Inspiring Experiences - Romance Writers Weekly - #lovechatwrite

A photo from our trip to the Azores. The "carpet" is made from flower petals. This is the festival I write about in No Life But This.

Here’s this week’s topic:

What real-life experiences have inspired your romance writing?

Wow. What real-life experiences haven’t inspired me?

Before I even knew what a meet-cute was, I loved to hear about how people met their partners. Some of those stories you just can’t make up, LOL. It was hearing some of those that made me want to write my own.

And then there are the people I meet. I’ve never used a real person as one of my main characters, but I have certainly used them to inspire me. Sometimes it starts by wondering “Who is their perfect love match?” That can set off all sorts of interesting ideas.

I think my biggest real-life inspiration for my stories are locations. I live in a beautiful part of the world, and my characters enjoy visiting many of my favourite places. But the story that was heavily influenced by a location is No Life But This.

Sao Miguel is an island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. My husband’s parents emigrated from there to Canada in the 1950’s, and in 2013 we were lucky enough to visit. We attended a religious festival at their tiny parish church, and I couldn’t help but include that experience in the book. It gives Abigail a deeply personal insight into Santos, and I greatly enjoyed reliving my own memories when I wrote the scene.

Now hop on over to Jenna Da Sie to find out what real life inspiration she has to share.

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NO LIFE BUT THIS

​​​Abigail Garsson feels trapped in her safe, boring, conventional life. Desperate to escape, she signs up for an adventure vacation on the Portuguese island of São Miguel.

Santos Carregado enjoys introducing tourists to his tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic. At first he barely notices the unassuming Abigail. He soon finds her meek exterior hides a vibrant woman who teases his senses and ignites his passion.

Abigail is stunned to discover the handsome, confident Santos is attracted to her, but his fiery kisses and searing caresses convince her to accept a sensuous invitation.

Will the realities of life shatter Abigail's holiday daydream? Or can the shifting sands of a short-term fling become the rock on which a life-long relationship is built?