Doubtful

Doubtful Sound, New Zealand
For Dr. Van Peters, Doubtful is a retreat after a false accusation all but ends her scientific career. For journalist David Christianson, it is a place of respite after a personal tragedy is followed by an unwelcome notoriety. Neither is looking for love or even friendship. Both want only to make it through another day. But when violence comes to Doubtful, Van and David’s only chance of survival will be each other.

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Seventeen years ago, I was faced with a major decision. My position directing a hospital-based toxicology and drug testing laboratory had ended when the laboratory closed, and I needed to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.

As I struggled with that decision, I awoke one morning with the image in my head of a woman walking along a shore, and I felt a nudge to begin writing about that woman. It took me a number of months, and when I finished the story, I thought it was wonderful. It wasn't. Far from it. But by the time I realized that, I also realized I'd discovered what I wanted to do the rest of my life. Write fiction.

I filed the story away and began working to develop my writing skills. Years later, after publishing four novels, I pulled that first story out and took another look. It was still awful, but I loved the setting: Doubtful Sound, New Zealand.

The first time I visited Doubtful, I was introduced to the profound silence. The second time, I spent several days sailing the sound, and yes, swimming with the seals.I began rewriting, letting everything I had previously thought about the two main characters fall away until, eventually, a new story emerged.

It still begins in the same place, however--with a woman on the shore of Doubtful Sound.