July 15, 2008
Guest Blogger Isabel Sharpe
Written by Jaunty Guest in Jaunty PostPlease welcome Isabel Sharpe!

MAINIA
In the 1950s my maternal grandfather plunked down $1K for twenty-two acres on the coast of Maine (I don’t even want to think about what it would cost now). I’ve traveled extensively around the country and abroad, and I still think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Not dramatic, not breathtaking, but peaceful and unspoiled. The kind of place that might get a “how pretty” reaction at first, but once you’ve spent time there, smelled the woods on a hike and the sea from a boat, eaten fresh-from-the ocean lobster, gazed at the sunset, and counted shooting stars after dark, you’re hooked. Just don’t forget the mosquito repellant.
Every book I’ve set there has been special to me. Writing about a place you love makes all the difference, because besides knowing the sights, you know the smells and the sounds and most importantly, the emotional effect the place has. A far cry from researching places I’ve never been on the Internet which my budget makes necessary for too many books.
As Good As It Got was inspired by a community college program I came across years ago, which helped divorced and widowed homemakers carve out new lives. Originally I set the book in a huge fancy house modeled on the Pabst Mansion here in Milwaukee. I decided the place would be owned by a wealthy widow who wanted to help other women in times of transition. However . . . my editor said the setting made the program feel like some kind of correctional facility. Ha! As usual, she was right.

So I changed the concept to a retreat experience and set Camp Kinsonu in the healing air of my favorite state, where my three heroines, all “suddenly single” go to take a breath before embarking on new altered lives. Cynical, independent Ann is struggling to cope after her husband killed himself to avoid facing the financial ruin he caused; naive optimist Cindy is biding time, certain her serial-cheating husband will again come back to her; withdrawn, troubled Martha is forced to examine her choices after her married lover has a debilitating stroke.
Well okay, that sounded too grim. There are plenty of funny and uplifting moments because I can’t write gloom and doom to save my life. But switching the location to Maine breathed real life and purpose into the book. The coast is like another heroine.
And I’m counting down until August 18 when I can be there myself. In the meantime, tell me about your favorite place and I’ll choose one from all the entries to receive a copy of my first Avon release, WOMEN ON THE EDGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKTHROUGH.
Cheers,
Isabel
www.isabelsharpe.com




















