Meet Shenandoah Falls — the setting for the Chapel of Love Series
Posted on May 20, 2016
In a couple of weeks, on June 7, the first book — a novella entitled A Fairytale Bride — of my new Chapel of Love series will be available for purchase. A Fairytale Bride is a story about a woman who owns an independent bookstore called Secondhand Prose in the small town of Shenandoah Falls, Virginia.
Shenandoah Falls isn’t a real place, but it’s based on the small towns that dot the Northern Virginia countryside not from from where I live. The countryside west of Washington, DC in the Shenandoah Valley and along the Blue Ridge mountains is exceptionally beautiful. The Georgia Good Ol’ Boy and I take drives out there all the time. And I’ve been collecting inspiration photos for years.
Below you’ll find some of the photos that inspired me as I created the location for my new series.
The Cat in the window
There’s a used bookstore in Berryville, VA — a town on Route 7 between DC and Winchester — that has a cat tree in its window. I love old bookstores. And I love cats. So naturally the moment I discovered The Old Book Shop, I knew I had to write a story about it. Secondhand Prose was inspired by this store. Readers won’t be surprised that the bookshop in Shenandoah Falls has a cat tree and a cat that plays matchmaker.
The Train Station Bar and Grill
I believe the photo below is from Front Royal, Virginia, but don’t hold me to it. I’ve been through dozens of small Virginia towns snapping inspiration photos over the years so it’s easy to get confused. This is an old train station that has been revamped into a theater. The moment I saw this place it got me to thinking. I needed a revamped train station in the fictitious Shenandoah Falls. The Jaybird Cafe and Music Hall, the main watering hole in town, was inspired by this. I have to admit that in editing the first few stories, the revamped train station didn’t make the cut. The Jaybird was eventually located in an old warehouse. But I still see a building much like this one for the main bar where characters hang out and sometimes even sing Karaoke.
Gracie’s Place
Every small-town needs a diner, and Shenandoah Falls is no exception. The photo below was taken in Front Royal, I believe. The diner is classic midcentury modern, and when I think of Gracie’s Diner in Shenandoah Falls, this is how I picture it.
The Wedding Place, and the old Chapel
Berryville, Virginia is home to a historic manor house built in the early 1800s called Rosemont Manor. I don’t have photos of Rosemont, but you can explore the place on their website. Churchill slept there, and I have to admit that I’ve got a Churchill Suite in the manor-house-turned-inn that’s one of the main locations in the Chapel of Love series. A Christmas Bride, the first full-length novel in the series tells the story of Willow Petersen, who has a vision for restoring the old Eagle Hill Manor and turning it into a wedding destination. In my fictitious world, there’s an old stone chapel located not far from the manor. In reality, though, the stone chapel that has given the new series its name, is inspired by a stone church at a country crossroads in Millwood, Virginia. Like the chapel of love, the old stone church was built in the early 1700s.
Shenandoah Falls also has a trendy coffee shop called Bean There Done That, a yarn store (every town needs one of those!) called Ewe and Me, and a beauty shop call Glamorous You. The town is also the the county seat for the totally fictitious Jefferson County, Virginia.
I’m looking forward to sharing this new place and whole group of new characters with readers. I hope y’all enjoy this virtual tour.
