By Sarah Koehler | Photo by Holly Leitner
For author Maureen Leurck, setting two of her novels in Lake Geneva was as easy a decision as digging into a cheeseburger at Chuck’s or listening to live music at Mars Resort — some of her own favorite local activities. Leurck, who grew up visiting the same Powers Lake cottage her mother frequented as a child, says the Lake Geneva area holds a special place both in her heart and in the pages of her books.
Leurck’s first novel set in Lake Geneva, “Cicada Summer,” may have extra resonance with readers during our current cicada summer. It tells the story of recently divorced house-flipper Alex Proctor. “[Alex] undertakes the restoration of a century-old house just a few blocks from Geneva Lake during a cicada summer,” Leurck explains. “Amid overgrown grounds and rooms brimming with debris, she finds treasures — pocket doors, hardwood floors hidden beneath layers of linoleum and grime — and carved initials that reveal a long-ago love story involving an elderly neighbor, Elsie, and another cicada summer.”
Leurck explains that the story is one of second chances and redemption, a tale which shows Alex “searching for a way to reconcile her new life with lingering feelings for her ex-husband … all set against the backdrop of beautiful Lake Geneva.”
Leurck, who also writes under the name Maureen Kilmer, says that her childhood days in Wisconsin were almost rustic, with no access to television, phone or air-conditioning, and yet, she says they were some of the best days of her life. “We thought it was the most fantastic vacation ever,” she recalls. “Visiting the Lake Geneva area was one of the best parts of childhood, and I’m proud to say that I’ve continued the tradition with my kids, who love it as much as I do. There is nothing more beautiful or idyllic than the lake on a warm summer day. I wanted to bring this wonderful place to the page, and share it with readers.”
“Cicada Summer” isn’t the only time that Leurck has used Lake Geneva as the setting for one of her novels. Another book, “Monarch Manor,” published in 2020, is also set in Lake Geneva, and Leurck says she suspects these won’t be the last of her works to use the picturesque setting. “I visit the area several times a year, usually at least once a month,” she explains.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, when she visits the area now, one of her favorite places to stop is a place filled with books — the Lake Geneva Public Library. “It’s such a wonderfully peaceful retreat away from the hustle and bustle of the town, and the lake views are unmatched,” she says. “There is something truly magical about the building.”
