The spark of this story first came to life when I heard the Olympics were coming to Vancouver, probably in the early 2000’s. I knew my heroine was a downhill racer who’d been injured and the hero had a grudge against her.
I loved the idea of the hero blaming her for her father’s crime, ruining her life, only to learn she was innocent. Initially, he thought her father stole his design for an electric car, but when I finally came to write the story, that didn’t seem cutting edge enough. Dante is now an early visionary for self-driving cars.
I also have to give credit to a reader who wrote to me a few years ago and requested I write a Sicilian hero. I often plan my books out several titles in advance, but I have a corner of my whiteboard reserved for puzzle pieces like that. Tidbits that need to be fit into a book someday. Dante as a Sicilian was custom made for this story.
Enjoy!
