I recently began putting my contemporary romance, Gwynneth Ever After, onto Wattpad as a serial. Having new readers discover the book has been a lot of fun, because I have a real soft spot for the story myself…and part of what I love about it so much is its familiarity.
The story takes place right here in the Ottawa-Gatineau region where I live. For their first dinner date, Gwyn and Gareth go to the little restaurant where my husband took me the night he proposed. It’s still in operation (though I changed the name in the story), and one day I hope we’ll go back…maybe for our not-too-distant 30th anniversary. 😉
I’ve also walked the same trails at Mackenzie King Estate that Gwyn does with her children. It remains one of my favourite places to visit in Gatineau Park, reminiscent of a slower pace of life, steeped in history, and yet somehow still gloriously unspoiled.
And Gwynneth’s house? That really exists, too, a mere ten-minute walk from where I live. It’s one of the historical homes in what used to be a village and is now a suburb. The place is gorgeously maintained, and it has the exact addition on it that I describe in the book. I took giant dog out for a walk past it yesterday so I could take some photos for you:
And now for the “truth in fiction” part: several years after I wrote the book, in which Gwyn is an architect who designed the addition on the house, I found out some of the home’s history from a friend of mine who was in real estate at the time. It turns out that one of the former owners really was a single female architect…and she really did design the addition. How über-cool (and weird!) is that? I just hope she found her own Gareth, don’t you? 🙂
Well? What do you think? If you’ve read the book, does the real thing live up to what you pictured? Can’t you just imagine Gwyn & Gareth there on the porch stairs, looking up at the stars? 🙂
P.S. If you haven’t already read the book, buy links (just $2.99) for Gwynneth Ever After can be found on my home page, or you can follow the free serial release on Wattpad (a new chapter goes up every Friday morning).
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