They say you should write what you know, but I prefer to write what I've stumbled into while traveling. As a writer who bounces between romance, thrillers, paranormal mysteries, romantic comedies, and spicier offerings, travel is as essential to my writing as my laptop.
Audacious in Aussie and Laughs in London
For anyone who's read The Seventies Collective, you'll know how I researched that series. So many hangovers, so many shenanigans—all with no idea they'd come in handy decades later. There were bars to dance on, outrageous songs to sing, festivals to attend, and all in search of ah-hem, authenticity. I like to think I nailed it. Or was that Chris? IYKYK.
Haunted European Castles and Paranormal Cozies
Nothing prepares you for writing paranormal mysteries like wandering through centuries-old castles. These monuments to drama, death, and destruction are perfect settings for the imagination to run free. Getting hopelessly lost in one of these organically 'designed' structures meant it was a given I'd end up believing in magic and creatures of the night.
Eight Days in a Leaky Boat
Kayaking on Lake Superior taught me that the largest freshwater lake in the world has moods—most belonging in a psychological thriller. The experience taught me that nature isn't just a backdrop; she's an active antagonist. It was something I leaned on when writing A Pound of Flesh (Sydney Hunter), where the New Zealand bush took a pivotal role, complete with wild pigs.
Saddle Up, Partner
A cattle ranch in New Mexico sounds like a romance cliché, and it was. Wide-open spaces, dramatic sunsets, the comedy of a city girl trying to look competent around cattle. It was screaming for a meet-cute moment. Sadly, the only hot ass I encountered was my own thanks to six hours in the saddle. One day though, Hope Malone will write that cowboy romance. Hold the blisters.
Tahitian Blind Date
Winning a trip to Tahiti through a Blind Date radio competition is exactly the ridiculous scenario I'd write in a rom-com—except it actually happened. This taught me to embrace the absurd. Plus, nothing beats the tropical paradise experience when writing beach scenes. And anyone who's read Part-Time Mermaid (Andie Low) will know I'm licensed to dive, with night dives being a favorite.
The Genre-Hopping Advantage
Travel has taught me that genres, like countries, have their own languages, but human experiences translate across all borders. Fear feels the same whether in a haunted castle or the vast Australian Outback. Love is universal, whether blooming in Tahiti or on a New Mexico ranch. And murder? That's always been universal.
The experience of travel adds authenticity to even the most outlandish plots. Readers can sense when the writer has felt the bone-chilling cold of a European castle, experienced ranch work exhaustion, and who knows what it's like to lead a pack llama through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. There's also the respect gained from their ass being only a layer of plastic away from the depths of an inland sea.
What countries or places are on your travel bucket-list? I've a hankering for Egypt next.
© 2024. All rights reserved.
ONLINE SHOP
