Michele with her book at a signing event.

For many authors, writing a book is a lifelong dream. That’s not the case for mortgage loan originator Michele Cope, whose children’s mystery Linda & Michele: The Search for Snow Creek Circle was published in 2012.

“To be honest, I really didn’t start reading novels until I was about 40 years old!” says Michele, who fell in love with the work of cozy-mystery writer Laura Childs, best known for Death by Darjeeling and other titles in her Tea Shop Mysteries series. “Before that, my go-to books were nonfiction entrepreneur books, financial books, marketing books, and real estate books.”

Michele spoke to Shorelines about her literary proclivities.

Win a copy of Michele’s book!
Want to win a copy of Linda & Michele: The Search for Snow Creek Circle? Email shorelines@northshorebank.com and tell us who your favorite author is, or what your favorite book is. We’ll choose a random winner from everyone who writes in. Deadline is Monday, November 28.

You discovered a love for writing as an adult — how did that happen?
I discovered I enjoyed writing when I was vice president of escrow at a previous job and had to create continuing-education courses for real estate agents as a marketing tool. It doesn’t sound glamorous, but it was where I began. I moved on to writing articles for real estate journals and magazines. I didn’t even think about writing fiction, let alone mysteries!

So how did you end up doing so?
A group of friends — including one who has a degree in literature and another who is an amazing poet — and I were talking about books we’d read and how some of the most famous authors didn’t become famous until after they had died. They were joking about how that would happen to them, too. I said, “Why wait to be famous until you’re dead? Let’s do it now!”

They said, “No way! Do you know how hard it is to get published?” But I just said, “Game on, guys!” And two weeks later, The Search for Snow Creek Circle was on its way.

You said you pounded it out in eight hours.
I sat at my computer and just wrote. The children’s books I’ve written are legacy stories about my twin sister, Linda, and me. I used to tell the stories to my children at bedtime, so it really wasn’t too difficult. I just had to write one down.

Twin sisters Linda and Michele as kids.

What’s the book about? Where did the idea come from?
Linda and Michele are out exploring their new neighborhood. Along the way, they see beautiful sights and make new friends. But when it’s time to go home, they can’t remember how to get back there!

I grew up moving every year — I have moved over 30 times and went to six different elementary schools and three different high schools. My twin and I had to find our way around, so we would get lost all the time. And since I’ve been in real estate for so many years and worked with lots of families, I thought it would be a fun story for the families I’ve helped find their new homes. It worked out great.

Do you work real estate into all of your writing?
Absolutely! My stories all incorporate real estate, my twin, and tea!

What plans do you have for your writing career?
I have six other children’s books, for which I need a new illustrator, and two novels being finalized. I’m self-publishing all of these books this go-round. The first novel is called The Bludgeoned Blogger.