Therisma
asked
Jen Devon:
Good morning Jen! I just finished Bend Toward the Sun this weekend. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to more work from you! What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
Jen Devon
Hello friend! This is a tough one, because I learned a lot about med school and residency for Harry's background, and a lot about vineyards for Rowan's. Both were full of really surprising tidbits along the way. I think the most surprising thing I learned was a fun coincidence that I didn't plan for - the fact that the environmental conditions for growing grapes in southwest Pennsylvania are very similar to the environment in Galicia in Spain, where Gia's family of wine-growers is from.
I initially chose a fictionalized version of the Brandywine valley west of Philadelphia as the setting of the book, simply because I fell in love with Philly when I was there for a work trip years ago, and I wanted to write about a vineyard that wasn't California, France, or Italy. I also knew I wanted Gia to be from Spain. I chose Galicia as the region where her family's roots are because of its wildness and beauty, not knowing the climate and soil were similar to southwest PA. I'm pretty preoccupied with making sure my plot points are as believable as possible, and since the reason the Bradys buy the old vineyard is because Gia wants to make wine like her family in Spain does, this was a really delightful - and accidental - bit of harmony in the details.
I initially chose a fictionalized version of the Brandywine valley west of Philadelphia as the setting of the book, simply because I fell in love with Philly when I was there for a work trip years ago, and I wanted to write about a vineyard that wasn't California, France, or Italy. I also knew I wanted Gia to be from Spain. I chose Galicia as the region where her family's roots are because of its wildness and beauty, not knowing the climate and soil were similar to southwest PA. I'm pretty preoccupied with making sure my plot points are as believable as possible, and since the reason the Bradys buy the old vineyard is because Gia wants to make wine like her family in Spain does, this was a really delightful - and accidental - bit of harmony in the details.
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