Inspiration

Bernadette Walsh, author of The House on Prospect and Gold Coast Wives, is my guest. 

    A few years ago I attended what was billed as the “Griffin Tree Family Reunion.” Four sisters --the roots of the Griffin Tree -- immigrated from County Kerry, Ireland to Brooklyn, New York in the 1920s/1930s. My paternal  grandmother, Gert Griffin, was one of the four sisters.  As many descendants as we could track down -- the branches of the Griffin Tree --  gathered in the Catskill Mountains one summer weekend. Everyone pooled their bits of memories from these four women: pictures, keepsakes and old letters.

     One letter in particular struck a chord with me. My great-grandmother wrote to one of her daughters who’s husband was killed, leaving behind two small children. My great-aunt Agnes was left a young widow, an immigrant, and the only solace available to her from her parents were these thin sheets of paper. Almost eighty years later, the anguish of a mother unable to hug and console her grieving daughter rings through in these letters.

     My great-aunt Agnes lived well into her eighties and after her three sisters passed served as the matriarch of the Griffin clan. Agnes was strong, a survivor. She eventually met and married her second husband, a lovely man with who she had two more children. My cousins today remain a warm, close-knit family. Agnes’ story had a happy ending.  

     But what if? What if her second husband was not such a nice man. What if, left alone in America without the guidance of her parents, without the financial means to support her children, she made some bad choices, the consequences of which could ripple down into the generations. It was these “what ifs” that inspired me to write, The House on Prospect.

Review: "The House On Prospect is one amazing story. 5 Stars" by Miss Lynn' s Books & More

Bio

     I have always been a bookworm and had always meant to write a novel “someday.” You know, when I won the lottery and could live in beach house and look out onto the water and be inspired. Four years ago I decided to stop waiting for my winning lottery ticket and sat down and started writing in between work and family obligations, I piled the words on top of each other until they formed sentences, paragraphs, chapters and eventually a book. TheHouse on Prospect is my second novel. My first, a contemporary romance, GoldCoast Wives, was published in November 2011. The first book of my paranormal trilogy, Devil’s Mountain -- Book One of the Devlin Legacy, is due to be published in April 2012. While I’ve hopped around genres, all of my books to date have a common theme: strong women handling what life throws at them the best way they can.  Visit Bernadette's website.