Some places stay with you forever. For me, that place is Lake Winnipesaukee.

Every summer, my family would pack up and head to the lake for vacation—my mom, dad, sister, and me. It was a simple tradition, but it became the backdrop of some of my favorite childhood memories. We did all the typical “lake stuff”: fishing, swimming, and spending endless hours jumping off the pier into the water. Those moments were pure joy; the kind you don’t fully realize are special until you look back years later.

There was this little restaurant we’d visit a few times while we were there. It wasn’t fancy, but it had so much charm—mismatched curtains, red-and-white checkered tablecloths, and the kind of small-town warmth that feels like a hug when you walk in. That restaurant, just as I described it in my novel, became one of the many threads that wove themselves into the story of For Sale.

At one point, my mother told me that she and my father were going to start looking for a cabin on the Lake. It was going to be our family’s place, a little lakeside retreat where we could create even more memories. But life had other plans. My mother passed away a few years later, and that dream never came to be. Still, the lake, the memories, and that sense of “what could have been” never left me.

That’s where Mirror Lake in my novel was born. It’s a fictional place, but it’s deeply rooted in those real experiences. I wanted to capture not just the beauty of a lake town, but the emotional pull of a place that holds family history, unspoken dreams, and—sometimes—secrets.

Lakes are magical like that. On the surface, everything looks calm and perfect, but beneath, there’s depth, movement, and stories waiting to surface. That’s exactly what I wanted to explore in For Sale. The lake isn’t just a setting; it’s a character in itself—quietly reflecting the lives, losses, and hidden truths of the people who call it home. Writing about Mirror Lake was my way of revisiting those memories and imagining the “what ifs”.  It became a place where nostalgia meets suspense, and where a family’s legacy is more than just a piece of property—it’s a part of who they are.