On Writing: How a True-Life Experience Inspired My First Novel

With a Preview of The Renaissance Sisters…

August, 2003, Tucson, Arizona

“I’m sorry to say that you and your siblings did not inherit your aunt’s primary residence — her will specifies that the house on Cordova goes to her late partner’s daughter, Barbara,” the attorney told us.

“Is this coming as a surprise to you?” my sister asked. “You were closer to Aunt Sabin than any of us.”

“We didn’t really talk about it,” I said, shrugging. I hadn’t know my estranged father’s older sister for very long, and I knew little of her past history.

“The back taxes on the Sherman Street house will be deducted from the estate, and then you’ll receive the remainder. The title for the house will be transferred to your name,” he continued, “and you can decide what to do with it. It’s on a large lot — nearly two acres — with a mountain view.”

“What? What house?” my sister and I asked, simultaneously.

“You aunt has owned it for years and mostly operated it as a rental. I’m not sure if anyone’s living there now, but I can look into it for you.”

In the spring of 2020, I knew I wasn’t going to come out of Covid isolation in good form unless I had something to…