Welcome to Day Three of the Writer Friends Challenge!
Today I’m sharing a bit of the setting aesthetic for my current story. The still untitled story I’m working on is for the To LA with Love anthology and takes place in 1890s Southern California. While it does take place in the west, and has some western elements, it isn’t a true western in the strictest sense of the word.
Of course it’s a romance, and these characters are some of my favorites! My heroine, Eliza Steele, is a woman with a secret past. She showed up one day and having just purchased the large abandoned farmhouse. Nestled in the foothills of the Southern California mountains, this community is the ideal location for her to start over. While close to Los Angeles, it is still far enough away that she can remain in hiding without actually hiding. Eliza has spent the past several months fixing up the house to her liking, making it as far removed from the house she grew up in as possible. She even converted the family parlor to a lending library and social hub.
This is the vibe I get from Eliza’s boarding house. A warm and lazy summer breeze comes in through the open windows, making the lace curtains sway. The furniture is finely made, with carved wooden tables, and lots of cushy surfaces and floral patterns. She wants her boarding house to be homey, welcoming, and cozy.
Is it historically accurate? I very much doubt so. But it looks so comforting! I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind being a boarder in this house! 😍
Christina