by Nicole Flockton

Have you ever gone to a city or country that you never in your wildest dreams imagined you would visit?

In my book Bound by His Desire my heroine, Pam, gets the opportunity to go to New York as part of her new job. Being saddled with her mum’s medical expenses, she never thought she’d get to travel the world. When she arrives in New York and goes to Times Square for the first time she asks our hero, Nick, to pinch her so she knows she’s not dreaming.

Pam’s reaction was my reaction when I went to New York in 2011 for the first time for the Romance Writers of America conference. I never thought in a million years I’d be standing in the middle of Times Square looking at the building where the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. Seeing all those video screens that flash continually day and night. Walking the streets that are constantly full of people and traffic.

There are so many sites to see in New York, and of course Pam and Nick had to visit the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is awe-inspiring. Sitting on the ferry watching the statue become larger and larger is amazing, then getting onto the island and walking around her is humbling. She has stood the test of time, has seen many great things and witnessed one of the most tragic events of the 21st century. Lady Liberty looks over the river at a changed skyline now. I remember thinking that she must have been crying that fateful day in September. But she’d be proud of how her city has rebounded.

It’s hard to describe the energy and pace of New York. It really doesn’t sleep. It has a magic all of it’s own. And you really haven’t experienced life until you travel in the front seat of a yellow cab in rush-hour traffic. More cars than you can think of, and everyone honking their horn every second. Throw in a mass of pedestrians and you have a recipe for disaster—or so you’d think, except it works. I experienced that adventure last year when I went back. It’s an experience I don’t plan on repeating and one I won’t ever forget. But it’s one I plan on using in another book in the future!

The last thing he wants is an emotional attachment to his new assistant, but it might be the only thing he truly needs.