Traveling is a huge source of inspiration to me as a writer. It doesn’t have to be a crazy trip involving passports and multiple modes of transportation. The change of scenery is what gets me. I’m perfectly happy to take the occasional road trip. I don’t need much. Good music, an open road and time to think about characters and plot storylines is nirvana. However, when the opportunity arises to go on a big adventure, I’m the first one with my bags packed. A road trip to San Francisco…sign me up, but a two week journey to Europe…hell yes!
Earlier this month, I was in London and Paris with my family. This trip was months in the making. Lots of planning, thought and yes, saving went into making it happen. It was magical. Lots of sightseeing and a ton of walking! According to my husband’s FitBit, we averaged ten miles a day on foot. Crazy, but I believe it. We hit every touristy destination possible. The London Eye, The British Museum, Kensington Palace, the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre… You get the idea. It wasn’t relaxing but it was wonderful. And very inspirational.
I’ve discovered over the years that the big monuments and tourist traps aren’t my thing. Sure, I want to see everything but I don’t derive any pleasure standing in long lines and paying big bucks to get a glimpse of a relic. I love finding quiet, out of the way places I’ve either read about or that resemble a setting in a beloved book. For instance, every romance novels I read and adored as a teenager seemed to be set in an idyllic countryside. You know the type where the rector’s daughter falls in love with the handsome and unattainable lord. The scene was usually a humble home in the English countryside and maybe a posh mansion in London. I care less about seeing Big Ben than I do about getting a chance to visit that countryside or pop inside a grand home to check out their library. I want to envision scenes from books I loved and now… I want to write those stories myself. Except with a twist, like the same sex version in a contemporary setting. 🙂
Perhaps one day I’ll write a series set in London or Paris. In the meantime, I’ll find ways to incorporate pieces of my journey in my WIPs. It won’t come in the obvious form of my MCs visiting Notre Dame Cathedral on a whim. It will be infinitely subtler. Like the feeling you get wandering down a well-worn deserted cobblestone street, imagining the lives and conversations of people only you can see. What they’re wearing, how they smell, how they feel, what they’re planning for dinner. Life is in the details. Travel expands perspective and ultimately inspires me to see another side of life. And then to write about it.
Happy Reading,
Lane Hayes xo
*Btw, look for the cover reveal and pre-order links for A Kind of Home next month. Book 4 will be released on June 23! 
Lane Hayes is grateful to finally be doing what she loves best. Writing full-time! It’s no secret Lane loves a good romance novel. An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. These days she prefers the leading roles to both be men. Lane discovered the M/M genre a few years ago and was instantly hooked. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016 Rainbow Awards. She loves red wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in an almost empty nest.
Books by Lane Hayes (Dreamspinner Press):
Better Than Good, Better Than Chance, Better Than Friends, Better Than Safe, The Right Words, The Wrong Man & The Right Time A Kind Of Truth, A Kind of Romance, A Kind of Honesty
AND Leaning Into Love and Leaning Into the Fall
Contact Information:
Website: http://lanehayes.wordpress.com
Twitter: @LaneHayes3
Facebook: LaneHayesauthor
Email: lanehayes@ymail.com
Thanks for the interesting post, Lane. I am with you that I prefer the quieter spots to visit. You sort of ‘have to’ have seen the big monuments, but you get a better feel of the place when visiting out of the way spots. Quiet villages with everyday life is more inspiring.
Exactly, Tanja! We did day trips to smaller villages in both countries and honestly, those were my favorite days.
Thanks for the tour. I like to travel, too, but don’t get to as much. That’s why, and I’m not different than many, I like books that take me places, or even to a different time. Even when traveling I liked to absorb the culture and surroundings, and if a book can take me there, that’s much appreciated. What’s your favorite place you’ve traveled to that you have set in one of your books?
Books are the best way to travel! In reading, I’ve been all over the world! LOL My series are set in DC, LA, NYC and SF so far. I would say New York City is my favorite. It’s so vibrant. It’s never seems the same twice. I love the energy, the museums, the food…NYC always inspires me.
I love to travel…and always discover something new…especially if it’s through the lens of a camera. It seems I can filter out so much and focus on a single aspect of a place. I love to watch people and imagine their lives…where they live, what kind of a job they have, who they have waiting at home for the…if anyone. I never write these ideas down and admire those of you, who do!
I’m happy to know I’m not the only one who takes a million photos on vacation! And yes, I do the same thing. I watch and let my imagination take over.
Sigh, miss London so much! I love traveling, but traffic and expenses make me go places that are fairly close most of the time. Thankfully, San Francisco, the Monterey Bay and even San Jose have a lot of cultural experiences I can enjoy!
It had been 12 years since I’d been to London. I really missed it too. I won’t let that much time go by before my next visit! But you’re right, we have some wonderful cities in the US. I’m going to try to get back to SF in May to visit my son… and do a little more research! 😉
Thank you for the post. I’m not really one to travel being more of a homebody. I find that the one or two times I have gone on vacation with my family I miss home terribly by the second day. I do love hearing about peoples travels though.
Traveling by book or vicariously through friends is a nice alternative for sure!