Destination - Italy?

It seems hard to believe that it's a week since I took the stage at the Choc-lit Ruby Virtual Festival. The authors are having a lot of fun with it, and I hope you've managed to catch some of the action. Today Jan and Marie are taking you to Greece and Paris, and if you haven't read my late afternoon extra from last week, on things to think about when choosing a location, it's the post below this one. It's aimed at writers - although readers might also find it interesting.

I had a hectic day at the festival. I'm out of practice, although I hope it didn't show, and it was an excellent refresher for when I again get a new publication day. Soon, I hope.

The festival is keeping authors in touch with readers in difficult times and bring a bit of brightness into lock-down, and as I said, we are having fun with it. And I got an unexpected bonus. As part of the action I put up a twitter poll to find which Riviera location people would most like to read about. It was a small sample, but the result was a surprise - the town of Portofino, on the Ligurian Riviera. I really didn't see that one coming, but it got the brain wheels whirring.

It's strange. Book ideas come in different ways for different authors, and sometimes in different ways for the same author! Sometimes it's just a scene, or even a phrase, or a plot point. In this case, I got the whole idea for a new story almost complete. It's got me excited, and I really want to write it. At the moment it's a novella, but these things do grow. It's quite a romantic story, although there is a bit of a mystery in there too, in the style of the Riviera series.  I have plans for a very hunky hero and a heroine who is looking to make a fresh start in a new country when she receives an unexpected inheritance.  I want it to have a Valentine feel to it. Who knows, maybe 14 February 2021?

First I have to get the WIP on it's way. It's showing remarkable sticking power in insisting it's not yet ready. And I have to agree with it at the moment, but we are getting there.

After that - off to a romantic and exclusive location in Italy?