I was a young man and worked in a program funded by the Department of Labor that took me to several work sites in Hickory County, Missouri. Sparsely populated and home of Pomme de Terre Lake, it is like a small slice of America. There are rolling hills, high wood-covered hills, and prairie. I have had deer jump across the road in front of my car, fished clear running panther creek, and attended family reunions overlooking the lake. When the idea for Rainbow Lake came to me, I instantly thought of Hickory County. Although my family came from neighboring Polk County and it is in the book, Hickory County was my choice.
Lucas Buchanan’s house was patterned after a distant cousin on the Pitts side actually lived. The abandoned farmhouse was the same house on my cousin John’s farm that I used in The Possessor. The hotel in Preston, Mo is from my imagination. The house where Mrs. MacKenzie lived was my memory of a house in Bolivar where my brother lived. Sometimes you have to put a face to your characters and Mrs. MacKenzie was Frances Bavier from the Andy Griffith show.
So, my writing includes old fond memories and that is why I had so much fun writing Rainbow Lake. Later, I’ll write about my characters.
