Revisiting Accident-Prone

I've recently returned from Tenerife, the setting for my book Accident-Prone http://amzn.to/YzJMh3, originally an Avalon Romance but now republished by Montlake. While I was there I visited the small town that is the setting for the book and walked through the streets and squares that led readers through the story. I also learned what happened to the hotel that was the backdrop to the romance between Matt and brave and resourceful Alex, who is one of my favourite heroines.

I had a wonderful day. Some things were missing though. I didn't bump into Matt or Alex. Nor did I see Conchita or Cristina and the twins. I would even have been pleased to catch a glimpse of Francesco to see if he really was as full of himself as the story says. It was the weirdest feeling. There I was in the place that had occupied my mind for so long that every detail had become as real to me as my own house and garden, and yet the people who had populated it weren't there.

And that, dear reader, is the life of a writer. Over the weeks and months the characters they craft become so real to them that it seems inconceivable they could be missing from the setting of their story.

How did I deal with it? Well, I had to accept that, like most writers, I had immersed myself in a fantasy world. On the other hand, maybe I had just picked the wrong day. Were Alex and Matt in one of the small boats I could see bobbing about on the horizon? Had Cristina gone to visit her mother and taken the twins with her? Was Conchita so busy in her new job that she was in another town talking to a supplier? And perhaps Francesco had been so shamed by his behaviour that he'd left the island to start a new life elsewhere? I'll never know...and nor will you…unless…

In the meantime, here are some of the places that created the backdrop to the story. You can see the bougainvillaea that cascaded over the balcony in Alex's lemon yellow apartment overlooking the sea. You can see the beach where she  nearly drowned. The square where she ate meals with Cristina and Francesco is there too as well as the steep  street leading to Matt's office. There's even a picture of the steps down to the car park where Alex first realised that spiky heels were not quite the thing.

And last, but not least, there is a house high on a hill, just like Matt's. No sign of Pedro the goat but I guess he's in the back garden cropping the grass, after all that's what he's employed for isn't it…that, and keeping his thoughts to himself!

So if you haven't read the book and you're intrigued enough to want to know what really happened in Accident-Prone, now is the time. It's available at Amazon at http://amzn.to/YzJMh3 as a hardback, a paperback or, if you prefer, for a kindle.