Fun Facts for “Proudly San Diego”

Factoid One
Grace’s niece Jenna was originally going to be 7-years-old. Almost immediately, however, I aged her ten years and turned her into a 17-year-old, which I believe made her interactions with her aunt more fun.
(It also allowed me to set her up as a future main character in the series.)

Factoid Two
The real Grace Kelly starred with William Holden in two movies, The Bridges at Toko-Ri and The Country Girl. I gave William Holden’s last name to Charlotte.

Factoid Three
The second book in the series in which both main characters are in their thirties.

Factoid Four
One of the main characters in Grace’s book, Hae-Jung, is named after a girl I went to high school with.

Factoid Five
Charlotte…Samantha…Two characters from the Sex and the City franchise. This was totally accidental. I’m actually not a Sex and the City fan.

Factoid Six
First book in the series in which the main characters do not reside in Carlsbad at the end of the book. Though it is inferred that they will return, when the book ends they still live in San Diego.

Factoid Seven
Fans of the Carlsbad Village Lesbian Romance series may remember Grace from her two earlier—and brief—appearances in stories. She was a waitress at Jeune et Jolie, in “No More Wasted Time” and “Seven Days to Forever.”

Factoid Eight
First book in the series in which a city’s name appears in the title.

Factoid Nine
My own car is also named Vanessa. I mean, why wouldn’t it be?

Factoid Ten
Did you catch the references to the criticisms I received for my second novel in this series, “A Matter of Trust”? That was a fun little poke at myself.

Factoid Eleven
Disregarding Vanessa—who is in every novel in this series—with Amber’s brief appearance in Chapter 7, she adds to her record of making an appearance in the most Carlsbad Village Lesbian Romance books.
Including the novella, this marks her eighth appearance in the series.*
*By “appearance,” I mean she has at least one line of dialog, and is not merely mentioned. Thus, her mention in “A Long List of Firsts” does not count.

Bonus Factoid
The tuna-with-bacon sandwich returns, much to the chagrin—I am sure—of my UK readers. (Which means I am sitting in Carlsbad, laughing my head off.)