Yesterday’s Dreams
I’m a terminal dreamer, and have often been criticized for having my head in “the clouds of tomorrow.” Maybe so. But I’ve coupled those dreams to action: initiative, hard work, and persistence. And it’s paid off. My latest release is a perfect example. A Taming Season, the first Love at Lake George Novel, has been around awhile. Although not my debut novel, it was, in all honesty, my very first completed manuscript—almost five years before its publication.
An early beta reader remarked, “Oh. My. God. I laughed and cried. I want to go visit Lake George and feel that magic you wrote about. I need to keep in touch with Zoe and Jason. This is one of the best stories I’ve ever read. I don’t understand why you haven’t been offered a contract.”
Two weeks later, I was.
Unfortunately, this publisher and I were not a match made in heaven. So earlier this year, I bought back my rights. On June 16, my late father’s birthday, A Taming Season was finally published.
Fact: there is magic in that tiny burg nestled in the Adirondack Mountains at the south end of a long, glacial lake that’s over 200 feet deep. I’ve been vacationing there with my family since I was a little kid. Many of those memories include the man who inspired me to write: my dad. That’s why I chose to release the book on his birthday. Lake George remains sacred to me. Something about the place keeps drawing me back.
Yesterday’s dreams continue to fuel today’s stories. Those long, lazy days on the beach, boating, enjoying the scenic views of the Adirondacks, helped me bring the setting to life. But . . . we’d always visited Lake George in summer.
The ending scenes of A Taming Season take place in winter. I couldn’t write it right without being there. In February of that year, my husband and I found year-round accommodations and made the 4-hour trek from our home in Massachusetts. The cabin we rented overlooked the frozen lake, where ice fisherman, skaters, and snowmobilers enjoyed Lake George in a very different way than during the warmer months.
I wrote the last scenes of A Taming Season while sitting at an outdated Formica table near the window of the cottage overlooking the lake. Unable to hold back the story any longer, I’d gotten up at 4 a.m. and watched dawn creep over the vista in shades of pink, then amber, then . . . white! An unexpected snowstorm had sneaked in overnight. As huge, fluffy flakes swirled down outside my window, I wrote furiously, unable to type fast enough to keep up with the story pouring out of my heart.
There is no way, I truly believe, I could have captured that magic unless I’d been there in person.
My deepest wish is that I’ve done my job right—captured the beauty and mystery of Lake George, its surrounding wilderness, and of the love between Zoe and Jason, enough to stir my readers’ emotions. Provide a virtual experience. An exhilarating, memorable journey, without ever leaving the confines of their favorite reading spot.
Truth is, now that the story is told, the book is finished and published . . . I miss them. All my characters—Zoe, Jason, Jade, Medina, and Tony, as if they were family. I miss spending those virtual days on the shores of Lake George with them. And I’m counting the days until my characters come to life again on the pages, in the upcoming Love at Lake George Novel, Anchor My Heart.
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Claire Gem writes sexy contemporary romance that shoots straight for the heart, sometimes with a paranormal twist. Her ghostly romance, Hearts Unloched, was named award winner in the 2016 New York Book Festival Competition.
Claire grew up in New York State just a few hours south of Lake George, where summers became a family tradition. The magical memories and undeniable magic of the Adirondack Mountains stirred lots of stories in her head. Claire knew that someday, she’d create an entire cast of characters to live and love in her own, private Lake George Village.
Learn more about Claire at her website, where you can also view the video trailer of A Taming Season.
A Taming Season is available in eBook or paperback on Amazon. Visit Claire’s Author Page to see all of her intensely emotional, contemporary romance novels.
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