EBay

by Holly Jacobs on September 8th, 2009, 4:59pm Login or Register to post comments

E(rie’s)Bay Now, I think pretty much every computer-savvy, internetting person knows about eBay, but not all of them are as savvy about E Bay...otherwise known as E(rie’s)Bay. Okay, so no one knows it as EBay but me...but I’m starting a trend!

For those who’ve never come to Erie, you might not be familiar with our bayfront, but I assure you, you’re missing out! Our bayfront used to be a commercial area, but in the last few years, it’s become quite the vacation destination. There’s the Bicentennial Tower, the new Convention Center and hotel, the amphitheater with fantastic concerts in the summer (chillin’ to Jimmy Buffet tunes as the sun sets over the bay behind the peninsula....could there be anything better?) and of course, The Brig Niagra and its museum. Oh, you can dinner cruise, get some ice cream... It’s a great place for an evening stroll. And of course, you can always cross the bay and visit Presque Isle.

I write a lot about Erie and frequently mention the peninsula and the bay. In my upcoming SuperRomances (Unexpected Gifts 11/09 and A One-of-a-Kind Family 2/10) my stories aren’t set in Erie, but rather in Whedon, Pennsylvania–a small, fictional town, right outside Erie. Why? Characters in both books work within fictional programs that actually exist in Erie. Eli, in Unexpected Gifts, works for the school district’s Teen Parenting Program. The Erie School District has a similar program that’s been doing great work here for over a decade. In A One-of-a-Kind Family, the heroine, Anna, works for The Sunrise Foundation. A tiny non-profit that works with Whedon’s special needs residents (Anna refers to her clients as exceptional...I really love that term!), and here in Erie we have the much larger and utterly fantastic Gertrude Barber Center. So, moving outside Erie made sense. Keeping the stories close to Erie gave me glee... I mean Ebay is just a quick car ride away! What could be better? I hope you all enjoy Whedon! And if you’re in Western PA, make sure you give EBay a visit! Holly