Seton Hospital, where Iris takes Zo in the beginning of the book, is the name of the hospital where I worked as a Candy Striper in seventh grader.Mayfield Park is a secret and little known gem of a place in the middle of Austin’s city limits.  There really are peacocks strutting about not far from downtown and UT.The Margarita Ball is a real event in Dallas, requiring an invitation. The guest list is over 11,000 people. I recently spoke at the same hotel where the ball is hosted. It’s huge. The dress Ella wore to the ball is the gown my daughter wore to her prom and also wore in an Atlanta area pageant. She didn’t win the crown, but got in the top five and won the Swim Suit competition, which seems like a great consolation to hear, “Hey girl, no crown for you . . . but you sure rocked that swim suit.” One of my favorite movies, The English Patient, is mentioned in chapter five. You’ll have to watch the movie to get the reference in the book. It’s pretty blatant.Trying to find out exactly what happens during a meeting of the Grand Jury was super difficult, even with a husband who is an attorney and friends who are judges and US attorneys.The Oasis is a landmark restaurant on Lake Travis. I worked there in high school. It consists of multiple decks overlooking the lake and is famous for gorgeous sunsets. We would ring a bell when the sun set. Loved that job.The French Room was my favorite restaurant when I lived in Dallas, but my husband hated it.The original name for Ever Locked was simply, Locked (my creative niece came up with the name after I described the story to her). But when I wanted to name the second book Blazed, I was accosted by my teenagers who informed me that the word blazed means the same thing as high or stoned. So I had to name it Never Blazed, thus prompting me to add Ever to Locked—which I love even more than Locked. So, it all worked out perfectly.My original name for Iris was Summer. Ella’s original name was Chrissy, and  Trip was Bentley. Alonzo has always been Alonzo.Alonzo was named after a much older distant cousin who I thought was cute when I was in seventh grade and he was like a senior in high school. We never spoke since I was just a little kid in an enormous extended family. I hope he doesn’t see this post.