Looking for a gorgeous, exotic locale brimming with colorful history for your story? Consider Puerto Rico.
Recently I attended a professional retreat in San Juan and fell in love with the island. Incredibly blue waters stirred by constant breezes; friendly locals who, if they don't speak English, are willing to communicate with enthusiastic gestures; rows of colorful buildings with ironwork befitting Charleston or New Orleans.
And the food. Oh my. Pastries that melt in your mouth and seafood artfully cooked.
Consider a chase scene across the fascinating bioluminescent bay where a kayak paddle can yield sparks of light in dark waters.
Into paranormal?
Consider the former convent El Convento. Now a hotel and restaurant, there be ghosts lurking on the premises.
Need a powerful business mogul? You can model him/her on the Bacardi family who founded an enormous distillery off San Juan.
History abounds in this gateway to the Caribbean where the Spanish defended its stronghold against attacks by England and the Netherlands among other countries. Love a pirates' yarn or treasure? The seas teemed with the raiders.
Interested in a World War II setting? U.S. modified the mighty fortresses of old San Juan to serve as lookout posts against German subs.
Your hero/heroine can stay at a romantic hacienda at the edge of the rain forest...
Snorkel the coral reefs or...
Lounge on a yacht by a beach with powdered sands.
Where have you traveled recently that served as inspiration for a book setting?
J
Carol Stephenson
3 comments:
Wow, Carol, that's so beautiful! Puerto Rico is somewhere I'd like to visit someday. I've toured castles around Germany and felt the stories build in my head. Would love to visit Scotland, England, and Ireland someday. I think those would be very inspiring. ;)
I love to travel. We were always so broke we couldn't pay attention and stayed at the one or no star local hotels. A hostel once. Not again! Met the local people. Heard stories. OMGolly. The stories. I've used those travels in books and will continue to do so.
I've not been to Scotland, Norway and Sweden. Any one for a group research trip?
Wow, these are great photos, Carol! I'll put Puerto Rico on my, ahem, characters' destination list. And Rita and Ann Marie, put me on the list for that group research trip. I've been to Scotland (heart thumping) and England, but I'm dying to go to Ireland and Scandinavia. I find traveling incredibly inspiring.
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