When I begin to develop any story, the
setting is always a vital part of my planning. Often it is ‘place’ that
inspires the story. So it was with the Romantische Strasse in Germany. This ancient
Roman road (hence Romantische or Romantic) winds through picturesque old
walled towns beginning with Wurzburg and ending with Augsburg. Each of the several medieval towns on this
meandering road is charming in its own way. One can make the drive easily in a
few hours, but to do so is to miss much of the experience. Better to spend a
night or two in at least two of the towns and immerse oneself in its architecture
and history. It is widely varied and always interesting. |
| Rothenburg, Germany |
The town that stayed in my mind after a
week exploring this part of southern Germany was Rothenburg. Its high stone
walls and vast arched gates are forbidding, The town center with its wide
square, its clock tower, its ‘Hangman’s Gate’, are evocative of a distant and,
perhaps, dangerous time, especially when seen on a chilly, rainy fall day as we
first saw them. We had booked into a 14th century inn, the Meistertrunk, and
unfortunately, on passing through the town gates, made a left turn when we
should have made a right. Geraldine, our
trusty GPS, said in her British voice “Recalculating”. I said “Good luck!”, as
we wound and twisted our way hopelessly through a maze of cobblestone lanes
barely wide enough for our tiny German car. Finally my traveling companion stopped
the car and got out to ask for directions. The puzzled pedestrian she asked in
her broken German, pointed across the street. We were there.
 |
| Meistertrunk Inn, Rothenburg |
And there we stayed for several days.
Rothenburg is a delightful town. The tall houses stand close together, each a
different pastel color, but otherwise uniform in their architecture and size.
All, except those that had been converted into inns, appeared still to be in
private hands, although most had shops or restaurants on the first floor.
Across from our inn was a large, rather forbidding stone church, and just down
the hill we found a small park from which we could see, far below us, the
surrounding hilly countryside.
We opted for our lunch that first day to
go to the restaurant in our hotel. I will never forget that “light lunch”. We
had melt-in-your-mouth apple fritters accompanied by gluhwein. That’s warmed spiced wine. It tastes
heavenly, goes down like water and has a kick like a mule. We slept away the
rest of the afternoon.
 |
| Walled city of Rothenburg, Germany |
The next days we spent exploring the
town and the countryside around it and I knew I had to bring my story to this
setting. It was here that the plot of Romantic
Road began to take shape. A heroine, I didn’t yet know her name, would take
refuge here, pursued by someone who meant her harm. The title, I decided, would
be double-entendre. It would refer
both to the old Roman road and the medieval towns on it, and to the personal romantic
road of my heroine’s life.
This was the kernel from which my novel
of romantic suspense, Romantic Road,
grew.
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Following are my own published novels. For further details about my own books, as well as my reviews of books I have read, go to my Goodreads page.
To purchase one of my books, just click on the book cover below and select the vendor of your choice.
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RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2015.
• Romantic Road ~ Takes you on a chase across Europe with our heroine who finds herself in a series of precarious situations. She encounters a handsome stranger, but is he helping her, or is he dangerous? This story has hair raising suspense, romance and a sprinkling of humour
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"The Memory of Roses by Blair McDowell
is simply an incredibly lovely story. It’s also a love story, and a story about
finding yourself, and about closure. The theme running through the book is
“all’s well that ends well.” -- Marlene, Reading Reality
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"Delighting In Your Company is a unique paranormal romance that brings together island folklore, history, and mystery with an unlikely romance between the past and present that had me going through a torrent of emotions and made it impossible to put down." -- The Romance Reviews
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“I found Sonata to be a charming novel that left me laughing out loud
in parts and gnawing nails in others. It was a delight to read.” – Night Owl
Reviews
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"Abigail’s Christmas is a sweet and special story that honors both love and the holidays." -- Sizzling Hot Books
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Blair McDowell