About... LINCOLN POINT

There was something about Jefferson County and it's neighboring banks of Lake Ontario that attracted me, so much so I had to go visit and see for myself why this would be the perfect setting for my second novel, WHEN THE WORLD WAS SMALL. After using the windmill motif in my first novel, I was searching for another structure that would act as my story's beacon. The obvious choice, given that my story was set along one of the Great Lakes, was a lighthouse. But really, isn't that just too obvious? I envisioned instead an old stone tower, and as was the case with TILTING AT WINDMILLS, coincidence was just around the corner.

In the quaint, sleepy village of Sackets Harbor stands a magnificent stone tower, once used for water storage on the grounds of Madison Barracks, an old military stomping ground used during the 1800s. Now converted into apartments, homes, and even a hotel (the Old Stone Row, which I stayed at twice), the stone tower stands tall and proud, and it became the symbol for my story, one in which a young man dreams of leaving his little town, only to realize that he may already be where he belongs. In my story, and in Lincoln Point, I relocated the tower and made it more of an observation point. From there, George Denton could look out over the shimmering waters of Lake Ontario and dream of the world beyond Lincoln Point. But the real action takes place on a street named Archer Avenue, and the great old house the Denton's call home. Anyone driving along Smith Street in Manlius, you can check out the real-life inspiration for George's childhood home.