Every author hopes for readers so engaged with the story and characters that they can’t wait to find out what happens next.

“Belonging” challenged me in ways I could not have imagined five years ago when I decided to cross write a novel off my bucket list. The sweet summer read romance that brought Ali and Darien to the pages of “Reservations” churned up the storyline that became “Heartland.”

But I couldn’t stop there. Marisa demanded her place of “Belonging.”

So the circle of New Life in Love that began in New York City cycles to conclude on the west coast of Scotland with a heart-stopping handsome, yet lonely man who yearns for everlasting love with the lass who will be his wife.

The last tale in the trilogy will be published by or before October, the month when the uncomfortably good-looking executive chef met the beautiful love of his life at a charity gala in Manhattan.

Will these characters rest or return? Or will another set of circumstances cease my muse? I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Thank you to Holly, the staff and volunteers at the Clinton Public Library and Wide River Winery for pulling together a fantastic end of summer weekend for regional authors and their readers. Connecting with Leigh Michaels, the author who wrote the book on romance writing, surpassed my already high expectations for the quality of this event.