My favorite musical of all time is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It’s a movie I’ve loved since I was a kid — so much so that I used to make my Barbies act out the whole thing.

So, when I decided to write a Historical Western, I knew right away I wanted to do a role-reversal version of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I also knew I wanted to set it in San Diego, where I’ve lived my entire life. Once I started researching, I discovered so many things about the area that I’d never known before.

One of the biggest surprises was learning about snow in San Diego — which is incredibly rare. I found records of a major snowstorm that hit in mid-January of 1882. Originally, I planned to set the story in the 1860s, but once I read about that storm, I shifted the timeline to 1882 so I could include it.

San Diego County was once full of cattle ranches, but the cattle industry was nearly wiped out by 1865 after three brutal years of drought. I also learned that the first meeting of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors happened in 1853 — and that California only became a state in 1850, which is wild to think about.

I knew a fire had destroyed much of Old Town at some point, but I didn’t realize it happened in 1872. Since that was about ten years before the main events of my novel, it fit perfectly into the backstory of the seven sisters.

I also researched local law enforcement because I wanted one of the sisters to dream of becoming an officer. The sheriff at the time served from 1876 to 1882, but the first female deputy didn’t earn her badge until 1913 — which meant I had to rethink how far I could realistically push that storyline.

I originally wanted Naomi to admire Annie Oakley too, but after checking the timeline, I realized Oakley didn’t start performing until 1886 — a few years after my story takes place — so that idea had to go as well.
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Research definitely changed a lot of my original plans, but in the best way. It made the world richer, more realistic, and way more fun to write.