Every so often a story pops into an author's mind driven by an idea or image formed by an actual event. Loads of fiction is constructed around actual parts of history. COTTAGE BY THE SEA is such a story by Debbie Macomber, who was deeply touched by something that happened on March 14, 2014, near Oso, Washington. Ripped from the headlines, there was a tragic mudslide that wiped out homes and killed people in its path. Debbie Macomber envisioned the effect this could have had on possible survivors. Welcome to COTTAGE BY THE SEA.

What if your entire family is wiped out? Everyone but you? After the mudslide that took her entire family away from her, the only family Annie Marlow had left was an aunt and cousin Gabby who did all they could to help through the quagmire of legal issues that piled on top of an already grief stricken young woman. No amount of medicine or counseling could get Annie to find a way to continue her life when she had lost so much. But something her counselor said did get through: think about a time or place where she had been happy. That place was the rented cottage by the sea in Oceanside. Returning there brought back many memories of happy weeks spent with her family. The town was so inviting and hadn't change much over the years. Annie made a decision to return to Oceanside and take advantage of a job as a PA, promising to stay for one year. Coming to Oceanside just seemed like a breath of fresh air and a chance to hopefully find some peace. Annie is determined that at least for the next year she wants to live in the same cottage that her family had rented: her happy place, her happy years.

Keaton had spied Annie thirteen years ago running on the beach with a bunch of teenagers and her brother. Something about her caught Keaton's eye, but true to his impossible shyness and angst about his size, the best he could muster was a quick uneventful "hi." Annie sweetly answered his one word greeting and on her way said she would see him next year. But not mater how much he looked for her year after year, Annie never returned. Keaton was always a big fellow who was taunted by nasty names and plagued by a horrible relationship with his father. While his life is very compartmentalized, he's a good guy, and Annie had a place in his heart, all these years later. Now that Annie has returned to Oceanside, Keaton knows he has to take a chance to get to know Annie better. Will Annie learn to trust again after tragedy?

Keaton is probably the most loving character you will ever meet. And you can't help but hope that somehow these two realize how much they have grown to respect, need, and love each other. Along the way, they also have some major impacts on those around them then even better. COTTAGE BY THE SEA is an amazing tale of rebuilding lives, day by day. I can't think of anyone other than Debbie Macomber who could have written a romantically hopeful story from the ashes of the death of an entire family.