“The idea for the story began with the final line, with a ‘what if. . .’ moment then I worked back from it.
I tend to create monsters, psychotic children, murderous teenagers and so forth, and I wanted to see if I could create someone who was good and gentle, unreservedly and unashamedly and unfashionably nice.
I enjoy giving my characters names and if I struggle with that then the creation never seems to ring true for me.
Edna Gould presented no such problems. She was born in simpler times, her life lacks what we might term as excitement, but then so much is in the eye of the beholder.
Recently widowed she is now finding her feet and ready to sample new experiences on a scale compatible with her needs.
Catharine (Kate) Farrell has always loved stories. During her years teaching high school in the mid-1960s in San Francisco, stories spoke a special language. Gaining a Masters in Library Science (UC, Berkeley), Kate returned to the City schools. When the Zellerbach Family Fund awarded her a grant to teach storytelling to California teachers, Kate conducted a successful decades-long project. Now a published author of educational books, Kate is a high school librarian and lives in Sonoma County."