The story for The Innkeeper's Gift came about during a last minute Christmas shopping trip at a mall in Alpharetta, Georgia on Christmas Eve of 2004. While shopping, the story began welling up in his heart and on the verge of tears, he dropped his unpurchased items and quickly sped home. Once home, he went straight to his computer and began to write. Three and a half hours later The Innkeeper's Gift was born. It has been quite a journey for this story from the time of its original writing to the final publication. The cover illustration was inspired from the manger scene Pierce's mother has had for years.