Hello from London! @LeoRosanna

As this blog is posted, I'll be on my way home from a family trip to London and Edinburgh. I'm preparing it in advance, eagerly anticipating that trip for many reason. Number one, we love visiting the UK and never grow bored of the history and culture. Our sons have grown to love it as well, but mostly for the shopping. They're teens - cool clothes mean a lot, after all.

However, I'm anticipating it as a writer as well because almost every one of my trips has provided me with inspiration for characters and settings and plots. It's always nice to write about your home, and I certainly write a lot about Canada, but a new setting can inject energy into your work.

For instance, I wrote Sweet Hell while lounging on deck chairs in the Mayan Riviera several years ago. Sunburn was inspired by that location and features a Mexican resort. Night Lover is set at an English manor house, one that is similar to others I've seen in the London area. And Vice was written after I visited Las Vegas. Trips can provide writers with a wealth of information and I urge my fellow writers to jot down any interesting events and sights that can be used afterward.

What will be my aim this time? Well, we've done all the big tourist attractions in London already and don't feel a need to do them again. This time, we really want to explore neighbourhoods, to get familiar with all sorts of nooks and crannies. I want to mine the sort of detail that will allow a reader to become completely swept up in a setting.

Will I get another book out of this trip? That is the hope. Edinburgh will be a new experience for us and I'm sure I'll find all sorts of inspiration there.

Has a travel destination ever inspired you to put pen to paper?