Fire and Rain (48 page)

How was I going to make it rain? I had a long conversation with a guy at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado as I tried to figure out how Jeff could pull off his miracle. The guy I spoke with gave me enough information to make my brain hurt, but the bottom line was that I was looking for the impossible. So I had to invent the “trans-hydrators” myself, and the machinery and the way it works is as much a mystery to me as it is to the townspeople of Valle Rosa.

I knew I wanted Jeff to be a larger-than-life character, someone whose light was hard to hide even though he tried his best not to draw attention to himself. I decided to make him a real problem solver, a man who couldn’t help but be noticed. I found a Readers’ Digest book titled
Practical Problem Solver.
In the pages of that book, I learned ‘how to catch a mouse in an umbrella’, ‘how to pick up broken glass with a slice of bread’ and a few other Jeff-isms. Remember all this research was done without the Internet! I’m not sure I’d know how to begin today.

Mia was a challenging character to create. Having worked as a medical social worker, I knew all too well that breast cancer doesn’t care whether you’re young or old and the toll it can take on a woman as she’s just beginning her life adds an extra dose of cruelty to an already cruel disease. I interviewed a couple of women who were kind enough to talk with me about the emotional devastation they endured as they fought their cancer. I wanted Mia to have a gift, though, something she could lose herself in as she healed, so that is why I made her an artist. To complete my research on her, I visited a local sculptor who helped me understand not only how Mia would make her creations but how her art could feed and sustain her as well.

To understand Carmen’s world a bit better, I wrangled an invitation to sit in the newsroom of a Washington, DC television station both before and during a broadcast to observe what went on behind the scenes. It never fails to amaze me how generous people can be when I ask for help with my research.

Finally, a word about the dedication in the beginning of this book. While I was writing the story, my twenty-year marriage fell apart in one of those sudden, shocking, soul-searing ways you hear about but can barely believe. The man I’d considered my best friend was gone, but my women friends—wow. They rallied around me, each offering her own brand of support. They taught me so many lessons about friendship and I am forever grateful to all of them. Without them, I never would have been able to finish this book.

Thanks for reading this peek into the creation of
Fire and Rain
. Except for some very minor changes, this e-book version is identical to the original print novel. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

—Diane Chamberlain, 2011

I am indebted to the following people for generously sharing themselves and their expertise with me:

Sharon Brooks, Jeff Doranz, Elizabeth Falk, Virginia Herrmann, Mo Javins, Julia Mitchell, Jed Nitzberg, Rhonda Roberts, Craig Ross, and Pam Saunders;

To my former agent, Adele Leone, and my former editor, Karen Solem, for their unflagging confidence;

And, as always, to Cher Johnson, Mary Kirk, Peter Porosky, and Suzanne Schmidt, as well as to the Mount Vernon Writer’s Group. Thank you all.

Diane Chamberlain is the author of 21 novels. A former medical social worker and psychotherapist, she lives in North Carolina with photographer John Pagliuca and their two Shelties, Keeper and Jet. You can visit her
website
and her
blog
, and she is active with her readers on her
Facebook page
. Join her there!

I maintain a printable booklist on the
Books Page
of my website to help my readers keep up with both my new and reissued novels. A few of my books are linked and the list can help you read them in order. Also, some books have other titles in the United Kingdom and Australia, and the list will help you keep them straight. UK and Australian readers will find more help on my
International Page
. Here is a list of my novels available in both print and as e-books.

The Good Father (coming in May 2012)

The Midwife’s Confession

The Lies We Told

The Shadow Wife (originally Cypress Point)

Secrets She Left Behind

Before the Storm

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

The Bay at Midnight

Breaking the Silence

Summer’s Child

Her Mother’s Shadow

Kiss River

Keeper of the Light

The Courage Tree

Backlist Available as e-books

Secret Lives

Reflection

The Escape Artist

Brass Ring

Fire and Rain

Lovers and Strangers (coming in 2012)

Private Relations (coming in 2012)