Goodreads asked Penny Goetjen:

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

Penny Goetjen Sometimes a story line just shows up unexpectedly and demands to be written! Such was the case with THE EMPTY CHAIR ~ Murder in the Caribbean. I was in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands on a vacation with my family. At the time, my writing project was the sequel to my first book, THE PRECIPICE, both of which take place on the rocky, tumultuous coast of Maine. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to write while I was away, I brought my writing along with me. After a few days of soaking up the Caribbean "vibe," I was sitting out on the deck overlooking Charlotte Amalie Harbor with a pad of paper on my lap. Distracted by my surroundings (spectacular views!) and struggling to focus on my mystery that was unfolding nearly a hemisphere away (I do exaggerate a bit), another story practically hit me over the head. I probably gasped and then flipped the page on my legal pad and started writing furiously, jotting down everything that was going through my mind. At first the story was going to be a young woman looking for her father on the island. Then I quickly changed it to her mother so they could look quite similar and have the same name. I was excited to have another story to write but that left me in a quandary. Which one should I keep going with? I actually attempted to write both at the same time, but I quickly figured out that wasn't an efficient way to approach it. At that point it was the middle of winter in New England so I opted for writing about a warm climate. (The things we have to do to survive these cold and, at times, miserable winters!) Now that THE EMPTY CHAIR is published, I'm back to writing the sequel to THE PRECIPICE. Hopefully I won't get interrupted again before I can finish it. I know readers want to know what happens to Elizabeth!

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