Seattle
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Seattle's Pier 69
I love Seattle! Not only is it my hometown, it is also the setting for my Grayce Walters contemporary romantic suspense series. The city, with all of its unique features and elements, is practically a character itself, alongside Grayce, Davis, Hollie, James and the assorted animal heroes.
One of Seattle’s most distinctive features is its waterfront. Even this element has different nuances. From the actual port—a hub for international trade, regional transportation and industries such as tourism and commercial fishing—to the downtown shoreline along Elliott Bay, Seattle’s waterfront is by turns dark and gritty, bright and glitzy, urban and trendy, quiet and pristine.
I have featured the Seattle waterfront in all of my Grayce Walters books, including MEN UNDER FIRE, which releases May 26. The diversity of this Pacific Northwest coastline provides a variety of locations, each suited to a different mood or event within the story.
Pier 69 is one such locality you can “visit” in my upcoming release, MEN UNDER FIRE. The Central Waterfront piers are numbered 46 (in the south) to 70 (at the north end). Pier 69 is the location for the Port of Seattle headquarters where the commissioners hold their public meetings, as well as the passenger ferry that carries folks to the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia.
There are many unique features that make Seattle the dynamic, vibrant city that it is. Read the Grayce Walters series and see how many well-known landmarks you recognize!
Cover Reveal: MEN UNDER FIRE
MEN UNDER FIRE, Book 3 in the Grayce Walters series has a cover! Meet Nick Welby. He looks exactly as I imagined my hero from WOMEN UNDER FIRE. Nick brings Talley, his bomb-sniffing dog, to Grayce for help in treating the dog’s PTSD following an IED explosion having heard of Grayce’s healing abilities using animal acupuncture. Thanks to Kim Killion for another fantastic cover design.
Dancing with the Swans
What is your favorite ballet?
Using local settings in my romantic suspense books
I’m currently working on the next book in the Grayce Walters series, MEN UNDER FIRE. Writing contemporary romantic suspense requires just as much research as historical romance suspense, but it’s a different kind of fact-finding. Since my books are set in Seattle, where I happen to live, it’s easy to incorporate my research into other activities.
For example, I volunteer as children’s tour guide and frequently lead groups through Pike Place Market. Because of spacing limitations, many of the marketplace vendors store their inventory in the Sanitary Market food locker. It’s rather dark and foreboding — the perfect backdrop for something sinister or dangerous, don’t you agree?
I’m also developing a female character who is a rocker trying to break into Seattle’s grunge music scene. To get some insight into this character, I interviewed Gretta Harley, a local musician. I believe this authenticity enriches my stories so that when readers step onto the page, they enter a world that is part fiction, part fact, but always entertaining and compelling.
Is there a location in your hometown that would make a good setting for romantic suspense?
Make a date with a whale
Residents of the Pacific Northwest–indeed, everyone who lives on the West Coast of the U.S–have the unique privilege of living along the migration routes of several different species of whales, including orcas, minkes, humpbacks and grays. Sightings occur throughout the year, but March launches prime whale-sighting season.
If you’re planning a visit to Seattle, consider signing up for a whale-watching tour. TV and photos cannot capture the true majesty of these incredible mammals, and there is something awe-inspiring about seeing them in their natural habitat.
The best time to go whale watching depends on what type of whale you hope to see. These recommendations were collected from information provided by Island Adventures Whale Watching.
Orca: May-September
Minke: August
Gray: March-AprilHumpback: October-November
These photos were taken by a friend of mine in Hawaii. Pretty amazing, aren’t they?
