'Dead as a Doornail' is what inspired me to begin the [writing] process

Fascinating how grabbing a Sookie book before a long flight changed Nicole Peeler 's life and how she now has a 3 book deal to write stories about a young woman from Maine dealing with the supernatural; she has also landed a teaching job, in of all places Shreveport , LA.

Little did she know that a visit to her hometown of Aurora following completion of a doctoral program in Scotland would change the focus of her writing.

While visiting a local bookstore in search of something to read on her flight back to Scotland, Peeler turned to her 6-year-old niece for help. Her niece who pointed to New York Times' best-selling author Charlaine Harris' "Dead as a Doornail" in the fantasy section.

"Next thing I know, I'm on my way back to Scotland reading the book about a waitress from Bon Temps, La., who is about to drive into Shreveport to visit the local vampire bar," she said.

Ironically, as part of her visit back to the states, she was to complete the interview process for her current job as assistant professor of English at Louisiana State University in Shreveport.

Whole artcle here