — reminded me how fragile and fierce the beginning of any dream can feel.

This novella also took me outside my own backyard. Parts of Grayson’s journey unfold against the backdrop of London’s business district — a place I researched with the same curiosity he brings to every opportunity. I spent hours exploring the city’s rhythms, its sleek glass towers standing shoulder to shoulder with centuries-old stone. Even from Seattle, I could almost hear the hum of the Thames at night. Learning the nuances of that setting — how ambition and tradition coexist — added a texture I loved sinking into.

Writing Invisible Foundations was a reminder of why I tell these stories in the first place: to explore the choices that shape us, the quiet courage it takes to become who we’re meant to be, and the magnetic pull of desire that refuses to be ignored. Invisible Foundations releases this Wednesday, and I can’t wait for you to see the layers beneath Grayson’s sharp suit and calm smile.