“Are you awake, Sis?”I was, but I didn’t want to be. The minute my toes touched the cold, wooden floor of our family cottage, my first impulse was to retract them back underneath the warm comforter.
But I had promised my brother I would go fishing with him before sunrise. I pulled on a pair of blue jeans, slipped into an old pair of flip flops and grabbed my jacket. Then, I helped my brother pull our life vests and paddles out of the shed before starting for the beach.
The grass was cool and damp with dew as we made our way to the shoreline. The first light peeked behind the mountains that formed the backdrop to Lake Winona. Radiation fog danced across the water’s surface, and the gentle colors of dawn beckoned the start of a new day.
My brother pulled our burnt orange canoe from the bank and slid it into the water.
“Hop in,” he said.
“Wait,” I said. “Just look at that.”
My brother paused to take in the grace and beauty of the scene before us. He grinned, “Aren’t you glad I asked you to come along?”
I ignored him and fumbled for my camera. Never before had I seen such a breathtaking sunrise.
I honestly don’t remember if we caught any fish that morning, but the picture I took has been a favorite of mine ever since. And years later, it made its way onto the cover of my second book.
A friend and talented graphic artist combined stock art elements with my picture to design the cover of Secrets Beyond Lake Winona’s Shore. And yes, there are some “true life” experiences from my childhood at the cottage that slipped into my story as well.
Lake Winona is truly a testament to the handiwork of the Creator God. My hope is that my story will be pleasing to Him and afford my readers with the enjoyment of engaging in a Christian fiction mystery staged around this beautiful shore.
