K.C. Bateman's Blog, page 14

Chateaux Inspiration

I admit it, some of the settings in To Steal A Heart were shamelessly influenced by the fantastically romantic French chateaux I have been lucky enough to visit on my various trips to France. Here’s the astonishing Chateau de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley.

 

Also, I have an utter weak spot for neglected, abandoned chateaux and one day, when I win the lottery, I am absolutely going to decamp to France, buy some crumbling old ruin and bring it back to life. I swear, if you don’t look at these pictures and hear the house whispering ‘buy me! buy me! You should live here!’ in your ear, then you must be dead inside.

 

Favorite quotes

“Between Mort and Ysabell there was an instant dislike, and everyone knows what that means in the long term”.

Terry Pratchett.

 

Marianne’s Paris — France 1815

I loved researching post-Revolutionary France for To Steal A Heart. And I fell in love with this old map . . .

 

Wine in To Steal a Heart

Chateau d’Yquem.

Hero of To Steal a Heart Nicolas Valette loves his wine. And one of the bottles he and Marianne share in the book came from a Chateau that was indeed producing wine in 1815 and is still producing amazing wine today. It’s hideously expensive! And yes, it does feel wrong to spell a word with a Y followed by a q, but that is the correct spelling! Has anyone had the good fortune to try one of these heavenly vintages?