This house, the Parkison House, at the Grand Encampment Museum absolutely steals my heart. I am utterly in love with it and the way it invites me to come inside, teased its way into my heart and just begs me to tell my story here. Inside these walls.

And in my own way, I am.

I am using this house for my characters, Savannah and Inola—I knew it was their home the moment I walked in. In its day, it was considered a very nice, fancy house, what with two parlors and a dining room and three bedrooms overhead, along with a modern bathroom, kitchen, and laundry/pantry/sewing area. There is even a root cellar.

The last time I was there, one of the high school docents shared that she was convinced the house was haunted. Things move, doors close without anyone being around. Can it get any better? Not to a writer!

Yes, it is that experience of having been to a place, that makes the story telling so much fun. I love that I’ve stood on that front porch, I’ve walked the same wooden steps as my characters. Each day, in my mind, I open the front door and walk in, letting the scenes that I’ll be writing come to life like a movie.

Some days I come in from the back and into the kitchen, where in my story it is warm and cozy and smells of freshly baked pie.

I close my eyes and listen for Savannah’s footsteps. Or for Inola lending her advice.

And then I begin to write.

Personally, I would like to move in and just write my entire book from the dining room, looking out at the little copse of birches behind and it and see what stories the house whispers to me.

Tell me about a place that inspires you!