Why a Baseball Romance Novel Set in Omaha?

OMAHA: The City of Romance

People may wonder why I have centered my romance series around the city of Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha might be known for its steaks, but it doesn’t exactly bring love to mind. Well, first off, I have grown up in the Midwest and I strongly feel like the Midwest is under represented in books in general. There has been a trend for novels to be set in the south and the coasts always get a lot of love but the big wonderful center of this country is unfortunately frequently overlooked in novels.

As for me specifically choosing Omaha, bear in mind that I had to choose a state that doesn’t currently have any professional baseball teams. Sure, there are many states like Texas, California, and New York that have multiple teams, but it wouldn’t be very believable to have a Midwest state with two teams. My home state of Missouri is the one exception. Nebraska fits this the bill perfectly. It’s in the Midwest and it doesn’t currently have a team.

Omaha does have a somewhat romantic connotation for me. While we were dating, my then boyfriend, now husband surprised me with an unplanned trip to Omaha for my birthday. It was basically one of those, pack a big for the weekend and get in the car kind of scenarios. I had no idea where he was taking me, but I was up for the adventure. We ended up in Omaha where we visited the Henry Doorly Zoo, walked around their downtown park, saw Omaha’s Union Station, and ate at some fine restaurants.

I really enjoyed my time in Omaha so when I had to come up with a midwestern town without a baseball team but that decent name recognition Omaha came right to mind. I think it’s fun to write about a city most people have heard of but have never visited. I have done quite a lot of research on Omaha’s history and development for the book. It is a city rich in culture and excitement. For instance, did you know Omaha is the 40th largest city in the country with a population of over 400,000 or that the college World Series takes place in Omaha?

I hope readers of my books will get to know Omaha better and perhaps even be encouraged to take a spontaneous trip of their own.