What Happens in Montana follows a seasoned chef and gardener whose quiet life at a retreat is disrupted by the arrival of a group from Las Vegas, leading her to confront past heartaches and the resort’s supernatural secrets. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The inspiration came from my real group of girlfriends who I met in Las Vegas at a Mommy and Me Playgroup twenty-one years ago. These friends really do exist! They were so helpful in crafting dialogue. I could just ask myself what one of them would say in a certain situation, and I could hear their response. As for the crazy, run-down, haunted retreat, it exists as well, and I was brave enough to stay there by myself. It was just for one night, but that was more than enough! I wasn’t really sure I believed in ghosts, but after staying there, it is a definite possibility. I found the place quite by chance. My husband and I were driving to the lake a few summers ago and there was a detour that brought us near this retreat. It looks so majestic from the road, so I asked my husband about it because he has lived in Montana for over thirty years and so he knows almost everything about it. He told me its history as a place for celebrities back in the 20s and 30s. He also knew that its current owner turned it into a holistic retreat free of alcohol and that she had only had enough money to fix part of it up. Guests really do stay in just a small grey building next to the massive stucco building. The picture on the cover of my book is the real place, but you have to look closely at the spine and back of the book to find the part where guests stay. It is very strange! I thought it would bring out the adventurous spirit in the friends in my book, and I think it worked.

As for the ghost, it is said to be haunted by Simone. I used her real name, but all that is known about her is that she was a prostitute who was murdered there. I had a blast making up the rest of her backstory with the help of a ton of research. I was shocked to learn that eighteen percent of Montana’s original homesteaders were single women. I can’t imagine coming to Montana alone and building a little homestead, learning to farm, ranch, and survive in this harsh climate back in the late 1800s. Simone’s backstory adds a historical element to the book which I truly enjoyed learning about.

Can you share more about your process for creating such intricate and complex characters, especially Maude and the women from Las Vegas?

Well, I suppose I already talked about my girlfriends from when I lived in Las Vegas. We do reunions every couple of years, and while we’ve never actually done one at that retreat, we have gotten together in Montana and Vegas. They are the kind of friends where we don’t have to see each other often to know how much we care about each other. I also think that those friends you make when your children are small are very special friends. You go through so much as a new mother; loss of identity, loss of sleep, fear of failure, to name a few, that those people who are right there with you and support you are your lifeline. Like they say, “Write what you know.” So, these friendships allowed me to write authentically about how important these bonds are. As for Maude, I just love quirky characters. My grandmother was a spunky, tell-it-like-it-is kind of lady, so I thought quite a bit about her when writing Maude. She was spunky till she died at age 96. Unfortunately, she had a series of mini-strokes toward the end of her life, and she would be unconscious for up to ten minutes. When she woke, she said, “Am I still here?” She was a crack-up and so full of life up until her last day. I wanted an older voice of reason for the ladies at the retreat to balance what I knew would be a wild ride for them, so my grandma fit the bill. I also thought of Betty White for Maude’s character because I loved her spunk as well. The idea for Maude to be friends with the ghost just made sense to me because she is a loner, but even loners need someone to talk to, so her dog and the ghost were perfect for her.

How did you develop the supernatural elements in the story, particularly the character of Simone, the resort’s ghost?

Well, in addition to the historical research I did to make her character authentic, I did quite a bit of research about haunting. I wanted to know more about how and why ghosts haunt. I really didn’t want my novel to be hokey, though. It’s a fine line with the paranormal, I think. I love the idea of a ghost, but I didn’t want her to be overwhelming or unbelievable. I wanted the ghost’s presence to be subtle, just enough to keep it interesting. I wanted her to tell her story because that period in history is fascinating, especially the women’s side of the story, which hasn’t been told much. So, since I find strength in telling stories, I thought the ghost might, too. It was fun to imagine what it might be like to be a ghost and what she might want. How would she get these living people to do what she needed? It was a fun puzzle to solve.

What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?

Despite quite a few of my early readers asking for more of these characters, that is not the direction I’m headed, at least not for this next book. Instead, I am doubling down on my love of quirky, initially unlikeable characters, and my love of writing dialog. This next one is called Harriet Hates Lemonade. Harriet is cranky, set-in-her-ways, and very opinionated. She is also quite funny, much to her dismay. She is the way she is because she was unwittingly abused by her husband. I am aiming to show the insidious side of emotional abuse in as light-hearted a way as possible. It will be big on character, especially Harriet’s, but also big on transformations, heart, and learning to find your way when you didn’t even realize you were lost.

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