House as in bricks and mortar.
In real life moving house is a nightmare – filled with the stress of surveys, legal papers, and then the stress of the physical move (especially if you have kids and pets - and then you have to find new schools etc... argh!). My best local friend is moving about 2 hours away, later this month, and she’s had a major nightmare with solicitors and documents and hold-ups at every stage.
But when you’re a writer you can move house with every book, with none of those pressures or stresses. And one of my not so guilty pleasures is house hunting for my hero and heroine.
The Medical Romance I’m currently writing – about a neurosurgeon and a GP – is set in my part of the world, on the coast. I’ve been having a wonderful time house-hunting. And one of my top fantasy properties for my hero and heroine to house-share was this really gothic Victorian rectory.
In real life, apart from being way out of our price range, the house is too big (six acres? I’d be happy with half an acre and a greenhouse), it’s not in the catchment area for my children’s schools, and it doesn’t have any of the three things I would like in my ultimate fantasy house: a windmill (which would be my library), or a ruined castle in the grounds, or a moat (which I admit would be completely impractical with an English Springer Spaniel who loves getting wet and muddy: I'd be forever cleaning).
In book world, it also doesn’t quite fit what I had in mind. In real life this house is five miles away from the sea, whereas in book world I need it two minutes from the beach. And I want a turret (the heroine’s bedroom is in this, and it overlooks the sea). And although this is quite pretty, I’d like the house to be built out of our traditional local materials – flint and brick, like this farmhouse. (Sadly, in real life, also way out of my price range. Lovely, though.)
Once I have the exterior in my head, I start trawling through the same posh estate agents, picking out a drawing room from one house, a sitting room from another, a garden and a garden room from yet another – and definitely a farmhouse kitchen with a scrubbed pine table and an Aga with a muddy dog next to it. (This book’s dog is an elderly chocolate Labrador. He does not have a shoe habit. He does, however, like playing Frisbee – and, like my spaniel, drops it at the bottom of the garden rather than returning it.) And then I change all the colour schemes and furniture to suit my characters. (This sometimes involves extensive research on the internet. Or maybe my friend's new shop, which sells wonderful interior stuff, and... Dear Accountant, would that be tax-deductible? Oh. Shame.)
And then there are the bathrooms. I really fell in love with one I found for my hero’s London flat in my current US release, Surrender to the Playboy Sheikh. To the point where I floated the idea past my husband that we could turn our en suite into a wet room… However, the cost of the shower alone (excluding plumbing it in and the building work needed to make a wet room, and the flooring and all the other things necessary) was half the cost of a new car. In real life, it’s just not going to happen. But in book world, I get the house of my dreams.
Talking of dreams (and yes, this is the gratuitous gorgeous doctor moment) – I found the perfect hero for the current work in progress. I can see why he’s known as Dr McDreamy! (I have nicer pics than this - and no doubt my arm is going to be twisted by my colleagues to share...)
Dream doctor, dream house.
So my question is: what’s your fantasy house? My daughter will choose a winner for a copy of my current book, Surrender to the Playboy Sheikh. (It's not a medical - apologies for that, but my next Med isn't out until December and I thought it'd be a bit mean of me to make you wait that long!)
all the best
Kate x
28 comments:
Kate;
I never thought about using real estate agents and their internet sites for book inspiration. What a great idea. I was envious of Karim's wet room in your latest book. I would like something like that in my dream house. Once I stayed in a resort in the Dominican Republic with a nice shower room. Tiled floor and walls with a swinging glass door and a floor drain. It was just big enough for two people but had only one shower head. Not as nice as Karim's but could be more in my price range. My dream house would also have big walk in closets and a study with floor to ceiling book shelves and a window seat under a south facing bow window. If one is dreaming one can add the gardens and the gardener, an ocean view, particularly high up on a cliff but with beach access not too far away.
I am however quite content in my current home but one can always exercise the imagination.
Linda
Dream House - easy. On the beach. Not near the beach, not two streets away from the beach but right on the beach (yes, I know there's rust and its not a good spot to be if a tsunami is heading your way but this is fantasy right - no rust or tsunamis in my fantasies)
I kind of like the ones I always see in American movies/TV - like Beaches or Two and A Half Men. It doesn't even have to be really flash - just right on the ocean...
Sadly also out of my price
range :-(
Many thanks for still offering a book prize; it's very thoughtful of you.
As for a dream house, I consider our NEIGHBOURS a dream come true so wouldn't want to move. Wouldn't want the aggrevation of adding on to our current (almost) 1,100 sq ft house either. I tell people it's our retirement house; we just bought it BEFORE kids, filled it WITH kids, and will have it to ourselves again soon -- and I didn't have to move!
If I could click my fingers to magically change things here, well ... THEN I'd want a walk-in closet, ensuite full bath, more room to negotiate around the bedrooms, much bigger living room and kitchen for entertaining, and a couple of guest rooms. If I could afford a maid to take care of it, then all the better!
First of all, my dream house is somewhere tropical. It's on a very large lot, it's 5BR, walk in basement. The kitchen is huge, laundry room on the main floor. The internet never goes out.
Linda - your Dominican Republic shower soounds wonderful, too.
And definitely floor to ceiling bookshelves with a window seat (overlooking the sea... oh, yes).
Amy - oh yes, Charlie's house in Two and a Half Men. (But with a lot more books. The piano can stay *g*)
I'd always wanted a big American fridge, so when we remodelled our kitchen a couple of years back, it was all based around the fridge :o)
Laney - definitely true that neighbours make a big difference. It's why we decied to extend rather than move, because our neighbours are just lovely.
I still fantasise about a 200-year-old farmhouse with a huge kitchen, but I'm happy where we are :o)
Chey - ah, tropical - Anne McAllister had this fabulous waterfall shower in Fiji in one of her books. Annie West and I both fell in love with it and we want a timeshare :o)
And an internet connection that never cuts out - wouldn't that be something? (One that doesn't suddenly slow to a crawl, too...)
Oooh, Kate, are we house twins?:-) Houses often play a big part in my books and when we're out and about I'm always getting the boys to take a photo of a house I can see in a book. They are always older houses....well old for Australia! And yes, I'm with Amy...on the beach wins hands down. LOVED your pics!
Kate, I'm drooling over the houses, and well, Dr. McDreamy may have a bit to do with it, too.
I used to fantasize about having a modern house with a moat around it so that I could open my French windows and doors in my bedroom and slip into the water for a swim whenever I wanted.
Now, I'd settle for a larger shower with slate tiles and a bench to sit on. ha ha. Funny how things change as I get older.
In my WIP I found some wonderful pictures for the heroine's California Craftsman home and the heroe's "man cave" loft. That's one of the most fun things to do with these books - put together the collage before beginning.
Oh, and I love Home and Garden TV here in the states, talk about getting your hearts content of house hunting all over the world.
Loved the blog.
Gosh, Kate, this topic is very timely and my dh and I work to get our house in shape to sell. We want to move closer to the city, in a smaller home that has little to no upkeep. (I know, strange idea for a dream house, but there you have it.)
Of course if I could aford a house on Lake Michigan, I'd go for that too. Guess I'll have to leave that for one of my lucky heroines. :)
Laura
Hi Kate
I love looking through houses for sale too but there's no way I want to go through the trauma of moving any time soon!
But since this is fantasy, I'd go for something old and gorgeous by a mountain lake - sort of log cabin meets mansion! Definitely with the floor to ceiling bookcases in Linda's fantasy. And a wonderful, efficient (if there can be such a thing) open fireplace. Oh and I'd love an en suite. And a balcony to step out on to with a panoramic view of the mountains behind the lake. And... :)
Though right this minute my dream accommodation is a nice little pop top caravan with cupboards that stuff can stay in from move to move! LOL
:)
Sharon
Fiona - we might indeed be house twins :o)
There's a programme called Grand Designs (not sure if you get it?) where people build or renovate their dream home.
The one that made me quiver was a ruined castle (whose walls fell down mid-build). DH took one look at me and said, 'I sincerely hope that look on your face means you have a book in your head...' Yeah, because we don't have the DIY skils between us to so it, sadly! Otherwise... a ruined castle would do just nicely!
Lynne - this man cave sounds intriguing. Tell us more. Is it like Ranger's Batcave in the Stephanie Plum books? :o)
My fantasy house in "Sold to the Highest Bidder" is based on several local houses, one of which I've wanted for years - and it has a moat. (Isn't modern. Is about 300 years old.) But every time it comes on the market, it's a million pounds more than our house is worth. Need to win the lottery for that one...
Laura - good luck with the house move! No upkeep sounds good to me. (I'm banned from gloss paint because mine always runs and looks messy and DH has to sand it down the next day and redo it.)
Sharon - a log cabin crossed with a mansion sounds wonderful, especially with that view!
As for the caravan - you're a brave woman :o) (Fab experience, though, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about your travels.)
Kate - you're a legend. I've never given that much thought to any setting for one of my books. You put me to shame.
My dream house, sadly, is not just "a" house. I'd like to join the "cottage" industry. A cottage in Tuscany, a cottage in Surrey, a cottage in Prague... oh and I really want an apartment on the Gold Coast so I can visit the theme parks whenever I want. Of course, I'm going to get to all these cottages in my private plane...
Sigh.
Lucy
Lucy, I'm just one of these sad writers who needs to feel grounded in her setting...
Love your idea of the cottage industry!
My dream house is a two story pink house, with a wrap around patio, and a large swimming pool. Right by a lake is ideal also. A huge, fully stocked kitchen is a must and pink fences complete with a minature pink dog house for my puppy Buster and a pink cat house for princess.
The house I live in would be about the right size for me if only I could update the kitchen, make the third bedroom into a library for all my books and move the whole thing onto a larger lot in a smaller town. The houses on either side of me are rentals and while right now the people living there are quiet and respectful the ones before were really pains in the .... with no respect for my property whatsoever.
Avi J, that's so sweet!
And guess what? The dog in my current book is called Buster. (This is an elderly chocolate labrador who thinks he's still a puppy.)
Ellen - hugs, and glad your current neighbours are nice. Let's hope they stay for ages.
Know what you mean about a library. Turning our garage into a library (also my office and a spare bedroom) has made a huge difference here; nice to have most of my books in one place.
Hi Kate. OMG my dog Buster is part labrador (from his father) and his mother was a German Shephard. And though he just turned a year and 2 months he still thinks he is a puppy at 75 pounds he is not an easy dog to lift up but that is what he always jumps up; for me to lift him. If I sit he jumps stright in my lap heavy as he is.
Avi - what a coincidence! :o)
Our first spaniel used to think he was a lap dog (even though he was a full-sized English Springer spaniel) and he could get really heavy. Byron likes sneaking onto the sofa next to you (and if you're sprawled on the floor, reading the paper, he'll pat your head with his paw to get your attention).
Goes without saying that my fantasy house would definitely have lots of space for a dog!
Snap, Kate! This is a part of bringing a book together that I love, too. I'm very visual in terms of using photos and images that I find helps me to bring things alive when I begin to write. And that includes finding the right kind of house for my hero & heroine both in terms of where they are living at the start and where they might live together. If different. One might move into the other's existing house, of course, but sometimes it involves a move to a new family home.
For myself I am most definitely a country cottage/farmhouse/cabin-in-the-woods kind of girl! The more rural and isolated the better!
Must now go and make a final decision on the right homes for my current characters.
Love,
Mags xx
Mags - having seen some of your secret picture stash, I know it works for you, too :o)
(For those not in the know, she once sent me this picture of a gorgeous model, and I subsequently used him as Charlie Radley in my Posh Docs trilogy. I did ask first, though... *g*)
And a superb job you made of him, too, Kate!!! He was a real inspiration to me for Cameron in my 4th Strathlochan Medical - and I still find excuses to have a peep at his picture!!
Indeed, it's amazing how much procrastination time I can spend attending to my potential hero folder!!!!
Love,
Mags xx
Hey Kate, my dream house has always been a big old Victorian with a wrap-around porch, some gingerbread trim and railings. Inside, 2 bathrooms (we have 1 for 5 people) and the bathroom big enough that you can't touch the tub when you're sitting on the loo. :)
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