The Inspiration Behind Emergency Exit

The opening of Emergency Exit, book 3 of the Valkyrie Brothers series, was actually the first scene I wrote in the series.  Ash Valkyrie sneaks into the building (because… reasons) via the service elevator and due to the loud vent system Harper Smoak has a misunderstanding about which party the elevator is heading for and… the hijinks and the plot ensue from there. The Valkyrie Brothers trilogy is a laugh-packed series of connected romantic mysteries starring the Valkyrie Brothers—Rowan, Forest, and Ash—as they struggle to find love AND stay alive in Seattle.

So I had the perfect set up for my characters! But then the scene sat there.  And sat there.  I would open it up periodically, re-read it and think… that is a great opening! Too bad I had no plot to go with it.  And then finally, finally, finally another elevator-based idea snuck into my head. What if the couple in the Smith Tower elevator weren’t the only ones to meet in an elevator?  And thus the premise for the Valkyrie Brothers began. But the series started and now ends with the Smith Tower.

What makes the Smith Tower Memorable?

Completed in 1914, the 38-story, the Smith Tower was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River until the completion of the Kansas City Power & Light Building in 1931. It remained the tallest building on the U.S. West Coast until the Space Needle overtook it in 1962. It was owned by the wealthy industrialist Lyman Cornelius Smith, and construction was completed by his family after his death in 1910.  It was designated as Seattle Landmark in 1984 and has faced a variety of economic misfortunes from careless owners, to low tenancy and a foreclosure sale in 2012.

But aside from being old, what’s it got that’s cool?  Architectural style for miles.  From the tower being clad in distinctive white terra cotta and a pyramid top to the tower that has an apartment inside, the building is an Art Deco beauty. But the real show-stopper was the Chinese Room.

Tucked on the 35th floor of the Smith Tower, the Chinese Room was reportedly a gift from China’s Empress Dowager Cixi, complete with a carved teak ceiling, blackwood furniture, and silk paintings, and even a famous Wishing Chair said to bring good luck in love. It opened alongside the tower in 1914, delighting visitors who would ride the original hand-operated Otis elevator to soak in the views—and the décor. Although the room was closed in 2014, much of its ornate charm—like the ceiling and chair—was preserved in a new speak-easy style bar space.

I’m sorry, did you say hand-operated elevators?

That’s right. The building was one of the last on the West Coast to employ elevator operators. It wasn’t until 2017 that the elevators were automated (and OK, renovated for seismic safety).  The elevators have lattice like scissor gates that allowed riders to see the floors as they go by and they have kept those, but now they operate with the press of a boring button, rather than by a gentleman turning a lever to the correct floor.

How did the Smith Tower Inspire Emergency Exit?

My business partner and I worked an event at the Smith Tower in early 2014, which means that we were one of the last people to see the original Chinese Room in all its splendor and ride up all those floors with the uniform-clad elevator operator.  And for years, I thought that it seemed like such a fabulous location that it needed to be commemorated in story and song.  But I can’t sing and I don’t write music, so fiction is what I’m bringing to the table.  And when it came time to write about the Smith Tower, I made the choice to fudge the timeline a bit.  I wanted to bring back the Chinese Room and elevator operators in all their splendor and inconvenience.  And I did!  So if you want to learn more about Ash, Harper, and the Smith Tower, check out Emergency Exit!

Emergency Exit, Release Date: 9/22

One bad ex. One fake relationship. Sometimes the only way out is the Emergency Exit.

When a misunderstanding lands new-to-town Harper Smoak at the wrong event with gorgeous tech investor Asher Valkyrie, she hopes she’ll be able to sneak out without embarrassment. But when she fends off his manipulative ex, Emma, by pretending to be his girlfriend Ash offers Harper $10,000 to continue the role and bolster his image while he works on a high-profile Pentagon project. Hesitant, but struggling with a debt she never asked for, Harper agrees. However, the faux-relationship quickly sends real sparks flying, and what began as simple arrangement quickly becomes something more. But while Harper and Ash draw closer, navigating Ash’s secrets, judgmental social circle, and Emma’s interference, test their growing bond. And when Ash’s enemies target Harper, Ash knows that he has one chance to make things right or Harper will be making an emergency exit.