Where else would authors choose to live?

We asked three Montlake Romance authors — Melinda Leigh, Loreth Anne White and L.A. Fiore — If you could pick one place to live besides your current hometown, where would it be and why?

Melinda Leigh, author of Minutes to Kill

Where else would I want to live? That's a tough question. My hometown isn't exactly a small town, but it's very close-knit. People who grew up here tend to stay. My family is here. I went to grammar school with some of my neighbors, and a trip to the grocery store always turns into half a dozen conversations (especially late at night when I run in for some emergency item in my pjs, a coat and boots). I know almost everyone in my neighborhood. People look out for each other.

But, as much as I love the people in my town, I don't love Northeast winters. Below-freezing temps, ice and snow keep us in the house when we want to be outside. If I had to pick somewhere else to live, I'd move to Southern California. We'd be able to surf and ski and cycle almost every day. Both the beach and the mountains are within driving distance. More importantly, we have family there as well, and I'd love to spend more time with my nieces. To me, home isn't really a place. It's family.

But not everyone has idyllic memories. The Scarlet Falls series is all about going home and coming to terms with the good and the bad. The Barrett siblings had difficult childhoods, but when a shocking murder brings them together, they must let go of the past. They're going to need each other to survive the future.

About Minutes to Kill:

In Minutes to Kill, corporate attorney Hannah Barrett tries — and fails — to stop a kidnapping in Vegas. She can't shake the haunting image of the terrified young girl she couldn't save. She tells herself that a visit to her hometown in Scarlet Falls could be a welcome distraction. But soon, Hannah realizes the kidnappers have all the info they need to track her every move. And when chilling e-mails about the victim appear in her inbox, it's frighteningly clear what happened in Vegas has followed her home.

Eight months after a terrible family tragedy, Hannah turns to Detective Brody McNamara once again. Brody is eager to help, though he's embroiled in the investigation of a brutal murder. But the closer they work together, the stronger their feelings grow … and the more they stand to lose when two seemingly unrelated, but equally deadly, cases collide.

Minutes to Kill is the pulse-racing second novel in the bestselling Scarlet Falls series.

Find out more at melindaleighauthor.com.

Loreth Anne White, author of A Dark Lure

If I could pick one place to live besides my current hometown I'm tempted, for a moment, to say Big Bar Lake, the place that inspired the setting for A Dark Lure, and Broken Bar Ranch. This piece of Cariboo country is a slice right out of paradise with a clear, turquoise lake full with trout, forest all around, a big open sky and the Marble Mountains in the distance. However, the winters up there are long and cold and isolating. So, I think I'd have to choose one of British Columbia's Gulf Islands, for the ever-changing vista that is the Pacific with its orcas and seals and soaring eagles. The islands tend to be inhabited by colorful and often eccentric folk — wonderful muses for a writer. The weather is also relatively mild year-round. And on one of these islands I would love a patch of earth in which to grow vegetables, taking advantage of the longer growing season. (I currently live on a rock knoll and am lucky if I can get even one tomato to ripen before the first frosts!)

About A Dark Lure:

My character, Olivia, finds her sanctuary in Cariboo country. The isolation is just what she needs.

Twelve years prior she was known as Sarah Baker when she was abducted by the Watt Lake Killer and sexually assaulted for months before managing to escape. The heinous killer was finally caught and died in prison, but Sarah lost everything: her marriage, her child and the life she once loved.

Struggling with PTSD, she changes her name to Olivia West and finds a measure of solace working on Broken Bar Ranch. But as her scars finally begin to heal, a cop involved with her horrific case remains convinced that the Watt Lake Killer is still out there. He sets a lure for the murderer, and a fresh body bearing the signature of the notorious killer is discovered. Now Olivia must face the impossible — could the butcher be back, this time to finish the job?

As the frigid winter begins to isolate the ranch, only one person will be in a position to help Olivia: Cole McDonough, a writer, adventurer and ranch heir who stirs long-dormant feelings in her. But this time, Olivia's determination to shut out her past may destroy more than her chance at love. It could cost her her life.

Find out more at www.lorethannewhite.com.

L.A. Fiore, author of A Glimpse of the Dream

I'd love to live on the Irish countryside in a thatched-roof cottage surrounded by riotous and colorful garden beds. The pictures I've seen of Ireland, the cliffs, the rolling hills of green, there is such a majesty in the landscape, a real magical quality, that I could just lose myself in.

About A Glimpse of the Dream:

In A Glimpse of the Dream, Teagan Harper is barely 10 years old when she finds herself orphaned and sent away to live at Raven's Peak, a Gothic estate on the seaside cliffs of Maine. Soon, though, her heartache and loneliness are tempered by a blossoming friendship with the only other child living at Raven's Peak: Kane Doyle, only two years older than Teagan and abandoned by his mother. Over the years, the pair grows inseparable. First they're pranksters and confidants, but eventually their feelings change, and best friends turn into soul mates. On the cusp of Teagan's departure for a university in Boston, they share a glimpse into their happily-ever-after and make promises of forever.

But Teagan and Kane's engagement and dreams of the future are shattered when Teagan returns home to find Kane gone from Raven's Peak — and living with someone new. Devastated and heartbroken, Teagan cuts ties with her beloved adoptive home and tries to move on with her life. But years later, when the shocking truth behind Kane's betrayal comes to light, Teagan must decide whether to embrace her new life and let go of her past once and for all, or fight for her dream life with the only man she's ever wanted.

Find out more at www.lafiorepublishing.com.