Where Believable Worlds Come From

People assume that building a believable world means inventing everything. Most of the time it’s closer to the opposite. The worlds that feel real on the page are usually built from things I already know, things I had to go learn, and one or two things I twisted on purpose.

The easiest setting I have is Phoenix. I’ve lived here for thirty years, so I don’t have to stop and look anything up. I know what the pavement feels like in July, what people do the first time it rains, and how the city sprawls past the point of sense. That’s why A Rainy Day came together so naturally. The setting wasn’t something I had to build. It was already in my bones, so I could spend my energy on the character.

The Idea, the Place, and the Title (In That Order)

The story didn't start with Phoenix, or even with rain. It started with an idea I woke up with one morning: a person finding photos of themselves, ones they have no memory of taking, at places they’ve never actually been. I searched around to see if anyone else had already written something built on that premise and came up empty, which was enough to convince me it was a subject worth chasing. The title, A Rainy Day, didn't arrive until I was about halfway through writing it, once I understood who Roz actually was: someone who saves things back, who's been waiting on a change she's not sure is even coming.