I’ve spoken before about how difficult I find it to write about something I can’t envisage. It’s one of the reason I spend far too much time searching through Pinterest boards and Google images when I’m working on a project – what can I say? I’m a visual creature.
When writing about places, whether that’s countries, cities or somewhere more specific, like a particular restaurant, I’d much rather write about somewhere I have first hand experience of. If I’ve been there, I’ll know if it’s bitterly cold there in November, or if the buses are silver, or if there’s lemon scented air-freshener in the bathrooms, and that makes it easier to convey a sense of place.
However, when writing One Night in Los Angeles I had to rely entirely on long-distance research as I’d never been there. Instead I watched films and TV programmes set there, read guide books (thank heavens for Rough Guides!) and, of course, fell back on the thousands upon thousands of images of the city that were available online. And I’ve certainly never been on a Hollywood film set, so Aaron and Abbi’s meeting was about as far from my reality as possible!
Whilst some of the settings (such as the well-hidden Italian restaurant they eat at) are totally fabricated, others are very real. The Millennium Biltmore hotel, where Aaron resides during filming, is an actual hotel in downtown LA. It really does have a breathtakingly beautiful lobby with a shiny floor and a sweeping staircase, views over Pershing Square and a Presidential Suite where The Beatles have stayed. I discovered all this from their website. It’s amazing how much of a feel for a place you can get from pictures and a well-written blurb. Since writing the novella, I’ve actually been to Los Angeles and although the hotel wasn’t exactly how I’d written it, I have to say it wasn’t far off!
Of course, I could have made it all up. One Night in Los Angeles is a fictional tale, after all. But for me part of the fun of writing is discovery, and having the name of a real-life city in the title meant I wanted to represent it as fairly and truthfully as possible. My hope is that people who’ve been there will recognise aspects of the city in the book – that it generates the aura and mystique of Hollywood in juxtaposition with the downtown area.
Because in a series such as City Nights, it really is all about location, location, location.
Today is the last day that you can get this book for 99p read more about it below.
One Night in Los Angeles by Katey Lovell Also by this author: The Boy Under the Mistletoe
on January 27th 2016
Pages: 69
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible
Abbi Devine never expected Hollywood to be like this...
Leaving her small town in northern Maine for Hollywood was always going to be a gamble, but she's finally got her chance- a speaking part as a burlesque dancer in a movie starring A list actor Aaron Halliday.
However, when she's thrown off her stride and ends up in a heap on the floor, Aaron's the one to come to her rescue. There's an undeniable attraction between them which comes as a surprise to Abbi, who has sworn off men following a bad experience.
Is Aaron really the unfeeling playboy the press make him out to be? And can Abbi let go of her past to enjoy her present
Leave a Reply