HOW IT HAPPENED

 Over many years the Lincolns have written an illustrated Christmas letter to their friends, the response to which has been, "When are you two going to do a book together?"

 It was a logical question as they have functioned as a team for years. His photographic skill has preserved scenes for her future studio work. Her artistic sense has made her his best literary critic.

 Then a wild but magnificent, four day, northeast storm confined the vacationing Lincolns to a tiny inn, the Compass Rose, on Grand Marian Island. This was the catalyst that got their first novel underway. The Sucker Brook System transcends the typical murder mystery, although it should satisfy the devotees of that milieu with murder and more murder. But it goes beyond to present a nostalgic view of life in the small mill town of Ware, Massachusetts in the 1930's. Of special meaning to residents of that town, it actually reflects life in thousands of such towns around the United States, thereby gaining a certain historical significance.