stillpoint

musings from Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington ... home of The Write Spot

Monday, December 01, 2014

walking between the pages

On my travels this fall, I wandered into the small Ontario town of St. Marys. Even though I was positive I'd never visited before, the feeling of homecoming as I drove down the main street was strong enough to raise goosebumps. 

Crossing the Thames River bridge, into St. Marys, Ontario

I stopped to explore "The Stonetown" - so called because of its many lovely old buildings made of limestone from a local quarry - and suddenly I knew. This was the real-world version of Riverdale, the small quarry town Anne Norman and I had created for our novel, Rock Solid. And there came the goosebumps again. It was like walking into the pages of our book.



"Main Street, Riverdale" - Rock Solid



"She craned her neck to see around the horribly overgrown hedge of Chinese elm
that hid his house from the street. Good. No sign of the shiny black car." - Rock Solid

 


"Wandering leisurely through Street's backyard and along the riverbank, Rachel was charmed by the peaceful setting. Vivid images of its eventual transformation crowded her mind as she carefully measured distances and scribbled notes on important features and interesting plants. This would someday be a very special place, she thought, anxious to begin her sketches and see the project under way." - Rock Solid
 


"Riverdale Place" - Rock Solid
 


Town Hall in The Stonetown, St. Marys
 


My unexpected ramble through St. Marys is a pleasure to remember - it's a town I'll forever imagine as the face of Riverdale. For more information about the real-life Stonetown, visit their web site at townofstmarys.com.

Rock Solid by Cheryl Cooke Harrington and Anne Norman is available from Montlake Romance in hardcover, paperback, and for your Kindle.

 

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4 Comments:

At 2:03 am, Blogger Sheila Seabrook said...

I love Rock Solid, Cheryl, and it's great to see pictures of how you imagined Riverdale. :)

 
At 7:16 am, Blogger Cheryl said...

Thanks for stopping by, Sheila. I'm so glad you loved Rock Solid (me too! ;- )

Our fictional town was so vivid in my mind, it was kind of spooky to find myself in a real life place with so much familiar about it!

 
At 3:41 am, Anonymous Susan McNicoll said...

I like your descriptions so it is time for me to read Rock Solid as I loved Sparks Fly so much.Love St, Marys. Stayed there a couple of times while at Stratford with my mother.

 
At 10:07 am, Blogger Cheryl said...

Susan, I'm delighted that my ramble through St. Marys has made you want to read Rock Solid. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as Anne and I enjoyed our collaboration. Thanks for stopping by! ~Cheryl

 

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