Saturday, July 23, 2011

What Inspires A Story

Loving Edits, Tono, and Momentos were inspired by my mother and her battle with ALS. About two years ago, I decided I was ready to tackle this painful subject, and I created a story that celebrated the power of love and the resilience of the human spirit. That my muse chose to make this a ménage raised a question or two, but I'm an m/m writer after all, and my mother would have been delighted to take the starring role in this threesome.

I wanted to share some photos of the places I've talked about in the three books. They are a part of my mother's heritage and played a big role in the life of my three fictitious characters.

All photos are courtesy of TripAdvisor.


Let's start with a bird's eye-view of San Sebastian, one of the most beautiful cities in Spain.


San Sebastian - Donostia Pictures
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This is the view from Tono's balcony.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

More of the beach and a view of Monte Igueldo in the background.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This is La Concha beach at the height of the season.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

A view of the promenade, also seen on the cover of my novel.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This is the church in San Sebastian where Tono, who was closeted at the time, asked Mick to meet him, far from prying eyes.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Food plays a big part in all my novels because Spaniards love to eat. There's no better way to sample food than to go bar-hopping in San Sebastian where the pintxos also known as tapas are the best in all the world. This is a photo of a typical tapas bar.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

And another one.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Fresh seafood is abundant in the area. Here's a sample display.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The fishing dock.

San Sebastian - Donostia Pictures
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Another view of the beach.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The Basque flag.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor


A night view of San Sebastian.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This is the Hotel Maria Christina featured in Tono.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The harbor.

San Sebastian - Donostia Pictures
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

And a final view of the bay.

San Sebastian - Donostia Photos
This photo of San Sebastian - Donostia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I hope you enjoyed the small pictorial.

2 comments:

  1. I remember reading a story about someone with ALS when I was in junior high and simply crying my eyes out... Your stories are a wonderful way to honor your mom!

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  2. I'm trying to figure out this comment section. Sorry if I spam you, Chris.

    ReplyDelete