Goodreads asked Robert P. Rowe:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Robert P. Rowe Ideas don't come from a single source. We all build upon experiences in our lives to constantly come up with new ideas. So here are a few of the ideas that culminated in the creation of "Second-Story Man."

In romance literature the goal is to find a way to get two characters together and let nature take its course. In real life too many romantics sit home alone waiting for Prince Charming to come knocking at the door, or Romeo to climb up the balcony. But that's not really going to happen is it? Well what if it did? How would that play out?

Another universal desire is to reform the bad boy. For some reason bad boys have a special appeal. So what if our Romeo is a bit of a bad boy?

In real life I've spent way too much time on business trips living for months at a time out of hotel rooms. It gets boring living alone in a hotel room, but it might interesting if some bad boy, Romeo, came climbing in the window.

So there is the set-up for "Second-Story Man." But a novel is more than just a set-up. I needed characters that would be interesting and appealing.

Many of the reviews point to the fact that the characters have many layers that are slowly revealed allowing them to evolve. The idea for the characters personalities came from juxtaposing a guy who is too good to be true with a bad boy--and then slowly revealing to the reader that neither character is really who he seems to be. That's an idea that comes from real life by simply paying attention to people.

Finally there a number of events in the book that have really happened to me, or people I know to some extent. But there are plenty that are purely fiction. I'll leave it to readers to decide which is which--but remember truth is stranger than fiction.

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