Q. how did you come to write The Teashop Girls?

A. I was vacationing in Florida in the summer of 2005. The small town outside of Orlando where my dad and brother live has a tea shop called Sherlock's. It was when I was sitting there, on its outdoor patio, that the title The Teashop Girls came to me. I'd been a freelance writer for many years by then and always enjoyed taking my laptop to work in coffee and tea shops and cafés. It seemed natural to write about such a lively--yet comforting and peaceful--setting. I remembered how voraciously I read books when I was 10, 11, 12 years old and how the books I loved at that age were warm escape from everyday cares. I wanted to create that kind of world for my readers, and when I looked around Sherlock's that day, I knew I had found my inspiration.



As the book grew, many things that I believe in found their way onto its pages. I've worked for a local business in Madison for many years and knew that supporting small shops was something that I felt passionately about and wanted to explore in my storytelling. It was so right to make The Steeping Leaf, the main setting of The Teashop Girls, a family-run business.



Also, I've always been a person who needs quiet time in life for reflection and relaxation. It was important for me to create a world in my fiction that honored this trait. So many young adult novels are focused on stressful social issues, glamour, or labels and brand names. I wanted my story to be warm, a little old-fashioned, and centered on things in life that matter most...friends, family, good food, and community. I'm proud to say that The Teashop Girls is about all of these things.