Adieu to Asia! I’m so sad to leave — I’ve had the most amazing time. This next section of my trip accelerates considerably, as I rocket through Europe. I’m not stopping anywhere longer than two nights, so I have to cram as much seeing and experiencing as I can into every stop.
With only a day here, my sojourne in Paris is très bref, but I am making maximum use of my time. I’ve walked more than 17 km through the city, enjoying every spectacle grande.
I do admit to feeling a bit of culture shock when taking this shot of l’Arc de Triomphe the day after I had been shooting pix of the Gateway to India in Mumbai.
I’ve been to Paris before, but it was a long time ago, and for some reason I am enjoying it so much more this time. The metro is marvellous and has saved my aching feet, and all the French lessons I took last year when I broke my leg have proven useful.
No one has mistaken me for native, but one man answered me in Italian — which, okay, clearly my accent isn’t perfect, but it made me laugh.
My favouite element of this great city might be the expression-filled statuary.
This fella, prancing at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, is going to be my new go-to when expressing shock on twitter. As in…
What have you done NOW, kc?
Or how about…
Not AGAIN, kc!
The details are always the best part. This peek down into the cellar of my b&b is a story in itself.
And crossing the Pont Neuf, it’s hard not to think about all these love stories…
Alas, for today, it is adieu to Paris. Time to head to slightly chillier climes [climbs?]
I’ve been in Mumbai this week, and as I sit here, trying to encapsulate the experience, I can’t. This city is so incredible, wild, incongruous, contradictory — there are too many words. There are not enough words. Mumbai has taken my breath away, and infused her own essence into me, and I’ll never be the same.
So, today, here is a mere sliver of this city, in all her beauty and complexity and chaos.
I spent most of the week walking, walking everywhere. This was, for me, the best way to see the city, in all her furious contrasts. The buildings that house the richest families in India are a short walk from the slums of Dharavi [which you may remember as the shooting location for a little movie called ‘Slumdog Millionaire’].
The ladies pictured here are waiting for their train in the former Victoria Terminal, now Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus. [Quite a few of the more prominent buildings have had their colonial names replaced by Shivaji, who is a hero to the Indian people, for his skills as a warrior-king, and essentially founding the Maratha Empire, which spelled an end to Mughul rule in the 17th C. The stone image of Victoria herself, which used to grace the front of the station, has been removed from from her seat, and though she was given a new home in a local museum, rumour has it that no one can find her now.
These gents are dabbawalas, delivering lunches from Churchgate, which is the local train station. They collect up lunches from thousands of homes and restaurants, and with a hand-devised numeric system that puts Uber Eats to shame, deliver them to their correct recipeints daily, with a tiny margin of error. [There’s a great Bollywood film called ‘The Lunchbox’ based on one of the few times the dabbawalas got it wrong.]
Playing with fire — or in this case, water — my visit to India coincided with the scheduled arrival of the monsoon. Monsoon season is always welcomed, as Indians crave a break from the tremendous heat of summer here. [As evidenced by this shot of the street, that was actually melting under my feet.]
Melting tar on Mumbai streets
Unfortunately, as I flew in, so did Cyclone Vayu, a huge tropical storm that stalled off the coast of Gujarat. While Vayu never actually landed near Mumbai, it sucked up all the rain in the area, delaying the monsoons for at least a week. The wilting heat I can attest to, and the few brief rainstorms that swept through WERE welcome, and — as a Vancouver girl who knows her rain — they rated right up there with the worst rainfalls I’ve ever seen at home. Except, you know — warm.
One of the characters in this new story is a foodie, so when I tell you I ate my way through all the vegetarian cuisine I could find in the city, you can believe me. I think I’ll do a food post soon, but here’s a quick glimpse of what might be one of my favourite meals — a thali. So many delicious flavours in one place — curries and dhals and chapatis and pickle and papadum and every bite was incredible.
I can’t finish without thanking Khursheed Kanga for hanging with me so much this week, and Mahtab Narsimhan for introducing us. I wouldn’t have had a tenth — a hundredth — of the adventures I had here without her. Thank you also to Karen Vaz for collecting a fellow travelling karen and taking her to lunch. Namaste, my friends!
There’s so much more — So. Much. More. — but, I have a plane to catch, and more of this ever-growing story to write. I leave you a shot of the sun setting over the Arabian Sea, with Mumbai silhouetted in all her brilliant, undefinable beauty.
I’m flying away from Asia with determination to return someday. But I’m not heading home just yet.
At a little under two degrees off the equator, Singapore is the furthest south I’ve ever managed to visit on this planet. And this city has definitely managed to persuade me to line up more destinations in the southern hemisphere for future journeys!
I’m not in the unique city-state of Singapore for long, so my goal is to see as much as possible in the little time I have. Anyone who knows me will tell you that shopping is not really my thing, but if it’s yours? This is the place to be.
About 1/5th of Jewel’s indoor waterfall
Singaporeans not only know how to shop, they know how to entice YOU to shop. I watched ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ on the flight over, which should’ve given me a heads-up, but I’m not sure anything can prepare for what this city has in store. Case in point: the first thing you see upon arrival at the Changi International Airport is the world’s largest Jewel.
This is, of course, the enormous shopping complex that is literally attached by walkway to the airport. Jewel is home to the world’s largest indoor waterfall, a rainforest garden that runs to five stories, and more shopping than anyone could ever dream of.
Met this guy with his mate in the streets of Chinatown.
Once you can tear yourself out of the glittering Jewel, the city itself is delightfully diverse; an amazing mix of cultures that each bring their own flavours to the table. Singapore is a mingling of people of Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan and many other descents. Speaking purely selfishly, this makes finding a mammoth variety of good food both adventuresome and fun.
The Singapore Metro is a marvel, very easy to navigate and inexpensive to use. I had to head down to Chinatown to pick up my metro-pass, and it was an experience. Walking through a Singaporean Chinese market at lunch time is an assault on the senses of the best kind. Chinatown is a riot of colour and scent and sound, but with its own unique flavour, very different than that of Hong Kong.
The colours of Little India.
Further north, I walked through the brilliant colours of Little India in the midst of an epic Singaporean downpour. As a Vancouver girl, I’m pretty comfortable in the rain, but let me tell you, Singapore knows how to put the tropics into its precipitation. Luckily the streets in this section of the city are all equipped with substantial overhangs. Still, when the rain is falling so hard it bounces above one’s head, an umbrella isn’t really given the chance to do its job. Luckily, I found a laundrette in Little India, too, run by a lovely man who gave me a bottle of water as a reward for walking so far.
I spent a day at the National Museum, where I learned much about the colonial history of Singapore, and the privations this tiny place experienced during WWII. As I left, I came across the second bride of this journey; this one posed on the elegant steps near the front. I wonder if I will meet any more?
Back on the streets, I have to say that Singapore shows the most variety I’ve ever seen when it comes to vending machines. Along with every possible foodstuff, there are machines that sell vitamins, health care products, and books. Machines will freshly squeeze you a glass of orange juice or scoop you an ice cream cone. I saw several machines that collected [and presumably, later returned] laundry, but I have to admit my favourite was this one, billing itself as the first Norwegian Salmon ATM. I mean, really, where does one go from here?
Fish for sale!
It’s been an action-packed few days in the Lion City, wandering the streets, eating the food, visiting the mosques and temples and gardens filled with super-sized glowing trees and dragonflies, but my research is calling and it’s time for me to move on.
Have you been to Singapore? What is your favourite place in this larger-than-life metropolis? What have I missed?
And can you guess where I’m heading next? Stay tuned.
I’m here in Hong Kong, and I left my brains back outside on the roof. Mind officially blown, is what I’m saying, by this astonishing city. You know, I’ve been in some big cities in my time — got a number more coming up on this journey, too — but I have never been in a place so unapologetically VERTICAL as Hong Kong.
The view from my roof…
So, as you know, I’ve undertaken this little jaunt to add a little sensory realism to to my upcoming novel [which, I’ll just add, is going through a title change at the moment. More on that later!].
This is now officially a problem. I mean, there’s a little sensory flourish here and there, and then there’s what’s happened to me here in Hong Kong. Which is essentially a sensory frying pan to the skull.
But in a good way.
Hong Kong City from Kowloon
I have to save some of the coolest stuff, cause it’s going in the book [which — uh — is getting longer by the moment], but there’s so much — SO MUCH — that is cool about this city, it’s impossible not to share some of it.
Eggs hard-boiled in tea.
The food! This cosmopolitan city has zero trouble coping with vegetarians. I mean, don’t get me wrong. My first night here, I still saw a bunch of skull-less pig heads hanging by their noses in a marketplace, and roast everything is def on the menu.
The weather! You know, I did know cognitively that Hong Kong is in the tropics, but I had it brought home in a big way when I stepped off the plane at nine at night into 30 degrees C, 99 % humidity. But it’s worth it. This city is worth all the sweat, and tired legs and limp hair, because — it’s HONG KONG!
Hong Kong Night Market
The markets! Seriously, I’m not sure that there’s anything you can’t get here. Wait! I just thought of something. One thing I couldn’t find was a sticker saying ‘I love Hong Kong’. Everything else you can possibly emblazon with this sentiment is available, but not a sticker to be had. Luckily, I found postcards! But for everything else you could possibly want, and ESPECIALLY if what you are looking for a is a primo knock-off, this is your city.
Afternoon metro crowd
The crowds! Uh, yeah. With a population on the ground of seven and half million, there are a few people around. The metro system is amazing, complex and functional and always on time. I especially enjoyed following this bride and her groom [at the top of this post] through the subway one day, but in the end, I balked at joining the crowd at the end, and walked instead.
I have to say, taking the trains NOT during rush hour was a pleasure. And I only made that mistake once.
Well, I could go on forever, but I’ve got ground to cover. So, let’s take one last vertiginous look at this vertical city — from the un-fenced roof of my hotel, 30+ storeys up.
You know, I’ve really never had a problem with heights, and even looking at this shot gives me no qualms, but taking it?
Reader, I was terrified.
So good-bye Hong Kong, my new dear friend. I hope we meet again soon. I’m off again… can you guess where I’ll be next?
More soon…
~kc
Edited to add:
Hopping back on the page here to say that I’m watching in horror as the anti-extradition protests are raging through the very streets I walked along last week. Good wishes won’t take anyone anywhere, but my thoughts are with the people of this amazing, vibrant city during these turbulent times.
My travels took me on to Yokohama this week, and it was a day of absolute discovery for me. Japan, after being pretty much flattened in the Second World War, has done an extensive and brilliant reconstruction of their lovely country. It’s been fascinating for me to wander the streets in my comfortable role of ignorant foreigner, always looking for something new to learn.
A gorgeous day on the Yokohama Seafront
Yokohama is an ultra-modern port city, second only to Tokyo in population in all of Japan. The waterfront is a wonder of soaring towers and sail-shaped hotels, and feels light years away from its origins as a tiny feudal fishing village. I spent most of my time along the water, filling in my mental picture for a scene or two that will be set here in the new novel. I walked for miles, and stumbled upon a few things that will surely find their way into the story.
Japanese Coast Guard Museum
Yokohama is not only home to the CupNoodles Museum [yes, the entire place is devoted to its namesake!], but also a completely fascinating museum devoted to the Japanese Coast Guard.
As an island nation, Japan takes the sovereignty of her waters very seriously, as is evidenced by the rusted remains of a North Korean spyship. Captured after a gunfight at sea in 2001, the ship blew herself up and sank, and was later retrieved and mined for information by the Japanese Coast Guard.
The retrieved corpse of the bullet-riddled spy ship
Visiting Japan has taught me so much, and I am so grateful I’ve had the opportunity to see some of the wonders this beautiful country has to offer for myself.
But this whirlwind of a journey takes me onward. Can you guess my next destination?
As promised, I’m reporting in from [what is for me, at least] the world’s longest road trip, as I seek to add a bit of sensory reality to my upcoming novel EIGHTY DAYS IN APRIL.
Denizen of the Tsukiji Fish Market
Destination number one, which you may have guessed if you follow me on twitter [#80DaysofResearch]– is Tokyo. This is my first time in Japan, and it’s been an amazing start to my research trip. I have been to Seoul before, so I have at least had a wee sample of Asia, but of course, the cultures and cities are very different. [Apart from their respective attitudes toward vegetarians. Both countries are like: “Are you crazy???”]
I still haven’t quite mastered the time situation — though my internal clock at home doesn’t really fit conventional norms, either. Arriving here from Vancouver meant time-travelling a day into the future, which has been wonderful and surreal, but if this post hops around a bit, let’s blame it on the jetlag, shall we?
Sea Urchins prepared with a dash of wasabe…
There is, of course, way too much to see in this vast and cosmopolitan city for the time I have, so this is the merest taste of all Tokyo has to offer. This is a city filled with people who love to shop, and most of the stores are enclosed in enormous malls, many in the skyscrapers that dominate the horizon.
Still, I managed to get a decent glimpse of old Tokyo. From Sensō-ji, Tokyo’s oldest buddhist temple to the Tsukiji fish market, I’ve spent my time here walking a million miles and hopping on and off countless trains and subways to take in as much as I possibly can.
I think my favourite thing so far was this little rack, inside the incense-filled temple of Sensō-ji. This Buddhist temple was first sited here in 645 AD, and though it’s been flattened many times since, the rebuilding is always a sign of rebirth and peace. Inside, visitors can select specially-numbered O-mikuji fortunes, which can offer any possibility from a blessing to a curse. This particular rack is designated for those who receive an ill fortune and want to be rid of it. I love the idea of discarding bad fortune!
Crowds at Nakamese-Dori market.
New foods tried include tamagoyaki, a kind of sweet egg omelette cake [comes in many variations!], along with dried blood oranges, craisins and nuts from a street stall and iced green tea. New skills learned include mostly mastering the train and metro systems. Biggest fail has come from my general lack of success finding vegetarian choices. The Japanese love their meat and fish, and as a result, my mealtimes are more eclectic than usual!
I’ll leave you with my fave pic of a dribbling dragon, busy helping visitors cleanse themselves [with water, and then smoke] before entering the temple.
Okay, so Laura Bradbury’s not just my queen, but she is the queen of the ‘My Grape’ series of autobiographies. And this year Laura, who has recently come through a life-saving liver transplant, continues full-speed ahead, with all flags flying. An internationally best-selling author with her Burgundy-set series, she’s decided to branch out and has written her very first novel. A VINEYARD FOR TWO may have a familiar setting — vineyards are, after all, what Laura knows best, but eveything else about the process has been new to her — and I was lucky enough to have a chance to sit down for a chat. Care to listen in?
kc: Welcome, welcome, Laura! I’m so excited to have you here. Let’s jump right in, shall we? You, my dear, have had a series of best sellers in nonfiction memoir — more about those in a minute. What was it like writing A VINEYARD FOR TWO, your first novel? How did the experience compare?
LB: This was my first novel, and my first romance, and the learning curve was STEEP. With my memoirs I was in a groove and it would have been easy for me to write one of those (there are still at least three in the series I haven’t written yet). Still, I wanted to do something different and learn something new, plus I had the characters in AVFT nagging at me to write their story, so I pivoted towards what scared me.
I’ll go back to my memoirs of course, as the Grape Series is far
from finished, but I yearned for a palate cleanser to keep my writing fresh.
I don’t want to undersell just how messy and at times disheartening it was to teach myself how to write a novel WHILE I wrote that novel. There were many times I was ready to bin the entire project, but my writerly tribe kept encouraging me and I kept learning and kept improving. There were also times though were I was encouraged by finally getting a line right or a scene right or understanding the true motivation of a character. That kept me going. I think one of the most important traits an author can possess is tenacity.
kc: AGREED! I’m excited to hear there are more books to come in the Grape series. Tell me, how fun was the experience of inventing a romance? Did you know where the story was headed when you began?
LB: It was so much fun! It was far freer than my memoirs as nobody was going to come back at me later and say “hey, I never said that!”. The endless possibilities made me feel giddy. However, I’m the type of person who learns best by doing something
(a kinesthetic learner – who else out there is like this?), so I learned about
the romance beats and storytelling craft as I wrote. I’m also an incorrigible
“panster” meaning I pretty much don’t plot anything out before I put my fingers
on the keyboard. I had a clear idea of who Cerise and Clovis were, and could
hear them talking to me, but not much else.
As a result, A Vineyard for Two required several rounds of ruthless editing and rewrites. I’m hoping that for the next romance in my Winemakers Trilogy I’ll know a bit more what I’m doing, so the editing won’t be quite so arduous. Fingers crossed!
kc: Heh. I’m a pantser, too. I guess you don’t want to hear that it never gets easier…? Okay, so who was your favourite character to write in this story? Did anyone surprise you, and go their own way?
LB: Hands down it was Cerise. Living in Burgundy I was privileged to become friends with several female winemakers and I was always fascinated by their artistry and stoicism. Each one had a different way of navigating their way through an extremely traditional, macho world. I was just in awe of their creative powers and their grit. I could write a hundred books about women winemakers and never get bored.
The character of Clovis surprised me. I didn’t know about his crappy
childhood when I started writing and his deep need for a family of his own. He
was far more vulnerable than I thought he was when I first “met” him in my
imagination.
Also, I fell in love with the characters of Jean the régisseur and Geneviève, Cerise’s snotty aunt. I hadn’t foreseen either of them yet they popped up out of the ether, almost fully formed. Jean is an incredibly important character in my next book in the Winemakers’ Trilogy, and Geneviève will be around too, giving much unsolicited advice as usual.
kc: Can’t wait! Okay, you know I have to ask. How much of your own life experience do you bring into the story? Did you get to do any interesting research before writing this book?
LB: LOL. Well, a lot of people have been asking about the sex scenes and how much of that is *ahem* drawn from personal experience. I don’t want to send my children to therapy for the rest of their lives, so I am refraining from answering that question.
I completely brought my experience of living in Burgundy into the story. The friends and family I have in Burgundy are the absolute inspirations for this book. Also, the rhythm of the winemaking year and a winemaker’s life is a big part of the background of the books, and something I know intimately. I would constantly be sending my winemaker friends in Burgundy random and bizarre texts asking about specific timing of the harvest, the maceration, etc… They all started saying “OMG, it’s you again.” Luckily they are very good friends! I spend a lot of time in Burgundy as we still have three vacation rentals in Villers-la-Faye so I was lucky I didn’t have to research an area I know so well.
kc: Let’s talk about the food in this story. I know you’re also in the middle of writing a cookbook, based on your ‘My Grape Adventure’ series. How does the French love of food and eating come into this story?
LB: I think my love of food and wine comes out in everything I write. It’s a huge part of Burgundian life – that reverence for the pleasure good food and wine can bring – and it is a huge part of me. As you can read in A Vineyard for Two, food and wine is also a
crucial aspect of falling in love. It was like this for me…when Franck (my
Burgundian husband) cooked me a wonderful meal shortly after we met with
complete confidence and expertise, I was pretty much a goner.
I don’t really see myself as a chef – I’m a writer of books first and foremost – but the cookbook with recipes from and inspired by my Grape Series memoirs is something readers have been asking for since I published my first Grape Series book. I use all these dynamite French recipes I learned from friends and family over in France and I am so happy to pass them on. I always include one in every “Grapevine” newsletter I send out. It’s the perfect complement to my books. My co-author Rebecca Wellman is an incredible photographer and cookbook writer, so I think we’re going to create something truly beautiful, fun, and useful.
kc: A VINEYARD FOR TWO is the first in a planned trilogy. Tell us a bit about the process of writing something so ambitious. Will each of the stories revolve around Clovis and Cerise?
LB: I love book series where I as the reader really feel like part of a new community. That is my plan for my Winemakers’ Trilogy – the same characters will keep coming back. The second book is the story of Luc and Sadie, and the third is the story of Amandine and Gaspard. The friend circle will always be part of the story though. I have the plot of Luc and Sadie in my head and I really love it.
I’ve sketched it out on paper and cannot wait to start writing, although I’m
want to at least try to be a wee bit more disciplined about having a plot
framework before I plunge in this time though. We’ll see how that goes!
I’m even starting to get flashes of a new Trilogy that would be a spin off on The Winemakers’ Trilogy…writing project ideas are never something I’m lacking. Time to write, on the other hand…
kc: Hahaha! I know all about that! Now, this story is about love, family, ambition and — of course — wine. What was your favourite part to write?
LB: I loved many different aspects. I loved the family element and the idea that someone who has been through as much as Cerise could find a transformative new love again, if she could be brave enough to claim it. I loved the romance and the longing…I am SUCH an unabashed romantic.
I also loved the challenges of a strong, talented woman trying to make her mark (and ultimately succeeding) in a profession completely dominated for centuries by men. And THE WINE. I am endlessly fascinated by wine. I truly believe fine wine is one of the most sublime art forms in existence, and good winemakers are artists. At the same time they are farmers and subject to incredibly difficult vicissitudes such as hail and drought. I find it fascinating how winemakers reconcile that earthy pragmatism they need to have and that ethereal creativity.
kc: We spoke earlier of the way you have famously mined your own family story for the Grape Adventure books. We know there’s a cookbook on the way. When can your fans expect more episodes in your true-life story?
LB: The cookbook will be published by Touchwood Editions in Fall 2020. Right now I’m writing a short memoir about how we created our 13th Century wine Cellar under the streets of Beaune, and there are at least three Grape Series books still to come – My Grape Québec, My Grape Town, and My Grape Baby. The Grape Series is far from over.
Laura in 2017, receiving a brand-new liver.
I also received a liver transplant in March 2017 (from a rare auto-immune disease, NOT from wine!) and I know eventually I’ll need to write about that too. Writing is not only for entertainment, but it is how I process life. However, I won’t be calling it “My Grape Liver” as some readers have suggested!
kc: I don’t know — that’s kind of catchy! Okay, to wrap up, what’s got you excited right now? Can you tell us something about your next project?
LB: The cookbook is extremely exciting, and it is incredibly fun to be collaborating with Rebecca instead of working on my own. Our skill sets complement each other so nicely. I’m also chomping at the bit to finish My Grape Cellar and begin writing Luc and Sadie’s story.
I’ve also started the process to create audiobooks of all my books with Findaway Voices. This is super awesome as I have so many friends who read via audiobooks these days. I am a huge listener of podcasts when I walk our rescue dog Pepper, so I think there is so much potential is audio. I’ve found a really awesome narrator who sounds exactly like the voice in my head.
kc: Oh, that’s so exciting! I loved the process of creating the audiobook for FINDING FRASER. It’s really so much fun. Where can readers find you online?
LB: I love connecting with my readers, so I’m in a few different places:
You can also sign up to be part of my Grapevine community of readers and get free recipes, free books, insider news, special contests and so many more goodies. We would love you to join in on our fun! Just go here: www.bit.ly/LauraBradburyNewsletter
This is wonderful, Laura! Thank you so much for sharing your time with us today. And fans of our Grape Queen, let’s do a book giveaway, shall we? To enter, leave your name and your fave variety of wine in the comments below [or in FB or Twitter.] We’ll do a draw in a week or so for the winners!
And, as for me, I’m heading off to research my next grand adventure. Stay tuned, because, as always, there’ll be
Earlier this week I shared the very exciting news that I have a new book coming out with Berkley next year, and a second in 2021. I loved working with the Berkley/Penguin Random House team on FINDING FRASER, and am beyond thrilled to have a chance to do it again.
Something new in the process this time was that I [my immensely talented agent Laura Bradford, actually] sold these books on proposal. This is the first time I’ve ever sold a book this way, so the experience was very new to me. I’m not going to talk a lot about it here [ugh…shop talk!], apart from noting that, in practical terms, what this means for me is that the first book — EIGHTY DAYS IN APRIL — isn’t completely finished yet. [As for the second book? Still little more than a twinkle in its’ writer’s eye, ttytt…]
EIGHTY DAYS is almost done, but — it’s missing something. A little verisimilitude, perhaps? But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me step back a moment.
EIGHTY DAYS IN APRIL is the story of a young woman who’s never been out of New York City, who, in order to save her family’s independant bookstore, embarks on a re-tracing of the steps of one Phileas Fogg, fictional protagonist of Jules Verne’s 1873 novel, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. [This story was famously translated by American George Makepeace Towle in 1873, which only goes to show that the most important thing to carry with you when undertaking a journey is a Towle…*]
Ahem.
My girl Romy has to make the journey without benefit of commercial aircraft, AND manage the whole circumnavigation in under a month. Shortly after leaving, she discovers that her worst enemy — or the agent thereof, at least — is also chasing the same financial prize.
Plus? He’s kinda cute.
This story draws inspiration from a great big mash-up of a very old novel written by one of the progenitors of steampunk; a little taste of the Amazing Race; and with the added touch of a love story that goes wrong in every possible fashion. All the way around the world.
Back to the prosaic side of the process for a minute. This new story, while in no way being a sequel to FINDING FRASER, is nevertheless a bit of a spiritual sister. In FF, Emma Sheridan retraces the steps of a fictional character [Claire Beauchamps Randall Fraser] around Scotland, drawing inspiration from her favourite book. In 80 DAYS, Ramona Keene is vying for a position at a company — ExLibris Expeditions — that recreates famous journeys for book-lovers. Sistahs!
But here’s where we come to a very specific difference, at least for the humble author of both these novels.
I’d been to Scotland before I wrote Emma’s story.
Now, if you follow my blog with any kind of regularity, you’ll know how much I love to travel. ESPECIALLY when doing research. I’m just not a sitting-on-the-beach kinda girl. And I have been lucky enough —privileged enough — to have visited many, many amazing places on this beautiful planet we all call home.
I have never, however, been all the way around it. Nor have I been to many of the places Fogg, and in her pursuit of him, Romy, get to visit in their respective stories.
However that, my friend, is about to change, as I embark on the biggest solo adventure of my lifetime. I leave a week from today.
Now, when I started typing this post, I fully expected to spell out the entire itinerary, but… <insert evil chuckle here>
I’ve changed my mind.
I think, instead, with your indulgence, I’ll leave the points of call a surprise until I get there. I will say that, last month, while news of this new book still loitered under a veil of secrecy, I undertook the North American leg of this tour. [You may have, if you were paying attention, detected hints of this on my twitter feed!] Thus, there will be no North American stops on this particular circumnavigation, though there most assuredly will be in the story. And I should also add that while I will not visit every one of Fogg’s stops, there are a few extra surprises in store.
So. With the news of the trip out of the way, let’s address the question of ‘Why?’.
I am writer of fiction. Some might say I lie for a living. Why on earth would I need to travel around the world when I could just make it all up? After all, what is Google Maps even for?
The answer is simple. Every book I’ve ever written has been at least a partially set far from my home. And every chance I get, I run off to some of these faraway places, so that my stories can better reflect the truth of their settings. The scent of the air, the taste of the food, the feel of the ground beneath my feet — all of these things make it into my novels.
Maybe not such a liar, after all?
In any case, I’m off to do it again, and I plan to share the whole thing here. Or as much of it as I can, anyway. I do hope you’ll join me! And if you have any questions about the trip, or any suggestions as to what I should see or do, please share. I was mad-homesick on the North American leg of the trip, and that was only two weeks. This trip is going to be three times that long, away from home, and these guys.
To finish — care to share any guesses as to my stops on the North American leg of the tour, all pictured above? [With the exception of my three boys, who are seen here last fall, frolicking on their own happy trail in the wilds of British Columbia.]
First correct guesser [who wants one] will win a signed copy of Finding Fraser. I’ll be doing this with every post while I’m away, so be sure to spread the word. Will send the winning books out when I get home, mid-July.
In the meantime, I’d love it if you can keep me company!
Man. It’s been crazy around here lately, and trust me when I say there is MORE to come.
One of the more wonderful things taking up my time was getting a chance to see the always funny and fascinating author Mahtab Narsimhan launch her book ‘Embrace the Chicken’.
Mahtab Narsimhan launching ‘Embrace the Chicken’
I chatted with Mahtab here on the blog a couple of weeks ago, and today, am delighted to announce the winner of a copy of ‘Embrace the Chicken’ is Laura Best.
Send me an email, Laura, at kcdyer at shaw dot ca, and we’ll get your copy out to you. Congratulations!
Author of FINDING FRASER, kc dyer’s 80 DAYS IN APRIL, in which an adventure-averse booklover applies for a job with ExLibris Expeditions as a last-ditch attempt to help save her family’s book store and finds herself in a Jules Verne-inspired race against time — and a handsome rival — all the way around the world, again to Cindy Hwang at Berkley, in a good deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in late 2020, by Laura Bradford at Bradford Literary Agency (world English). Translation: Taryn Fagerness Agency.
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