Fiction in Real Life #3 (Searching for Spice)

Like most authors, bits and pieces of my reality find their way into my fiction. Today I’m going to share a beautiful asset of my neighborhood, the Cherry Creek Trail. This past Sunday I took my first walk of the year on the trail (it’s been cold, okay?).

This photo is of the Cherry Creek Trail that is the setting for Linda’s walk on page 290 of Searching for Spice. The creek is on the right, beside the brush shrubs/trees.

The Cherry Creek Trail runs alongside the Cherry Creek (duh) which flows north for 64 miles until it reaches the South Platte River in downtown Denver.

The next photo is of the view from the trail, not very far from where the first photo was taken.

Can you see Linda and Belle walking out there in God's beautiful nature?

Fiction in Real Life #2 (Out of Her Hands)

I think it's fun to see how real life sneaks into fiction. Many authors take something familiar and weave it into their novels. A few weeks ago I posted about Linda's favorite chair from both Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands.

Both of my books are set in my hometown. I call the town Pine Grove, which is not its current name, but was a previous name of the town.

Today I'm going to give you a peek at the decorations on Mainstreet during the holidays.

On page 304 of Out of Her Hands my characters have parked their car and are walking through the park to the restaurant on Mainstreet I called The Gray Pony. By the way, I wrote this from memory, after having seen these lovely decorations for years. My town likes tradition, and doesn't change the theme. Thank goodness. Here's how I wrote it:

"I feel as if I’ve stepped into another world as we wind our way through the lit-up park to the street. Strands of illuminated white icicles dangle from the edge of the gazebo’s roof, and clear lights strung on garland are draped around the charming pavilion. Gigantic white snowflake lights hang high above, suspended from the lofty cottonwoods, some blinking as if they’re an illusion in the night sky. The trunks of the tall trees sparkle with a cloak of tightly wound white lights. The entire downtown twinkles in the December air, and even the Victorian streetlights dazzle passersby with necklaces of greenery accented with red velvet ribbons."

I took these photos on December 31st, 2008. This is another photo. It was taken later in the evening after darkness fell. You can see from the picture above how large these beautiful cottonwood trees are.

I love my little town park. Nearby are coffee shops, restaurants, neat shops, and a Baskin Robbins Ice Cream parlor. This past summer my Words For The Journey writers met here to have our author portraits taken by Pauline of Fat Tuna Photography.

If you read my books, is this how you imagined it would look?

Fiction in Real Life #1

A friend stopped by the other day. It was the first time she’d been to my house, and she walked from room to room as if she were looking for something. Turns out she was. She knew that the characters in my first two books shared my home, and she wanted to imagine them coming down the stairs or sitting in the living room.

So much of real life sneaks into the fiction authors are creating, so I decided to occasionally show a photo of a location or an item from my books.

This is Linda’s prayer chair from both Searching for Spice or Out of Her Hands.

It had belonged to her grandmother and when she needed a quiet moment she would settle herself into the Victorian antique and pray.

This chair actually belonged to my grandmother. We never met, she passed away only months before I was born. When I inherited the chair it was covered in chipped, black lacquer. It took me weeks of patient work to strip the gooey stuff from the intricately carved wood. We had it reupholstered about a dozen years ago.

The pillows are some that I made. I’ve always had a creative urge, and for a time I worked with designers to make custom pillows and table coverings.

These days I string together words to make stories. Speaking of, I better get back to my characters. I left them in suspended animation about to have a revealing conversation.