Do you have a spare $5,900,000?

If so, you can be the proud owner of this house which is for sale in exclusive Glencoe, north of the city of Chicago.

When I write a book I like to have photos to work from, mostly this is my wall of cover art. When i get a new cover I always get it printed up poster size and put it up on the wall. In front of me at the moment is By The Numbers (Sanctuary 10) and Gabriel (Legacy 2), the next two MM books I am writing. They look so pretty.

When I began to create the Montana series I  took one of those wall calendars, the big ones, and turned it over. That was my blank canvas and it grew like topsy with pictures of characters and hand drawn maps. I know exactly what the place looks like in my head which means I can talk confidently about characters *crossing the bridge* or *going to the bluff lookout point*, right down to where they might tie their horses!

When I wrote The Code, the first in MF hockey series, I actually had a file about 40 printouts and notes thick, creating an entire hockey team, right down to the weights of each person and their contracts, even though maybe some of them might not be mentioned ever in any of the books! That way I can confidently say the team is a new team, or has veterans, I can call them a *heavier* team, or a experienced team, or whatever. Its the background to me that informs the story.

So, back to my house in Chicago, and when I say MY HOUSE, what I mean is, the house I found to stand in for Cole’s place. I wanted something super-unassuming from the road, but that hid much more beyond the simple frontage.

This was how I imagined Cole as well, and I wanted the house to be a reflection of his character. On the outside he’s the bad guy, a suspected murderer, and Sanctuary wants him. But, behind that facade, what else was there?

I found this house.