Building Grady, NC: Where Fiction Meets Reality

Building Grady, NC: Where Fiction Meets Reality

One of the most rewarding parts of writing my books has been creating the fictional town of Grady, NC. Grady appears in After the Fall, Beneath the Surface, and The Girl Time Forgot, serving as a home base for the characters and their stories.

While Grady is fictional, it’s firmly rooted in reality. I placed it in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, and used the real town of Tarboro as my model. The charm of Tarboro—the streets, the historic buildings, the small-town atmosphere—helped me shape Grady into a place that feels alive and authentic, even though the characters and events are entirely my own.

In The Girl Time Forgot, the story expands beyond Grady, taking readers across North Carolina and into the Charlotte Metro area. This allowed me to explore different settings and give June Calloway’s investigations a broader scope, while still keeping Grady as the heart of the world. Grounding the story in real locations like Charlotte adds layers of authenticity that complement the fictional town.

Creating a fictional town rooted in reality allows me to balance imagination with authenticity and hopefully gives readers a place they feel they could actually visit. Even if only in their minds. Across three books, Grady has become more than just a backdrop; it’s a character in its own right, shaping and reflecting the journeys of Gabe, Nate, and now June Calloway.

Fun Note: One thought I have had is to work with an illustrator to create a town map of Grady. So stay tuned!