Why Provo, UT

A long time ago, Eliza and the man who she would someday marry moved to live together. She had been living in Sheridan, WY and he had been living in Bullhead City, AZ. She's the one who made the move but not because AZ was necessarily a place she wanted to live; she'd been the first to find work in his city. He wasn't originally from AZ either, but was living there out of necessity while he worked a valet job in neighboring Nevada to pay off high student loan debt. He was originally from Southern California, where the pair would eventually settle. When she moved, he flew up to make the drive with her. Provo was a city pretty close to halfway between the two places and it was the city they chose to get a room that first night when both were too exhausted to drive anther mile.

The clerk at the hotel where they stayed was uncommonly kind. The room was inexpensive and extremely clean. The city itself was tidy and well designed. Though both travelers were exhausted, they were also tired of the car and chose to walk to a nearby restaurant to eat. The walk was lovely. All in all, the little city seemed to be nearly perfect in every way and it didn't take the two very long to start dreaming about possibly living there.

Years passed and nothing came of the plans. Each time Eliza visited her family the pair drove through Provo and always made a point to at least stop there to eat. Talk of ever making a move there ceased, but it was a little dream of Eliza's. She kept up with news on the city and was always the one who wanted to stop there.

Provo remains a place she'd like to live. It's probably not in the cards now, but that doesn't mean she can't still dream a little. When building her romance series, Eliza decided that if she couldn't move there, her characters could call it home instead.

She still collects photos and news stories from Provo. If you'd like to submit your own shots of Provo, she'd love to have them featured on this site.