When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…

My fantasy vacation is this month’s theme on Romancing the Genres. I love to travel, although I don’t get to take-off as often as I’d like these days. So, for me and all the other armchair travellers out there…this is a perfect excuse to wallow a while in fantasy-land.

If I had to choose only one perfect vacation spot…I’d choose two. Ha! I cheated. It’s my fantasy and I’ll make up the rules as I go along. Italy and Spain are at the top of my list of amazing countries I’ve visited. Any fantasy vacation would have to include visiting those two destinations again…

That’s amore!

Once I had my bags packed and managed to round up my husband and two boys, I’d be off to Italy. In First Class, of course. I’ve never actually sat in First Class but it’s on my bucket list. Why not travel across the globe in style, sipping Champagne, then actually lie down on an overnight flight?

Photo of Florence – the city at sunset

The city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy, is arguably the most gorgeous and romantic city in the world. I had a chance to travel there twice so far, once in 1999 as part of a university study tour to several European companies. I spent a lot of my spare time there just wandering through cobblestone alleys and winding streets and eating gelati ice-cream.

Then in 2005, I got to travel back with my husband on our honeymoon. One of my favourite things to do there is climb the hill on one side of the river Arno, for the view right over the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio, and the whole city. I took some photos and stumbled across a small chapel with a group of monks inside singing Gregorian chants, like I'd stepped back in time to the middle ages.

Both times I visited, the city hit me with a double-whammy of romance and history. I’d go back to the Uffizi gallery in a heartbeat to admire one of my favourite paintings in the world – Botticelli’s Primavera. And of course I’d say hello to the statue of David and tour the renaissance buildings such as the palaces and old monasteries in the Tuscan countryside.

Detail of woman in a Botticelli painting

Since this is my fantasy, I’d also eat as much as possible without putting on any weight. The best gelati ice-cream in the world, delicious pasta and steak, and the Chianti wine made by traditional winemakers in the hills. While I’m imagining, I’d stay at a luxurious palazzo with a swimming pool and enjoy the summer sunshine without the heat we get in Australia.

Fiestas of fun

I visited Spain for a month in 2010 when a family member got married there. On this trip I had both my husband and our little 13 month old son in tow! He actually learned to walk in the El Retiro Park in central Madrid, toddling around on the grass. Later, he had hours of fun running up and down the pedestrian mall outside our hotel.

Royal Palace – Madrid

On my fantasy trip, I’d spend hours or maybe days wandering around the Royal Palace in Madrid, before making my way down south to the equally magical south of Spain. I’d let my boys run wild in the acres of park land and then take a trip down to the wonderful Medieval hilltop city of Toledo about an hour away by train. We'd stay somewhere with banquets of paella and Spanish flan, then go see some flamenco dancing.

When I visited Barcelona with my family, the city was in full-swing summer festival mode. A massive stage had been setup by the waterfront for free concerts, the popular boulevard La Rambla was packed with people rambling each night, browsing market stalls and eating tapas. And there were random art shows and performances around every corner. I loved wandering around discovering things such as a parade of giant marionette puppets representing historical characters.

I’d take my boys to the Gaudi-designed cathedral, La Sagrada Familia, which looks like something conjured from a fairytale. We’d buy swords from the traditional armour-makers in some of the old parts of the city and play pretend knights in an old-world hotel that used to belong to nobility.

La Sagrada Familia  – Barcelona

No fantasy trip of mine would be complete without shopping, so I’d be ready with indestructible credit cards to hit all the Italian and Spanish boutiques. Especially shoes, boots and handbags. Don’t ask how many pairs of shoes I brought back from my last European trip…but considering I only have two feet, and I had to buy a new suitcase, it was a few.

Finally, I’d stop off at a few places I didn’t get enough time to see last time, like the seaside resort town of Malaga or the island of Majorca and just relax at the beach.

P.S. – Remind me to actually finish writing the book I have in draft, with a few chapters set in Spain!

P.P.S – My debut novel, Girl on a Plane, has a lot of travel in it too. It's on sale now for 99 cents US! Buy links - www.books2read.com/girlonaplane 

 

About Cassandra O’Leary

**Winner of the global We Heart New Talent contest run by HarperCollins UK. Nominated for BEST NEW AUTHOR in AusRomToday 2016 Reader's Choice Awards for excellence in Australian romance fiction**

Cassandra O’Leary is a romance and women’s fiction author, communications specialist, avid reader, film and TV fangirl and admirer of pretty, shiny things. Her debut novel, Girl on a Plane, was published in July 2016. 

Cassandra is a mother of two gorgeous, high-energy mini ninjas and wife to a spunky superhero. Living in Melbourne, Australia, she’s also travelled the world. If you want to send her to Italy or Spain on any food or wine tasting ‘research’ trips, that would be splendiferous. 

Read more or sign-up for Cassandra's newsletter at cassandraolearyauthor.com

Overheard on ... Romancing The Genres

By Deanne Wilsted

“How do you research your books on Italy?”

Deanne and Friend

I am so thrilled to be asked back as a guest on Romancing the Genres, and especially to post about such an interesting topic. Thanks for inviting me!

As many of you know, I have two books published, one of which, UNTANGLING THE KNOT, was set partially in Italy. More importantly, I had such fun writing about Italy in that book that I decided to set a new story entirely there. Both books base the main character in Tuscany. But in the new story, MOLTO MAYHEM, the main character travels all over Italy on a hunt for missing religious icons and a mysterious company. It’s a fun book, filled with food, and place and crazy characters. I hope to have it out this year, but in the meantime, you can check out more about it here.

And, while I could talk about MOLTO MAYHEM all day, what I was asked to write about was how I actually researched the setting for the two stories, while sadly stuck at my desk (or local Starbucks) here in the Northwest of the US.

My writing process is pretty organic… no elaborate 3x5 cards for me with plot points and character arches. Although I begin with a synopsis, my characters tell their story as I take them on their journey. And, what I have found, is that by writing about interesting locations, the characters have tons more to say. So that, as much as characters driving my plot points, setting does as well.

I’ll give you an example, in MOLTO MAYHEM, the hero, being English, thinks all can be solved over a cup of tea. They are travelling in Salerno and I need them to see something interesting while they are there. First I have them simply stop for Gelato, but it doesn’t give me enough of a sense of the quirkiness and history of Italy and doesn’t add any depth to the characters. So, I begin to research Salerno and the surrounding area. I find something intriguing, a special garden attached to a university and known for being a spot where students learned about herbal remedies. Like a dog with a bone, I dig deeper. It mentions words like Tisaneria and The Four Humours. I do more research, expanding it out to my local tea shops to speak with people who might know more. I find I am immersed in the ancient world of Hippocrates.

I’ve added an excerpt of this section to my website so you can read it there if you are interested. But suffice to say, this takes my characters into a completely fictitious, and hilarious encounter with two Italian men. And later, it directly results in the main character having dreams that help resolve a major conflict in the story.

It is misleading to suggest, though, that my process is entirely by the seat of my pants. Knowing that the story was set in Italy I put in place a few key pieces of support before I got farther than the first chapter:

1.     I researched the best translation and/or slang Italian websites, and had them on my favorites bar, ready to use at a moments notice. Some favorites: http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-italian/café, http://becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com/,  and http://www.italylogue.com/about-italy/italian-idiomatic-expressions.html

2.     I downloaded a map of Italy, with roads marked. And I favorite an Italy site which could calculate driving distances/times.

3.     I pulled out all of my old photos, brochures, and books from past trips to Italy and kept them with me as I wrote.

4.     I don’t use Pinterest, but I did make my own version of a pinned wall on my computer, with inspiring photos of Italy, the architecture (which plays a major role in the story) and people.

5.     I downloaded my favorite Italian songs as a soundtrack while writing.

6.     I watched a bunch of movies in preparation for, and then whenever I needed some inspiration while, writing. My favorites were: Only You, Under a Tuscan Sun, Letters to Juliette, and a new addition, The Trip to Italy.

Once I began writing, I used the above resources to help me research locations, themes, words, and cultural details. I also used Google Earth to get down to the road level of any towns where I sent my characters. (Here’s an example for the map where the Tisaneria is in Salerno: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Giardino+della+Minerva/@40.68123,14.753565,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xb6d3b7de2db48795)

To me, the very best part of setting a story in a foreign locale is the chance to get to know more about the culture and the people there. (It also doesn’t hurt that in some cases you can write off research trip expenses directly related to your writing…. But check with your accountant before making an assumption on this:>) I took two trips to do fact checking on my Italy stories. But to be honest, most of the detailed Italian information came from the above research.

It is tricky not to let web surfing take over your writing time… especially when you have set your story someplace as wonderful as Italy. But at least in my case, my characters wouldn’t let me ‘stop-over’ very often before they would demand I send them on to their next adventure.

Here’s to you own virtual trip to Italy or wherever – may it be a Journey Inspired by Love.

Ciao,

Deanne