Someone Like You: What’s Real?

I had another first blog post written but, after reading it, I realized it was more for fellow writers, not readers interested in my stories. My website guru Tara suggested I post that in another section of the site. So, if you also want to know about the process of indie writing and publishing, there will be a link to that article as well. The post talks about how I found the right book cover designer for Someone Like You.

I was talking to a friend about my first blog post and thought it would be interesting to talk about what is real in Someone Like You and what was conjured up from my imagination, although why I created a place or a name also has an interesting story.

Many authors base their locations on real places in their writing, and probably one of the most famous is Stephen King. Somehow, it’s scarier if you know something weird happened in an everyday place you know or frequent, even if the author has renamed the place in the book.

Giving a character life also means giving them places to visit. One of my favorite authors is Kevin Hearne. I love his Iron Druid Chronicles (no, it’s not a romance, but it has a small romantic element). You’ll hear me gush a lot about that series, as well as the narrator, Luke Daniels.

Enough Gushing about Atticus

In the first few books of the Iron Druid series, the protagonist, Atticus O’Sullivan, hangs out in an Irish Pub called Rula Bula in Tempe, Arizona. I had read several books in the series, when on a whim I did an internet search to find out what Rula Bula meant and discovered the pub was a real place.

Probably if I was from the greater Phoenix / Tempe area, I would have known this, but it didn’t matter. Fans suspend reality for characters they love all the time. Enough to think if we’re at their favorite hangout, we might see them walk by our table or at least see a werewolf having a beer.

As you can imagine, I was stoked this place existed and almost planned a trip in the middle of August, which is not the best time to visit if you’re from a mild climate.

I knew early on that I would place Someone Like You in a location I knew well. Writing about my backyard was easier than writing about New York. Exciting, yes, but I’d have to do too much research to move my characters around. 

So, what is real?

Silicon Valley, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Half Moon Bay, San Jose, Campbell, Palo Alto, and San Francisco are real places. Yes, there is a Saratoga, CA.

The Waterline in Campbell, the restaurant where Emma meets Austin for their interview, is not real. However, the fictional eatery is located in the Pruneyard in Campbell. There is a fish restaurant in that area, and I loosely used the layout. It does have a patio. I’m sure you can figure out which restaurant from the map on the Pruneyard website.

The Refuge in San Mateo is real and if you ever get a chance to have their pastrami sandwich (they make the pastrami themselves), don’t hesitate; it’s that good, among other things. Why do you think I placed Emma and Bex at the Refuge and called the chapter Pastrami Therapy?

The Lorelei is not real. The fictional hotel is located in Downtown San Jose, somewhere near the Fairmont and Marriott. I needed a high rise and at the time of the writing there was no hotel that had 23 floors. I wanted the Passion Moon webcast and the launch party to be in an ultra-modern hotel.

BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit, is real and it is true that you are not allowed to eat on BART, to Bex’s annoyance.

The Half Moon Bay resort I refer to, but never by name, is not real. There is a lovely hotel there on the beach, but I used composites of various hotels that are on the California coast. There is no Potting Shed room. I don’t know if a place like that exists. I got the idea from a photo that had roses suspended over a table in an article on event decorating.

Benni’s Jazz Club is not real. That was loosely based on Café Stritch in Downtown San Jose, which is a great place to listen to jazz and blues. 

There is a Shark Tank. If you are a hockey fan, you will know it is the home of the San Jose Sharks, aka SAP Center. It hosts several musical and sports events like the WWE (World Wide Wrestling Federation) and several other events.

Austin Santoro is not real, but he looks like a wrestler who is a real person. I never mentioned the wrestler’s name in the story and he’s not a character in the book.

I’m not a wrestling fan, but I’m aware of the WWE. Roman Reigns is one of their stars. I didn’t know he was a wrestler the first time I saw him. He was in a commercial for fatherhood.gov, the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse. In the commercial he is singing and acting out the I’m a little teapot song with his real daughter.

Reigns is a physically imposing man, and he’s shown in the commercial as an engaged father playing and having tea with his daughter. It was such a sweet father-daughter moment that I knew I wanted to capture that kind of man as a character in a story. I used him as my prototype for Austin. During Emma’s scenes with Austin at the Lorelei, she objects to his proposed scheme if it will damage Roman’s reputation.

A few more with a twist

There is a Stacks, the restaurant Emma and Parker are outside of waiting in line when they meet Austin and Magda. By the way, this breakfast spot does have great waffles.

The donut shop Austin mentioned during the same scene, Psycho donuts, is real. If you’re from Portland, Oregon, it’s like Voodoo donuts.

There is no Riverwood Lexus dealership and no Drachen Technology. Although, here’s a teaser… you will see Kellis and Haley, the two women from the food truck scene, in the novella Love Contract, book two in the Love at Work series. Check the Upcoming Story section of the website to read excerpts.

Writers are always mixing real and fake to produce the best romance story possible to delight their fans. If I’ve missed any real or fake places in Someone Like You that you are still wondering about, let me know and I’ll give you the information. At least you’ll hear a good story.