An innkeeper in one of the loveliest towns in taly was the impetus for my novel, The Violet Shawl. For on one evening she told me the tale of an American honeymoon couple and of how the bride was stolen from the groom during their stay. I wanted so to know what happened to that fateful couple, yet she said she did not know more. Somehow I kept that tale predominantly in my consciousness for months, until I had to write the conclusion for myself to...