Christine Carbo’s love affair with the wilderness began when her father left a lucrative job in Florida and moved the family to the Montana mountains. She was 12.

Life and her love of adventure has since taken her all over the world, but the Montana wilderness is ultimately home. It’s fitting, then, that her debut novel, “The Wild Inside,” is set in Glacier National Park.

“The park is its own character,” Carbo said. “And writing this story ... I had the privilege to dive into that world.”

Carbo was born in Gainesville, Florida. She moved to the Flathead Valley with her family when she was in eighth grade, and graduated from Flathead High School. She went on to attend Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, but was bitten hard by the travel bug while there.

She studied abroad in Norway, then attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. She also obtained her private pilot’s license during that time.

While attending Embry-Riddle, Carbo discovered she was enjoying her literature classes more than the others. That realization took her back to Pacific Lutheran, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in communications.

Carbo knew she wanted to pursue a master’s degree, but wanted to spend more time traveling and saving money before embarking on that endeavor. She found a way to do both for about a year working as a flight attendant.

She did go on to earn a master’s degree in English and linguistics from the University of Montana in Missoula. After graduating, she moved back to Kalispell and was hired as an adjunct professor of English at Flathead Valley Community College.

Carbo worked as an English professor at the college for almost 10 years. She said she enjoyed teaching, but at the same time “had this idea that I wanted to write a novel.”

She began to write creatively, just for herself. She even took a “continuing education” course on novel writing at the college.

“The aim of that class was to write your first 30 pages by the end,” Carbo said. “And I thought if I could get 30 pages done, I was well on my way.”

Carbo’s thinking proved true, with her first 30 pages becoming 50, and then 100. Over the next several years, she finished what she described as two “non-genre” novels.

Unfortunately, life interfered with seeing either through to publication.

Around the time she completed the second novel, she was also going through a divorce. With a four-year-old son and only a part-time job, Carbo set aside her personal writing to focus on surviving. She took on some technical writing work on the side to supplement her income. The stress and time demands forced her to walk away from her own creative work for almost a decade.

The stress and workload took a toll on Carbo’s physical well-being as well, and she decided to take up Pilates. It wasn’t long before her instructors approached her about occasionally substituting for classes.

“I guess they assumed because I’m a teacher that I could just step into that role,” Carbo said, laughing. “And I knew if I set my mind to it, I could teach anything.”

She decided it was worth becoming a certified instructor if she was going to continue to fill in. And when the opportunity to open and operate a studio of her own came along, she couldn’t turn it down.

Having her own business also freed up time to get back to her own writing. She described the urge to write as a “little voice inside, saying ‘I need to write something.’”

Carbo followed the little voice and began planning another novel. She said she struggled at first, trying to decide what direction to take.

“I decided I should write what I love to read, which is crime fiction,” Carbo said. “And I wanted to tell a story set in a dynamic and interesting place.”

She found exactly that in her own backyard: Glacier National Park.

“I wanted to write intimately about something I know, so I couldn’t write about life in a city,” Carbo said. “I chose [Glacier] because of the wild aspect of this place.”

“The Wild Inside” features not only the park, but also one of its most famous inhabitants.

“When you talk about grizzly bears, all ears perk up,” Carbo said. “I wanted to tap into the respect and fear of that creature we just happen to live close to.”

“The Wild Inside” will be released on June 16 by Atria Books, a division of Simon and Schuster. Carbo will hold a local book release party June 16 at Tupelo Grille, 17 Central Ave. in Whitefish, from 5 to 7 p.m.

“The Wild Inside” will be available for purchase locally at Bookworks in Whitefish. It is also available at all major book retailers online, as well as by audio download from Blackstone Audio (www.blackstonelibrary.com).

Carbo said the second novel in her two-book contract is already complete, but a release date has yet to be announced. The next book isn’t a sequel per se, but uses the same setting of Glacier as a backdrop.

“I can’t think of anything more fun than visiting Glacier, sitting down with this story in your hand, and experiencing that thrill,” Carbo said.

Carbo currently lives in Whitefish with her husband and three children.

For more information or to purchase “The Wild Inside,” visit www.christinecarbo.com.

Entertainment editor Stefanie Thompson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.