Word of the Week:
friend high — The pleasant “high” feeling one acquires around close friends, often compared to being on some sort of drug. Accompanied by lots of laughing, stupidity, excitement, good conversation, and loud obnoxiousness.  i.e. the act of getting “high” off another’s good friendship vibes.

So y’all know I’m working on my “Dynasties:  The Kincaids” story for Harlequin Desire, right?  Set in Charleston, South Carolina.  That would be why I’m so fond of using “y’all” lately. :wink

And things were going really smoothly.  I was moving right along, loving the story, loving the characters, & especially loving the intense sexual tension between them.  Then came the moment when I was supposed to have them go off for a long weekend at the hero’s ocean resort.  And this was going to be fun, too, because he said it was for business, but had much more nefarious plans in mind. :us

Now, this oceanside resort was supposed to be located on the Outer Banks.  And I was all for that.  I’ve never been there, but the Outer Banks sound lovely, & I’m always game for anything that gets me closer to the water, even if only vicariously.  (What can I say?  I’m pretty sure I possess at least a sprinkling of fish DNA. I would live in water, if I could.)  So I get online & begin doing my research.  I wanted pictures of the islands & some of the luxury resorts there, & needed to know the distance between Charleston & the Outer Banks so I’d have an idea of how far my hero & heroine would be traveling.

Anyone who is less geographically challenged than I am can probably see where this is going…  Can you?  Can you see where this is going? :scared

The Outer Banks are eight to ten freaking hours from Charleston!  But Hilton Head Island…not to mention a whole string of other lovely islands, such as Kiawat, Folly, & Seabrook…are right there, like, half an hour from Charleston.  (I might also mention that the Outer Banks are North Carolina islands, while Hilton Head & the others are in South Carolina right along with Charleston, South Carolina, but that seems a bit like beating the proverbial dead horse. )

And while continuing to use the Outer Banks location may work for other authors in this series, it does not work for me.  I simply cannot wrap my mind around the idea of anyone traveling all the way up there to another string of islands on the outskirts of another state just for an island atmosphere when they’ve got a perfectly good string of islands right in their back yard.  Plus, sticking to the South Carolina islands keeps the tone of the Charleston/South Carolina setting better, wouldn’t you agree?  (Yes, I know you would—Mistress Heidi wouldn’t have it any other way. :mistress )

Thankfully, I’ve got a great editor at Harlequin Desire who understands the way my mind works & agreed that it would be best to use Hilton Head & the surrounding islands for my story.  I also happen to have friends who visit Hilton Head quite frequently & responded to my plea for help by positively flooding me with research information.  Newspapers, magazines, websites…even an invitation to go with them next time they visit, if I’d like.  Woot!   It’s almost like being there, but without all the annoying sand in my butt crack. :eggcrack

So as it stands now, my hero’s luxury ocean resort is going to be on Seabrook Island, South Carolina.  He & the heroine are in his shiny black Mercedes as we speak, driving down there.  I just have to figure out how to get them into bed as quickly as humanly possible…  Any ideas? :whichone

Comments

3 Comments  •  Comments Feed

1. 

   Mary Kirkland says:

   Sounds like you’ve got this one all wrapped up. How to get them into bed as quickly as possible? You’re kidding right? I don’t know, have them out in the water and her top come undone and he just can’t keep his hands off her after he see’s her bare breasts.

   Or..

   They get a flat tire and he bends over to change the tire and splits his pants…of course he’s not wearing any underwear and she can’t help but smack his bare rear end…can’t get to the room fast enough.

   or…

   When they get to their room the management has made a mistake and given them a naughty basket filled with sex toys for the couple in the Honeymoon suite…

   LOL
   :naughty

   On April 25, 2011 at 2:29 pm

   • 

     Heidi says:

     :ROFL You have been very naughty, Mary. I like it! :mwah Like those ideas, too…I’ll see what I can do. :howyoudoin

     On April 25, 2011 at 7:47 pm

2. 

   Trish says:

   Hi, Heidi! It’s been a long time since I posted but when I saw this I had to. My in-laws lived on Seabrook for about 16 years. Unfortunately, we all started giving them grandchildren so they moved back to PA about 10 years ago. It is beautiful and a very romantic setting. The beach is very private and nice-not like the public beaches. Can’t wait until this comes out. I only visited a few times before they moved back but if you have any questions I can answer let me know.

   On April 27, 2011 at 9:52 pm