When I first sat down to write Soothsayer, I knew I wanted it to take place in a small beach town. Pulling up google maps I saw Pismo nestled against the coast of California and without hesitation I started writing Soothsayer.
Now, I only live about two and a half hours from Pismo, so I thought I would visit at some point while I was writing Soothsayer, but that never happened. I would look through photos online, watch vlogs on Youtube and read travel articles about this little town that became a huge part of my life.
Four books later my partner in crime surprised me with a trip up to Pismo and it was everything I thought it would be and more!
Within minutes of walking onto the beach, a sea lion swam up to the shore and perched himself on a rock as the waves broke around him. I died.
When I was writing Soothsayer, I wanted to show the softer side of Robert and give Violet a little history into his Magic. For some reason, I chose the memory of him saving a seal on the beach when he was just a kid.
When the sea lion proudly basked in the setting sun, I could feel Robert with me on the beach and the memory I created for him played in my mind.
It was the perfect way to be welcomed to Pismo and my Magical world.
The next morning, I wanted to explore and I fell in love with the scenic coastline. The sharp cliffs, soft sandy beaches and dark blue water were exactly the way Violet described them.
As I sat on the edge of this particular cliff, I could almost see Robert and Violet arguing about whether or not Magic was real down on the beach below.
Writing about Pismo over the last few years, I was worried that the real life location wouldn't measure up to the Magical world in my head, but I was wrong.
Everything about Pismo felt Magical. Like any minute I was going to see Becky, Jake or Matty walking down the street as if it was completely normal for them to be there in the flesh.
I wanted to find a few real life locations that had the feel and essence of Soothsayer, when we came across this bungalow.
I nearly jumped out of the car yelling, "That's it, that's where Violet lives!"
This is pretty much how I saw her home from the the very beginning and it was so amazing to see it in real life! Also, she would totally have a blue door to match her favorite place in the world, the beach. :)
As I sat on the beach, watching the sunset, I couldn't help but think of Violet. All of my characters have bits and pieces of me in them, but If there's one thing Violet has of mine, it's my love for the beach.
Writing is a crazy journey and sometimes I want to throw my computer out the window in front of a semi truck, but it's moments like this that make it all worth it.
Two days was not enough of this perfect little beach town and I'm beyond happy that Pismo is the home of the Soothsayer Series.