Many years ago, while living on the Queen Charlotte Islands in BC, Canada, I heard a native legend that really appealed to me. The story goes that if you see a killer whale close to shore that it is really the reincarnated soul of a loved one who has passed on but is coming to say goodbye…or as some say, just coming to visit their human families. I thought the concept was beautiful and certainly a lovely way to look at death. That legend stayed with me all my life and I found myself drawn to the orca, to their majestic beauty and wild free spirit. I often dream of them.

A few years ago, I thought “what if it’s true?” That’s usually how my novels are birthed. What if this happened? What if that happened? As Whale Song evolved I realized that the characters had become almost lifelike to me. They were telling the story. I knew before typing the first word where the story would start and end. And I knew that the legend I had grown up with was a key element to the story.