Time to Blog Hop!

 

It’s Tuesday, so that means it’s time for the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop. I’ve sat the last few out, busy on my work in progress.

Welcome to everyone who’s hopping over from S.C. Mitchell’s  blog. His new book “Captive of the Kratzen” is coming out soon. Check out his just revealed cover, it definitely piques my interest.  He also came up with today’s topic, and it’s a fun one. He writes, “Let’s take a trip. Pretend your publisher has offered you a two-week vacation anywhere in the world to inspire a new novel. Where do you go and why?”

Ooh, so many options! I love to travel, especially internationally, and haven’t really had the chance lately. It’s tempting to pick London. I lived there for a bit and would love to go back. It’s a beautiful,

cosmopolitan city with so much to do. To paraphrase the great English writer Samuel Johnson, “When you are tired of London, you are tired of life.”

 

I would love to spend two weeks there reliving old times. I lived near the Houses of Parliament. The building is beautiful, especially at night. It really is a romantic city. Sigh. But, alas, I’m not sure my publisher wants to fund my trip down memory lane. Hmm…maybe I should think about setting a book in London! Then my publisher might fall for it…er, be willing to fund my trip because it’s work related. Goodness knows a lot of women love a sexy British accent (I sure do!). I’m sure I could come up with a dashing hero.

But, until I do, I have to live in reality, I think my publisher would only pay if my trip is book-related. All three novels in my Montgomery University series including my most recent book “The Comeback, are set on the East Coast. I live on the East Coast, so I don’t really need a two-week trip.

The Navy SEAL hero of “The Comeback” was introduced in a novella set in Hawaii. That would be a fabulous place to take a free trip, or a paid trip for that matter. That’s not my chosen destination though.

So, care to take a guess where I’d like to take my trip. Here’s a musical hint:

 

If the amazing Tony Bennett didn’t tip you off, here’s another hint. My next series will be set in California, my home state.  I would love an all-expenses paid trip to my beautiful Golden State. (Speaking of Golden State, Go Warriors!) It’s set at a fictional university in California’s wine country. You’re might be thinking it would make more sense to take my imaginary trip to Napa or Sonoma. But I would opt for San Francisco and just take day trips up to wine country. I love San Francisco and I haven’t had a chance to spend more than a few days at a time there in many years. I went to school across the bay at U.C. Berkeley and lived in the East Bay for a few years afterward.  I have friends who still live all over the area, I’d love to see them, catch up, eat great food, and see how much things have changed. “The City” as my Bay Area friends call it, is one of my favorite places, even though I grew up in SoCal and lived there recently. I’m one of those rare Californians who loves the Bay Area and Southern California equally. No rivalry here.

I’ve put myself in a good mood! Thinking about good times and good places (and free trips!) I hope my thoughts have sparked some wanderlust in you!  And speaking of lust (ha!) go visit Marc Stevens’s blog, he’s next on the hop. I wonder what adults-only spot he wants to visit?