My new book Three Bodies by the River is a work of fiction, but you will recognize places in it, including the “river.”

A key scene takes place on a lake in Northern Michigan. When I wrote the scene, I had in mind a lake where I had spent five summers teaching young boys to swim, boat and have fun in the clear, clean waters.

In the summer of 2020, during the pandemic, I had the opportunity to finally finish the novel. Once, done, I had the desire to see that lake again.  My wife flew through Detroit, and drove through Michigan with me, experiencing the sadness of the lockdown there. We had to park by the road and walk through the woods to reach the lake. Usually teeming with the activity of the camp that still operates there, the cabins were deserted, another victim of the lockdowns. We found the lake empty, but beautiful beyond my memories.  And my wife took this picture of me looking out on it.

The book is a work of fiction. But for me, there are memories that are real, and will be cherished forever.