The first time my husband asked me on a date, he decided to
do so in a loud bar where we could both hardly hear. He lead off with, “Do you
like wine?”
The answer at the time was a resounding NO. I found wine to
be too sour. Not my preferred drink. But I could also tell that he was leading
up to a date invite (or at least hoped so). If I said no, he might think I was
rejecting the date, which I wasn’t. So, of course I said… “Yes!”
You saw that coming right? I mean, yes, our relationship
started out on a lie, but can you blame me? Of course, once we got to the wine
tasting party he took me to for the date, he figured out pretty quickly that I
did not like wine. Lol. (Or, for that matter, spending time with large groups of
total strangers, though I hide that pretty well. It took him longer to cotton
on to that facet of my personality.)
A few years later, we married and moved to California. To
northern California in particular. The heart of wine country. If we drove west,
we hit Napa and Sonoma. If we went a bit south we hit ???. Every party we went
to wine was served (it’s basically the California version of beer). Parties and
corporate team builders were held at wineries. I couldn’t escape the stuff.
And then I started to like wine. Granted, my journey into
wines started with the sweetest of the whites (the dessert wines). I’m still
not much of a red wine drinker, even now, unless it’s in sangria. But I do love
wine. However, it wasn’t Napa, or the tastings, or the parties, or the
teambuilders that got me hooked. It was my favorite winery.
Boeger Winery.
Boeger was the closest winery to us, and also the most
beautiful. East of where we lived, it’s located in the rolling western slopes
of the Sierra Nevada mountains in a region called Apple Hill. Apple Hill is
mostly beautiful apple orchards, but also sports a few other things—a Christmas
tree farm, pumpkin patches, a brewery or two…and Boeger Winery.
Boeger is set on a gorgeous piece of land. It has a modern
tasting room. Then, beside a babbling brook, rolling green grass with picnic
tables. Those lead down to an origitial, restored farm house where the owner’s
daughter lives upstairs (or did at the time). There’s also an original, still
operation forge on the property, some ancient apple trees, and, of course, the
beautiful rows of vines which can be seen over the rolling mountains.
The place is idyllic. We even took a series of family photos
there. In the summers, the owners take advantage of the weather and the beauty
of the spot. On Friday nights, they would bring in a live band. We would come
with friends who had children about the same age and set up blankets and
chairs, eat a picnic dinner, drink wine, and listen to the music as the kids
ran around and played. Many of my favorite California memories take place at
Boeger Winery. Granted, it’s not all about the wine (which is excellent by the
way), but the wine was part of it. Now, any time I open a bottle, regardless of
brand or type, I think of that place.
They say write what you know. That can be a little tricky
when writing dragon shifters in paranormal romance. Since so much of the world
has to be created from scratch in my head, one of my tricks is to try to set
things in places I’m already familiar with. This is why my Fire’s Edge series is set in northern California, where I lived for
ten years. Even better, especially in my latest release The Rookie, I set portions of the books at…you guessed it…a winery
that looks and feels just like Boeger.
If you’re ever out Apple Hill way, near Placerville,
California, I highly recommend, you make Boeger one of your stops.
EXCERPT FROM THE ROOKIE
Sera glanced up from opening a new
bottle of wine at a burst of noise from outside to find Aidan’s gaze on her.
Again.
That was the third time he’d looked
over at her since he and the team arrived at the winery. While she and Delaney
worked beside her other summer servers doing tastings by the caboodle, Finn,
Aidan, and the team had settled in with camping chairs by one of the picnic
tables, listening to the live music.
Wide double doors to the tasting room stood
open, spilling light onto the grassy area outside to mix with the lights strung
through the trees. The honeyed scent of blossoms floated in on the evening
breeze to blend with the oiled wood of the bar. Through the doors, Sera had a
direct view of Aidan from her spot behind the large mahogany bar that wrapped
around two sides of the room. Granted, that view was often blocked by the stream
of guests meandering inside. People stood in groups swirling wine in glasses.
Other guests perused shelves displaying goods and treasures from local
artisans.
But she still caught those looks
through the throngs. Looks that set her on edge.
Oddly, though she had no idea how, she
sensed a significance in that lingering gaze, almost a yearning. Like he wanted
to share something with her, but couldn’t.
Or
maybe he’s not looking at you, and it’s just coincidence.
The man kept his emotions tightly
leashed, giving the world only the side of him that was determined, capable,
and unwavering in every step he took. But even in real life, she could see more.
See how alone he was, though
surrounded by friends. She could see it, because she was the same.
Except sharing and truly seeing each
other…that wasn’t the relationship they had, not in waking life at least.
It’s
the relationship you want, the
devil camped out on her shoulder whispered.
The time she spent in her dreams just
talking with him… In moments of weakness, she missed that even more than the
physical pleasure.
With ruthless focus, Sera shoved the
small glow his sudden attention gave her down deep.
She couldn’t deny she wanted Aidan, but
that didn’t mean she had to give in. The guy presented too many problems to her
already complicated life.
You
are leaving. The stern
mental retribution helped. Sort of.
Sera plastered what she hoped was a
warm, receptive smile on her face for the patrons standing in front of her and
tried her best to ignore the presence of the sexy shifters gathered outside
with the patrons to enjoy the evening.
At least she was inside the tasting
room while the guys sat outside, lounging around. That low rumbled voice wasn’t
in hearing range to skate over her nerves and distract her, or she’d be a worse
hot mess than the wicked witch with a bucket of water poured on her. However,
she also had a direct view of how his attention kept being pulled back to a
twenty-something brunette with hair tumbling down her back and big tits on bold
display in a low-cut shirt.
Sera tucked her own fine, pale blond
hair behind her ear and refused to compare her chest, which could only be
described as “perky” on its best days, to the other woman’s ample curves. The
woman was practically in his lap. Why hadn’t he blown her off? The man was uber
serious, his only focus on his role within the team. She’d even call him
myopically obsessed with his job. He usually didn’t pay any attention to women.
Or at least, not that Sera had noticed.
She shouldn’t be noticing or caring
anyway.
You’re
leaving, she reminded herself
as she uncorked a new bottle of Pinot. Leaving,
leaving, leaving.
But a glance up showed him watching her
again. Unwanted heat surged into Sera’s cheeks. She couldn’t let this go on.
With raised eyebrows, she tried to play it off like she was only mildly
curious.
“What?” she mouthed.
Aidan shook his head, just barely.
“Later,” she thought he mouthed back.
So there was something?
READ THE ROOKIE NOW!
