At Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort, where the golden sands meet the waves, author Tania Gold discovered the perfect backdrop to write her latest novel, "The Book Signing." Drawing upon the breathtaking landscapes that surrounded her during her stay, Tania found herself weaving the setting of the Sunshine Coast into her work. Intrigued by the connection between her experiences at the resort and the pages of her book, we sat down with Tania to delve deeper into the inspirations of her literary masterpiece.

 

1. What was your inspiration behind your latest book "The Book Signing"? 

When we were staying at the resort there was a conference happening at the same time. It made me think about how Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort offers rooms for functions as well as how gorgeous the place is for a holiday. This is where The Book Signing concept was born. The unique concept of how authors at an international writer's festival meet and continuously bump into each other accidentally throughout their stay.

 

2. How did the location of the Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort influence the storyline?

Most of my ideas happened during the breakfast buffet when I was watching people. Through the glass windows, there was quite a good-looking man standing on his balcony. The epitome of what readers call a 'book boyfriend' and something clicked. I decided I would write a story based in a resort and the main character would look similar to that man. The surroundings at this hotel have everything that, myself as a writer could build upon to make a creative story.  The kangaroos, the private lagoon, the quiet walks around the resort and the Queensland sunset was the perfect scenery to base my book on.

 

3. Can you describe how you incorporated elements of the resort into the narrative, and what kind of research or firsthand experience did you draw upon?

The Kangaroos were such a lovely surprise. I decided to mention them in my book as my characters are from America and at the time we were staying at the hotel, two people from the conference had American accents and they were pleasantly amazed at the sheer size of the Kangaroos. The pool area outside was amazing and I absolutely loved the cabanas. I incorporated the concept of delicious breakfast buffet as we devoured the breakfast every morning. The characters were essentially going through parts of my own experience. The rest is fiction, but these few things were firsthand experiences that I had to write about. 

 

4. In what ways did the atmosphere and ambiance of the Novotel Sunshine Coast resort contribute to the mood or themes of your book?

The atmosphere of a calm and private resort was so nice for a holiday. I incorporated this into the book and made the characters have a more intimate and relaxing time in the resort. The way the resort is designed to be secluded away from all the hustle and bustle was a nice addition. This ties into one of the tropes of the book, which is 'close proximity' and gives the characters a way to constantly be around each other.

 

5. Were there any particular challenges or surprises you encountered while integrating real-life locations into your fictional world, and how did you navigate them?

The Sola Bar was nice for when the characters were meeting for a casual cocktail. I also wanted them to go out for dinner and as, from experience, it was only a short drive to the adjacent suburb where there was a variety of restaurants. I made the characters do the same.

A challenge I had was trying to describe the resort without specifically mentioning its name and coming up with realistic situations that may occur in any hotel stay. Although, it was surprising how easy it was to write about hotel situations and develop a story about it.

 

If you would like to read The Book Signing, or any of Tania’s other books, head to her website here.