I’ve had a lot of people ask how I choose the settings for my books. The answer, ummm… 

Each setting (so far) has come about for different reasons. But when it came time to kick off my new Walker Family Series—which includes Three Little Words, just released this week—I knew I wanted to set it in Iowa, my home state. ‘Cause I just love my state! 

What I didn’t want to do, though, was pick an actual Iowa town and be tied down to all the facts and details of said town. I didn’t want any “You got it wrong!” accusations. Besides, I kinda like making stuff up. The last town I made up (Whisper Shore in Here to Stay) became so real in my head that by the end of the book, I had trouble believing it didn’t actually exist. 

BUT when it came to making up Maple Valley, I borrowed—heavily—from reality! Want to take a quickie tour?? Here are some of Maple Valley’s staple locales:

The Red Door: 

The Red Door is the restaurant my main character, Seth Walker, *insert a dozen hearts* is working to open in Three Little Words. He’s renovating an old bank building–creating a restaurant on the first floor and an apartment on the second. When I described the look of the place, I based it off this old post office from my hometown, Webster City, Iowa. The main differences: The Red Door has, you guessed it, a bright red door, and it has the words First National Bank etched in stone instead of Post Office.

The Blaine River: 

The river that divides Maple Valley in half doesn’t get quite as much mention in Three Little Words as it does in the first full-length novel in the Walker Family Series, From the Start. It plays a big role in that story and I was inspired to include it while visiting my friend, Gabrielle Meyer, in Little Falls, Minnesota. The Mississippi River runs right through that town. Here’s a pic I took while there.

Maple Valley Scenic Railway & Museum:

In Boone, Iowa, there’s the cool heritage railroad where passengers can still take train rides through one of the prettiest areas of our state. (I know, I know, everyone thinks it’s all flat and plain, but this state has some truly gorgeous scenery.) I went on a field trip to that train station as a kid and I’ve never forgotten it. This is going to sound silly, but it felt…magical. Like a step back in time. So I heavily borrowed from Boone’s railroad and the Maple Valley Scenic Railway & Museum is a key landmark. It’s mentioned just briefly in Three Little Words and plays a much bigger role in From the Start.

Case Walker’s house:

In Three Little Words, Seth Walker is living in his uncle’s house a few miles outside Maple Valley. The scenery around that house is borrowed entirely from my Mom and Dad’s house outside my hometown! Across the gravel lane in front of their house is a field and behind the house is a rambling ravine made of a tangle of trees that leads down to a tiny creek. Here’s what their backyard looks like in winter. (You’ll get a taste of winter in Maple Valley in the second Walker book in 2016!)

Downtown Maple Valley:

I have to admit, when it came to describing the downtown of Maple Valley, I was tempted to describe it exactly as I described Whisper Shore in my second book, Here to Stay. I fell in love with that made-up town and tended to picture it like Stars Hollow in the TV show Gilmore Girls. And the buildings in Maple Valley are probably very similar. The differences: In the town square there’s a bandshell instead of a gazebo and the river runs nearby.

Kendall Wilkins Library

There’s one spot in Maple Valley you won’t get to visit until 2016! The Kendall Wilkins Library plays a role in the second full-length Walker book, Like Never Before, and it’s based on the Kendall Young Library in my hometown. I even borrowed part of the name. I grew up going to this library and when I was in high school, I worked in the children’s department. I’ve been to a lot of libraries and I’m telling you, I have never seen one as cool as the one in my hometown! There is an actual tree in the basement children’s department. Upstairs it has gold marble columns, mosaic floors and a stained glass dome. I couldn’t help but borrow it for Maple Valley. 

Intrigued enough to visit Maple Valley?

Well, you can! If you haven’t heard already, my novella—Three Little Words—is free! It’ll get you all settled in Maple Valley and introduce you to the Walker family just in time for the release of the first full-length Walker book in April.

And if you haven’t entered the Three Little Words giveaway yet, what are you waiting for?? There’s a $25 VISA gift card, an early copy of From the Start and some cute stationary (in keeping with the email writing theme in Three Little Words) all up for grabs. Enter here.

What’s one of your favorite towns to visit?

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