Why State College, Pennsylvania?

Some places never truly leave us.

No matter where life takes me, Pennsylvania continues to call me home in ways both quiet and profound. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, but my roots stretch far beyond the Main Line — reaching into Lancaster County, State College, and the beautiful rolling countryside surrounding Port Royal. Those landscapes, histories, and family ties have shaped not only who I am, but the stories I write.

The Matriarch Series began rather unexpectedly.

What started as a single story centered around Estella in The Philadelphia Matriarch slowly unfolded into something much larger. At the time, I had no idea one book would quietly plant the seeds for the next. By the time I completed Book One, I realized the story was far from over.

Then came The Matriarch’s Legacy.

It was within Florence’s story that the pathway toward the final book in the trilogy slowly revealed itself. Hidden almost like a whisper inside the family chest bequeathed to Florence was the beginning of a much older story — one that reaches back generations to Scotland and eventually to Pennsylvania itself.

The final installment, planned for next year, steps backward in time to trace the arrival of Frederick Watts and his wife, Jane Murray, who fled Scotland in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprisings and the hardship that followed. Like so many immigrants of that era, they arrived seeking stability, opportunity, and a future for their family in a new land.

Their descendants would go on to leave a lasting imprint on Pennsylvania history.

Frederick Watts’ grandson and namesake, born in the early nineteenth century, became a respected attorney, agricultural leader, and visionary deeply invested in the future of farming and education in Pennsylvania. His work and advocacy helped pave the way for the establishment of the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania — the institution that would later become Penn State University.

For me, attending BookFest PA in State College feels deeply meaningful because it brings the journey full circle.

This visit is not simply about a book festival or signing books. It is about returning to a place woven into both my family history and the very fabric of The Matriarch Series. It is about honoring the people and places that quietly inspired these stories long before I ever realized I would write them.

And perhaps most of all, it is about returning to the Pennsylvania countryside that still tugs at my heart every single time.

The winding roads. The rolling hills. The old farms and quiet towns. The golden evening light settling across fields that seem unchanged by time. There is something about Pennsylvania that continues to whisper stories to me.

I always leave a piece of my heart there.

This summer, I’m grateful to return not only for BookFest PA, but also to spend treasured time with family in nearby Port Royal. In many ways, this journey feels less like travel and more like coming home.

And maybe that is exactly what good stories do.

They lead us back to where we began.