Back in October of 2023, I wrote about my Maui Shenanigans and how lucky I was to travel to the location I wrote about in my debut novel, Sea Of Dreams. If you want to check out that post, you can find it by clicking here. I had mentioned then, that I thought it would be fun to visit all of the places in the series, so I did write about Book 2, Winds of Change here. And now I’m excited to dive into the locations for Book 3, Playing with Fire. Ahhhh! Sera and Logan! I love this couple!
Playing With Fire was a little different for me because I had already been to the place I was writing about and could pull from that experience. It was the first book I had truly done that with, the first book that I plotted some ideas down for, and the first book I really felt I “turned a corner” on. It was the first book to win an award, which was a balm to my nerves since it was also the first book I rewrote the beginning to no less than 3 times. Sera was also my first character over 40 and I loved the fact that Logan, who was about 15 years her junior, was head-over-heels for her. So many firsts for a third book, which I think is funny.
My trip to Sedona was incredible, and it is one of those places that stays with you in a quiet and subtle way. I’m not sure if it is the vortexes, the magic, or a little of both, but that place has a way of soothing everything that ails. Sera’s fiery nature was the perfect fit for Sedona’s calming vibe, and I would love to go back one day. If you ever have a chance to go, I highly recommend it!
Book 2 ends in Sedona, which is where we start Playing With Fire. We travel to Spain, with a nod to Scotland, and a quick shopping trip to New York. For those of you who follow me, you will learn about that connection shortly as I finalize my next collection of stories. It will all make sense soon… I promise!
Sedona, AZ
Sedona is one of those places that is almost impossible to describe. The landscape is harsh, the colors vivid, and the heat dry. What I noticed almost immediately was the way it made me feel. It was as if my internal level was balancing out and a quiet breeze of calm was working its way through my clouded thoughts. As I walked around and took it all in, I felt more and more connected to myself. Sedona to me is way more a vibe than a location.
The artisans who live there are friendly and kind, like they live in a constant state of bliss. It is no wonder since they are known for their spirtuality and wellness. It could also be that they are centered in a swirling energy and home to several vortexes that provide a recharge to those who visit. There are specific sites they recommend where the energy is most present, and I visited one of those sites while I was there. It was hard to get a good feel for the energy while people were around, but I do remember feeling a slight buzzing in my chest, like a hum. Little did I know at the time that humming soothes the vagus nerve and is extremely good for you. No wonder I felt great there! The entire experience was super cool.
I remember the shopping was delightful, filled with hand-crafted items and various art forms all for sale by the artist. The well of creativity there seems endless and deep, and my guess is anyone who suffers from writers block would only need one visit there to get the Muse going again. The food was incredible, I don’t recall having a bad meal there, the restaurants were yum! Some places of note you will want to check out while you are there are:
Haunted Hamburger – Jerome, AZ
Chapel of the Holy Cross – Sedona, AZ
Zugarramurdi, Spain
This is a place I now have on my bucket list, although you wouldn’t have wanted to be there during the Spanish Inquistion since over 7,000 people were tried as witches, of which 53 were formally sentenced. They have a museum which shows up in my book as the place that Sarah’s abuela works, the Museo de las Brujas, or Witches Museum, which describes the history of the area. The nearby Cave of Zugarramurdi is a big part of the summer solstice celebration held annually and was featured in my book as the place where my heroine finds the elemental portal of fire. Sera goes looking for her missing grandmother and finds way more than she has bargained for. Logan is just the first surprise she gets by way of this interesting place.
I have an older post on this location you can find here: Researching: Zugarramurdi, Spain. This location is very close to the border of France, which is another place I have always wanted to visit. Perhaps there are more witchy sites I can find along the way. I am diving into my research now for the Romantasy I’m working on, so my guess is I will find plenty of places that will interest me. More to come on those in my Origins of Witchcraft posts which I hope to start up again next month.
Scotland
This is pretty high up on my list, I would love to go here! Anyone else? Shout out in the comments if you have been there (or live there) and what you would recommend I see while I am there!
New York (Always good for a shopping trip & Inspiration)
I went here in 2019 for a conference and had so much fun with my writer friends. Little did we know at the time that the streets here would be deserted less than 1 year later…
Lots of my experiences and photos I will save for a future post since I poured a lot of what I did into some other books that will come out later this summer! They also tie in with this series, which I had a lot of fun with. Excited to share it with you when the time comes! I will say that seeing Felix the Cat was one of the coolest things I did there, and that the Cosmonaut got me in a whole lot of trouble, lol.
I also had the pleasure of meeting some pretty cool people, including one of my favorite authors of all time, J.R. Ward! She was such a delight and a truly inspiring speaker!
Power Of Four Series
If you like contemporary romance with mystical creatures and a dash of magic, please check out this series. It was great fun to write, and I go to some pretty cool places as you can see from this post. You can find more information by heading to the series page here. This image is a throwback to when my designer and I won the I (Heart) Indie Cover Contest in 2018. So fun! Still love this image, so glad we kept her with the re-design.
As always, thank you for reading, and if you would like to learn more about my shenanigans, please consider subscribing to my newsletter here: https://www.subscribepage.com/a1n0u1. I would love to have you join my journey!
In the meantime… Happy Reading! XO
D.A. Henneman - Romance Author 
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