Years ago, I went on a Caribbean Cruise with my mother. It was a wonderful chance for us just to get away together and enjoy one another’s company. Of course, it was also a fun vacation, relaxing and rejuvenating trip, too. 

Now, as all of us do in airports and malls, I love to people watch. As an author, I also enjoy imagining backstories of the people I encounter. I’m sure you’ve done this a time or two, or maybe you have a friend like me who drives you nuts with this habit. I distinctly recall one afternoon, as we sat on deck chairs soaking in the sun, driving my mother crazy with my creative spins on who this or that person was and what they were doing on the cruise. Still, this little habit of mine has served me well. 

In fact, it was the impetus for my book, Mistaken Identity. 

One day, by the pool, two people nearby got into a heated argument. While you don’t want this to occur between guests on a vacation, nor should I have paid them any mind, I admit I did. Especially when the man accused the woman of not telling him who she really was. No, I didn’t listen beyond that point. Common curtesy set in, and I got up and moved. Still, I was rattled by the experience and even more bothered by what the man had meant by “who she really was.”

You can probably see where this is going. My imagination went into overdrive and I started down the path of “what if?” What if these two people had fallen hard for each other on this cruise? What if this woman’s ex-husband was a criminal? What if the man was tasked with bringing him in? What if this meet cute was fate bringing two people together by the one person who could take them both down?

That was the beginning, but certainly not the end, of my Mistaken Identity book launch. The book, and the series, is in the works, but stay tuned. There’s more inspiration and ideation on the way.