Come visit a tropical paradise! - Kandy Shepherd

One thing I love about the Harlequin Romance series line I write for—apart from the lovely emotion and the happy-ever-after ending!—is the fact that these books often spirit me away to an aspirational and sometimes exotic destination.

As an author, we are often told to write what we know. I find it difficult to actually bring a place to life if I haven’t actually been there. Fortunately, I have travelled a bit and stayed at the destinations where my books are set. 

 My July release Best Man and the Runaway Bride is set on the beautiful small island of Nusa Lembongan in Indonesia, off the east coast of the much larger and better known island of Bali. I was fortunate enough to visit Lembongan last year and actually wrote some of the story while I was on location.

This month I thought I’d share with you some of the events in the novel, that actually happened to me on the the trip.

We stayed on a beautiful resort similar to the fictional Big Blue resort in the book. Our lumbung was right on the sea and it was absolutely heavenly! (With mod cons like our own bathroom and airconditioning.)

The lumbung where we stayed

View from our room - bliss to wake up to

 There’s a pivotal scene in the book where the hero Max and heroine Nikki dine at a restaurant with their feet in the sand and witness one of the awesome sunsets the area is famous for. We did that too!

This is the meal that inspired Nikki and Max's in the book - love that Indonesian food!

 Nikki and Max go snorkelling on the reef surrounding the island, in a small traditional fishing boat known as a jukung. We bravely set out and snorkelled and it was an utterly wonderful experience.

This little boat transported us to a beautiful reef where we snorkelled and saw the most beautiful fish and coral

Just remembering the experience is making me want to go back there as soon as I can—or perhaps to another wonderful destination that will inspire a story! And of course I'm hoping while my readers are flicking through the pages of my book, I'll transport them for a few hours to an exotic, tropical island!

Is there a “dream destination” you’ve always wanted to visit? Do you have a favorite setting for a romance novel?

Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you! If you want to be in the draw to win a signed paperback copy of Best Man and the Runaway Bride, also include your email address.

Kandy Shepherd’s Best Man and the Runaway Bride is a July 2018 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon True Love in the UK; and Mills & Boon Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand. 

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

Paradise calling

 I’m sharing the cover for my June release from Harlequin Romance, From Paradise to…Pregnant!

 I just love this North American cover, thank you, Harlequin art department. It depicts an important scene in the book, and the hero and heroine are very like how I imagined them to be.

 I also love the emotion visible between Zoe and Mitch. “They’re really into each other,” my daughter said when she first saw it. Of course they are—there’s a pregnancy involved here!

The first part of the story is set in the beautiful tropical island of Bali in Indonesia. Bali is a very popular destination for visitors from around the world and is a particular favorite with Australians.

 I spent a week in the gorgeous resort area of Seminyak last year with my husband as we celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

In fact I wrote the final words of From Paradise to…Pregnant! while lying around next to the lovely lap pool in our private villa. (Yes, I know I was meant to be on vacation, but writers never really stop!) There’s nothing quite like researching a location—especially when it’s somewhere as fabulous as Bali!

This book is a reunion, friends-to-lovers story and I loved writing it.

Here’s the blurb:

One night with consequences… 

A week in Bali was accountant Zoe Summers's dream vacation. But when the tropical island paradise is hit by an earthquake, she's trapped—alongside Mitch Bailey, sports star and blast from her past! High on the thrill of survival, they seek comfort in each other's arms… 

It was only supposed to be one night, but Zoe soon discovers an unexpected souvenir—she's pregnant! Now Zoe and Mitch will have to ask themselves…can one night lead to parenthood and a lifetime of love?

From Paradise to…Pregnant! is a June 2015 release from Harlequin Romance and is available for pre-order now.

Kandy Shepherd is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

 www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook and Twitter

No rest for the writer - Kandy Shepherd

A writer never really has a holiday. No matter where we go, what we do, our stories and characters are always with us. Even on an indolent tropical vacation, those characters in our heads are always poking their noses in and suggesting ways the location might affect them and the way they behave on the pages of our books. If we’re away with another writer that’s even worse, as we talk incessantly about our stories and the way they’re shaping up!

Recently, I’ve been fortunate enough to take two mini-breaks in Australian locations utterly different from each other.One to a resort in tropical far north Queensland where it’s always summer, the other to the Southern Highlands south-west of Sydney where it’s autumn right now.

The bliss of a lagoon pool in a funky, tropical resort

The relaxing beauty of change of season

One resort was funky, upbeat, with a lagoon pool, palm trees and a party atmosphere.

The sign says it all!

The other was traditional, elegant, reminiscent of a Scottish manor house complete with baronial hall. I loved each of them for very different reasons. (Oh, and they both had amazing food!)

Even the adjoining golf club house was traditional

While I swam in Port Douglas, Queensland, walked country roads in Sutton Forrest, New South Wales, my mind was ticking over with ideas for various new stories and the characters who will drive them.

Could my character work in a place like this? Or own it?

Which romance hero or heroine could live behind these gates?

I came up with the perfect “back story” for one heroine, in this case where she met the man who done her wrong and affected her future relationships. And all sorts of scenarios are ticking over for other stories.

The traditional hotel was once a private home and comes complete with ghosts

 

Fun and funky in the tropics -- appealing in a different way

When I’m away from the everyday, relaxed and enjoying good company, the creative side of my brain kicks into overdrive. (It certainly helps not having to cook, clean, or do laundry, too!)

When people ask me did I have a nice, relaxing break, I of course say “yes”, but a writer never really takes a break and with my creative batteries recharged, I’m keen to get back to my stories.

I’ve used Port Douglas briefly in my latest release Reinventing Rose, not as an actual location but as somewhere the characters talk about visiting. (To say any more would become a spoiler!)

BTW, the hotels I visited were the QT at Port Douglas and Peppers Manor House.

What about you? Do you have a favorite vacation destination? What do you like most about taking that so-needed break from routine? Do you enjoy exotic destinations in the novels you read? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment for a chance to win a free download of Reinventing Rose.

Don’t forget to include your email address if you want to be in the draw.

Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction.

Her new contemporary womens fiction e-book, Reinventing Rose, is available now at  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and other e-book retailers.

Kandy’s romances include the Amazon bestseller The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, and the award-winners Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com