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Faith, family, food and farm are themes that resonate with me in my small-town Kentucky life, and for many across rural America. So when I discovered these things were just as important to villagers in the Tuscan countryside, I was overjoyed to settle there for the writing of my second and third books, Guarded and Granted.

I had fallen in love with Italy when my husband and I honeymooned there, and we returned several times to explore different parts of the country, including the Adriatic coastline, down to the heel of the boot in Apulia, then over the arch of Basilicata and into the toe of Calabria. We’ve circled Sicily once and visited twice the Sicilian eastern shore near Mount Etna.

When it came time to write Guarded, I wanted to dig into an Italian character who held the keys to a family mystery, so I searched for just the right place where my husband and I could stay for a couple of weeks while I wrote. Scouring a rental website, I found an old stone apartment for rent inside the medieval walls. I remember the agent calling me to double-check my expectations. “It’s off the tourist path and it’s a quiet little village. Are you sure?” she asked. “It’s sounds perfect,” I said.

For two weeks, I stayed in this ancient hilltop village and wrote the entire last half of the book, living and breathing the Tuscan life as the Italian characters took on a life of their own on my laptop. I would get up around 6 a.m. to write, drinking a seemingly endless amount of rich Italian coffee, and by noon, I was finished for the day and ready to explore. We fell in love with the area and have returned annually since then.

For Granted, I ended up writing about one-third of the book in the same apartment, and again, being there made everything seem more real and inspirational. We’ve started picking up Italian habits and even some of the language. Nowadays, we bypass Rome and head straight up the autostrada to the rural landscape we know and love so well, the same kind of landscape that keeps our hearts drawn to our Kentucky farm.

Join me on a journey through the May Hollow Trilogy if you like. We’ll have a little humor, mystery, and romance while we experience the joys of faith, family, food and farm. Ciao!

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More about Granted: 

Former international flight attendant Annie Taylor is embracing her country roots and racing toward a future with her sustainable farmer fiancé,  but wedding plans are complicated by her new job, a mysterious ex-boyfriend, and a narcissistic father.

Meanwhile, Annie’s old-fashioned grandma, Beulah, is facing a shake-up in the last place she ever thought she would—home. A crisis on May Hollow Road follows a friend’s betrayal, challenging Beulah’s forgiving nature. An unwelcome diet, a new houseguest, and a possible overseas trip will all stretch her spirit—if she lets it.

Granted takes readers from the comforts of the Kentucky countryside to old-world Tuscany with a cast of memorable characters. Granted follows Grounded and Guarded in the May Hollow Trilogy.

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