The first six of my Konigsburg, Texas, books began at the Dew Drop Inn in downtown Konigsburg. I started doing this in Venus In Blue Jeans because I’d come up with a scene where the hero and heroine really wanted to meet eat other (they were powerfully attracted across a crowded room), but just couldn’t seem to manage it. The next three books were all about the other Toleffson brothers, and having them hang out at the Dew Drop made a lot of sense. Book 5, Brand New Me, was a little tougher since the hero, Tom Ames, owns his own bar, so I had him checking out the competition. Having Nando Avrogado, the hero of Book 6, Don’t Forget Me, start off at the Dew Drop also made some sense since he was drinking to forget his lost love.

Fearless Love, Book 7, starts in a chicken yard. In fact, nobody in Fearless Love goes anywhere near the Dew Drop. I didn’t exactly do this deliberately, but I knew this book was going to be different the further along I got. I love Konigsburg, and I love the people I’ve created there. But sometimes it’s fun to branch out, and I did that a lot in Fearless Love. It has new characters, new places, new situations. And I think that’s a plus. In a long-running series, you need to try new things just to keep it fresh.

Most of the book takes place at either the Rose restaurant (located at the Woodrose Inn, the plush bed and breakfast that’s shown up in several of the books) or the, shall we say, humble chicken farm owned by the heroine, MG Carmody. MG and the book’s hero, Joe LeBlanc, go into Konigsburg occasionally, mainly to visit the Faro and the folks who work there, so those of you who have read the other books will get to see a few familiar faces. But a lot of Fearless Love happens in new places around Konigsburg—a couple of honky tonks, for example, and the kitchen at the Rose.

So no Dew Drop. No Docia’s bookstore. No Sweet Thing. But a lot of new places and people to meet. It might take some getting used to, but I think you’ll like it. There’s more to Konigsburg than Toleffsons, after all.