Stuff that’s REAL

Five of my favorite lines:

There was a couple we went to church with when Mike (husband) and I lived in Las Vegas. They were the nicest people, and lived in this great house that they were giving a face lift to. We called them Mr. and Mrs. Las Vegas. They were the inspiration for Jameson’s parents.


My husband and I love Guy Ritchie’s movies - so that’s from us.


Ketchikan (near where Sky lives) is a beautiful town in Southeast Alaska. Gem Cove where her village is, is a real place, but I sadly don’t know if there’s a village there or not. The fishery and lodge are both based in reality.


There are several places in Alaska where the school has a community satellite phone. Now that satellite phones are more prevalent, that’s changed a bit.


The Tlingit people are real. They’re more closely related to Native Americans or American Indians than Eskimos, and still use clans.


Alaska has no (or I think one) reservations. The natives formed corporations (thankfully) giving them a lot more power over the land they live on.

Random Bits From The Author

Where the story came from

This story came to me while waiting for Taco Bell, two days after Valentine’s Day in 2011.


My husband and I were talking eighties movies, and I’m still of the opinion that Duckie should have ended up with RIngwald in the movie, Pretty In Pink.

I wanted to write the story from the perspective of the best friend, who got dumped for the hot guy - even though Jameson is a bit of a hottie himself.

After growing up around boy cousins, I really wanted to do a guy POV, and that’s how Jameson started.


Sky was completely unintentional. I just wanted to give him a distraction, and she ended up being a LOT more than just distraction. It was really fun to tell a story of a girl with Native Alaskan roots.

Thanks for reading !!

She beams. It’s a Sarah smile. The one no one should be able to resist because it’s full of goodness and happiness. She half leans out the door as it closes and when she turns to face us, the happiness is still all over her face. It dances around in her eyes and waves its way through her body.


“On Monday, you know, when Eric and I . . .”

Eric and I. Eric and I. “We.” That’s what’s next, right? Because Eric and Sarah. Sarah and Eric. An entity. Am I ready to let go of the idea that Sarah and Jameson could be that same kind of entity? I’m not sure.


They’re opposites. Sky is all tall, dark, and angles. Sarah is all smooth, short, and soft curves. And now I know I’m a prick because I’ve just checked the both out in less than ten seconds.

What’s ironic here is that Sky knows who Sarah is and I’ve known her for days. Sarah doesn’t know who SKy is and I’ve known her for years. How did that happen? The s’s get tangled around in my head and on my tongye. I’m in deep shit.


I know I’m the only one home, which means I’m the only one here to answer the door, which further means that I need to pull my sorry ass out of bed and get the door. It better either be girl-scout cookies or someone full of good deeds.

I open the door and my heart stop. It’s Sky. Home days early. Better than both my previous thoughts, unless she has girl-scout cookies. And good deeds could mean anything...

She’s in snug yoga pants that stop near her knees and a long-sleeve t-shirt. She looks soft. Like something I need to have in my arms.


Now that they’re both in view, the problem is clear. Girl I’ve loved, girl I’m falling for. Let’s meet in my driveway and see if we can give Jameson his first heart attack.


PLAYLIST

Jameson loved Nirvana, so I listened to a LOT of Nirvana.

I played Nevermind over and over.

I LOVE every song on the MTV Unplugged album, so I listened to that a lot as well.


The guys at 94.7 The End in Anchorage also helped me write this book - they play LOADS of good music.

Oh! The Black Keyes. I listened to them a lot, too.