Traveling and Writing

Some of my favorite places to travel are the ones I use for scenes in my books: Paris, Florence, Rome, Saint Tropez, Saint Paul de Vence, Venice, Newport, RI, Miami, London, Chicago, the beaches and mountains of North Carolina.

My two favorite places to visit are Paris in the winter and the South of France in the summer – Saint Tropez, Saint Paul de Vence, Gordes, Saint Remy.

In France we usually stay at places that are special to us, and where we try to return each year: Les Mas de Carassins in Saint Remy, where we meet up with same guests each August. The Relaix Saint-Germain in the 6th Arrondissement in Paris which has a great restaurant where we often dine on New Year’s eve. The Hotel Les Boires in Gordes with a gorgeous pool in the midst of the mountains. We also enjoy the Hotel des Lice in fashionable Saint Tropez. Each of these hotels are beautiful, have great wine, food, and service - and yet are relatively low-key. They’re also owned or staffed by really nice people.

I love to be able to write scenes in these places while I’m there. It forces me to think more deeply about my experience, to take in everything around me more carefully. I may be on vacation but I have to be acutely aware of my surroundings: the history, the setting, the food, the wine, the personalities all around me (and often the famous ones who came before me).

Changing the places where I write seems to change my attitude, my perspective, and resets my imagination. The wine helps, too.