Bookworm Press

Fire in the Vineyard is the third book in the The Wine Lover’s Daughter series. This time, the action takes place on the Central Coast of California, particularly in Paso Robles, Atascadero, Cambria, the Benedictine Monastery of the Risen Christ, and the Cal Poly Campus in San Luis Obispo. The Central Coast of California is one of my favorite areas, which made the research for the novel all the more exciting.

Click on the link below, take a trip from the convenience of your home, and enjoy the pictures.

Fire in the Vineyard, Photo Journey

On the second day of my trip up north, I met with Shawn, who does some research for several of his own projects. We stayed at the Adelaide Inn in Paso Robles, which has become one of my “homes from home” during my jaunts in the Central Coast of the California wine country.

 

As you can see, the motel was already decked out for Halloween!

Once Shawn arrived, we took off for a reception at one of the wineries for members of the wine club he belongs to. I had the honor and pleasure of being the invited guest. On the way there, we visited another winery. Here are a few pictures of the Pear Valley Winery and the Chronic Cellars in Paso Robles.

Now, don’t you get the wrong idea! It may not look that way, but this was by no means pure entertainment. After all, in order to write intelligently in an article or a book about wine, you have to be able to taste and investigate it. Okay? Never mind.

 Enough research. The wines were anywhere from decent to excellent. Mission accomplished.

In the evening, dinner in Paso Robles.

One of these four gentlemen I came across in Paso Robles must have imbibed so much that he forgot to put on his appropriate shirt. He was, in fact, Drunk 3.

My pal Shawn wrote his own blog post about this day and has a bunch of fun pictures as well.
Attention: DON’T BELIEVE ANYTHING HE SAYS ABOUT ME THOUGH!

https://monsterago-go.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-central-coast-with-christa-2017.html

To be continued.

My friend Shawn and I recently met in Paso Robles in the Central Coast area to do research–Shawn for some articles he writes as a freelance journalist and I for my novel series The Wine Lover’s Daughter. I’m working on book three of the series, called Fire in the Vineyard. I came up with the title long before the devastating fires in Napa Valley and I certainly don’t think I’m psychic, but now, the title sounds almost ominous.

Anyway, we decided to pool our resources, do some “work” and have some fun at the same time. The first day of the trip, I was on my own. I drove up from the Los Angeles area to Paso Robles and made a stop in San Luis Obispo. One of the characters in my novels is associated with a Benedictine monastery in the Piedmont in Italy as well as in the San Luis Obispo area. To get a feeling for the place and the environment, I visited the Benedictine Monastery of the Risen Christ. It’s a lovely place, simple and unassuming, high up on a hill with a gorgeous view of the valley and the surrounding hills and mountains in the background. Here are a few pictures.

At the bottom of the hill, there is a meditation labyrinth made of stones where you can walk through the 14 Stations of the Cross or just sit on the bench and enjoy the fresh air and peaceful atmosphere.

There are different events at the monastery for the public to attend. You can also stay there overnight and get a feeling for the life in a monastery or just take a few days off from your busy life. Very tempting!

Here is the link to the monastery: http://monasteryrisenchrist.com/

After visiting the monastery, I drove the rest of the way to Paso Robles, the wine country, for another kind of “spirit.” After all it does say somewhere: In Vino Veritas!

To be continued.

Fire in the Vineyard (The Wine Lover’s Daughter, Book 3) is available: https://mybook.to/FireVineyard

One of my favorite types of research for my novels is traveling to different places where my characters live and work. This time, I spent a few days in one of my favorite spots in California, namely in Cambria at the Cambria Pines Lodge. Since the fictitious Segantino family lives in the wine region of the Central Coast in California, the Paso Robles area was on my itinerary as well. And last but not least, I checked out the California Polytechnic State University or Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. This is the place where Julietta Santucci, a major character in The Wine Lover’s Daughter series, studies architecture and environmental design.

Here are a few pictures of my vacation/research in beautiful San Luis Obispo county.

Cambria Pines Lodge, Cambria

Cambria Pines Lodge is situated on a hill above the town of Cambria and is a charming lodge with beautiful gardens, the perfect place to dream and write.

A very special kind of flower bed

 A garden with organically grown herbs and vegetables they use for cooking is also part of the landscape.

View from my room

A couple of miles north of Cambria is a famous elephant seal spot. These amazing animals come here year after year to breed, raise their young, and relax between their long and arduous migrations in the Pacific Ocean. Every season has its own kind of spectacle. In September, the young males are jousting playfully, preparing for the serious and often bloody fights for dominance and their chosen females.

Of course, a visit to the famous wine region around Paso Robles, the imaginary home of the Segantino family, is mandatory!

Next stop is San Luis Obispo, where I took a brief walk through the Cal Poly campus, a well-known technical and agricultural university.

Another important spot that plays a role in my next novel is the Benedictine monastery in San Luis Obispo, but time ran out and I had to postpone this for another visit. There is always a reason to come back to this beautiful area of California.