Sweet Inspiration!
I’m getting the ball rolling on Presents #11, The Coffee Magnate’s story. Really
enjoying pulling together inspiration for this book. The locations I’ve decided on are GORGEOUS (and a possible excuse to go to San Francisco for a couple of days?) and having such beautiful imagery swirling around in my head really helps get me excited about a MS!
I don’t always have celebrities cast in the roll of my characters, but this time…i do! The always handsome Andy Whitfield is cast as my hero. (why yes, he has inspired two of my other heroes. What of it? O_O)
And for my heroine, I chose Isla Fisher, who has such a sweet look about her.
My hero is the owner of a massive (Starbucks level massive) chain of coffee houses, and my heroine conceptualizes the recipes for all of the sweets that appear in the shops. (at least that’s how it works at this point…but it’s early days!) But in honor of my heroine’s profession, I took the kids off to The Cupcake Company yesterday to taste, and take pictures of, some real life inspiration! We have some seriously gourmet cupcakes! Strawberries and Cream, German Chocolate, Boston Cream. And then there were the ones we didn’t try! The Chunky Monkey (peanut butter frosting, banana cake and chocolate filling!) and the Grasshopper! (chocolate with mint frosting.)
After indulging in THAT bit of research, I got to indulge in more location research. I’ve used Thailand as a location in a book before and was completely captivated by the scenery. And for this book, I wanted to return there, but not to the coast this time, to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the ideal place to grow coffee and tea, so it wasn’t hard to think of a reason my hero and heroine might have to go there…
And once they’re there…well, what happens in Chiang Mai doesn’t stay in Chiang Mai. 
Loving writing this one (and researching it!) so far, and it’s helping get my mind off of the wait for Girl on a Diamond Pedestal! (*bites nails*)
So here are some pictures that inspire me…what inspires you?
Comments
5 Responses | TrackBack URL | Comments Feed
I’ really inspired by reading other romances. I imagine a slightly different ending in my head or I wonder about a certain secondary character. And then I start making notes on the pad on my night table in the middle of the night.
I like to watch movies, but they never seem to fill my imagination in the same way.
Oh My Gosh I want to live at The Cupcake Company. Is that allowed? I love your casting and I love the sound of your hero and heroine’s jobs. Happy writing, Maisey!
“Ohhh cupcakes…” (said in a Homer Simpson way). But being on a diet they are off the menu so to speak. But I’m willing to share a cyber one with anyone – and as for a cup of coffee – bring it on! Good luck with this WIP – it’s sounds great already ;o) Caroline x
Julia, I find other stories, ones I like or don’t, to be very inspirational. Because it gets things moving in my mind, and what I end up with may not resemble what inspired me in the first place, but it was my jumping off point. The thing that inspired this book was a routine on SYTYCD.
Lacey, it’s lovely! I’m so excited to have such a fun place in the area. And thanks re the hero and heroine, they’re really fun for me so far.
Caroline, I’m in the diet boat too. But I ate a mini cupcake! Because I can’t NEVER eat cake. It just can’t happen. I love it too much. 🙂 Thanks for the wishes of luck…shall need it!
Ah research…it’s wonderful, isn’t it!?