The one where I nearly fell in the water... twice
All the books I've written so far are set in Northern England in areas I know and love - the North Yorkshire Coast where I live, the countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds which starts a few miles from my house, and the Lake District where I've holidayed since childhood.
Although Whitsborough Bay, Hedgehog Hollow and Willowdale are all fictional, I often mention real places or things nearby. For example, all the bodies of water, rivers, fells and parks mentioned so far in the Escape to the Lakes series are all real.
Where possible, I like to take photos of the real places mentioned in books (or the real places which I then adjust and fictionalise) to share on the socials. Normally this is pretty straightforward but sometimes the 'perfect' photo means putting myself in a slightly precarious position and, when I'm in the Lakes, that often involves a water risk.
Hubby and I had a few days in the Lakes earlier this month and the main purpose of our visit was to capture photos of a boat house by a lake because a key part of the storyline in Sunshine After the Rain is connected to the boat house in the grounds of Willowdale Hall.
Willowdale Hall itself is inspired by the Lingholm Estate and they do have a boat house but it's private holiday accommodation so not something I could go and photograph. Most boat houses are private but we found an old (possibly disused) one on Rydal Water.
There were some stepping stones by the boat house into the lake which were perfect for getting some distance from the building. Except they weren't very stable and I very nearly ended up in the water. I was so busy concentrating that I didn't realise hubby had whipped his camera out to capture my tentative steps as I clung onto my book and phone.
But it was worth the trip (thankfully not a literal one) to get a lovely photo...
It's not the first time hubby has captured me putting myself at (minor) risk to capture the ideal photo. During our research trip to the Lakes last summer, I wanted to get a photo of the books in the series overlooking Derwent Water and spotted some fabulous rocks to display them on. But the rocks jutted out into the lake so I had to scramble over them. And, of course, hubby had the camera out. Please excuse my enormous bottom!
But I was pleased with the photos I got and it was worth the slippery scramble. It was a cloudy day so they're not very well lit, but I think they still look good…
And there was, of course, the time we went to get some photos by Grasmere and the heavens opened and we got caught in a thunderstorm… before we managed to get any photos.
The things I do for my art!
Big hugs
Jessica xx