More than a year ago my editor and I began discussing a new series. In the beginning all we knew for sure was: a small town and six adorable puppies. Not a whole lot to go on, huh? Yeah, I know. Weeks later, a few other elements were added to the mix, and like a good recipe I began to try this and that to see what worked.

By far the largest amount of planning time went to the small town in which this new series would be set in. I was born in the city, but by the time I was in high school my parents had moved us to the suburbs. The move was quite a contrast but I quickly adapted. As an adult I began traveling with my husband and what I found was that no matter where we went, from big cities with bright lights and lots of action, to smaller cities with specialty restaurants and lovely hotels, I always preferred the small towns. Something about the cobblestoned streets and the buildings that looked like houses but were really thriving businesses tended to stick with me long after we’d returned home.

A Maryland native, it seemed natural to be drawn to the Eastern Shore—where I also had family and visited during the summers. One summer, I stayed at a bed and breakfast once in St. Michael’s, Maryland and thoroughly enjoyed the quaint little house in comparison to a big hotel chain. (My husband did not share in my enthusiasm, but that’s how it is sometimes. LOL) We walked along the cobblestone streets, down the small pier to board the ferry that would take us on a scenic view of the Miles River. After the tour we fed the ducks that waddled alongside us back up the dock. A walk in the opposite direction took us past a lovely lighthouse—the first I’d seen close up. That night we had a light dinner at a seafood restaurant followed by a dozen jumbo steamed Maryland Blues. It was a lovely time.

This was turning into one huge recipe and I wasn’t yet certain of the finished product.

In our family cooking for large gatherings is a staple to our lives. Cook-outs, holiday meals, after church fellowships, all of the above are second nature to us. Again, this was something I wanted to weave into the small town I created. It was a given that there would be a big family, one with all the issues and attitudes and dilemmas as any real family. The difference with this family would be that they were such an intricate part of the town that their stability was almost a must.

The following week I sat down with my laptop and began to gather all my ideas. The name didn’t immediately hit me, but the history and the look and the feel of the town did. There was the bed and breakfast that instead of city hall would be like the glue holding the entire township together, the streets with simplistic names that all somehow lead back to Main Street. Shops with owners who had their own histories, quirky citizens and a dock where everyone could go down to walk along the riverside all melded together to create what is now known to me as Sweetland, Maryland. The town motto: Life should be this sweet, came later. Still, there’s no way I can think of one without the other now and I can’t help but smile each time I think of a place called Sweetland with great food, gorgeous sunrises and people that are just like you and me.