Inspiration for 'A Night to Remember'

Greetings! :)

As some of you may know, I participated in my first ever FAGE this year. For those who aren't familiar with this, FAGE is sort of like a Secret Santa story exchange amongst members of various fandoms. Everyone who participates provides prompts they'd like to see written and pairings they're comfortable with, and then those prompts are sent to another author, who then creates a story that's 5K words or less.

FAGE entries were posted publicly on Wednesday. My FAGE, which was for the lovely staceleo, can be found here. Thes tory is titled A Night To Remember and is a little slice of fluffy Edward and Bella goodness.

Lots of visual and some musical inspiration went into this piece. Being a visual person myself, I like to share the different things I use when writing with my readers, in hopes of painting a bit more of a vivid picture for everyone.

Bella and Edward met at a place called The Rustic Cafe. While the location in my story is purely fictional, this is what I picture the kitchen/counter area of the cafe looking like:

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When Edward and Bella visit the New York Botanical Gardens, they share a kiss in the forest. This photo from the NYBG website is what inspired the scenery in that particular scene:

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Edward and Bella exchange anniversary gifts at the end of the piece. Being their ten year, Bella goes for the traditional gift - one made of aluminum. Edward is a writer in this piece, so using typewriter keys in this gift seemed perfect. And this gift just sort of reminded me of these two immediately:

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Edward's gift to Bella was a bit more extravagant and not so traditional. This pendant is beautiful, truly from Cartier, and if you click the source link you can view this and the rest of their amazing jewelry collections (which I will probably never be able to afford, lol):

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And, of course, the pic that inspired the rooftop for the end scene (and the story banner, hehe):

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Last but not least, the song Bella and Edward dance to on the roof. Unbeknownst to many, Sinatra is one of my favorite musicians. This song is beautiful and fit things O/S perfectly:

Visuals from 'Home Sweet Home'

Bella starts off the chapter by setting up her first meeting with Victoria White. The two plan a lunch at the Waldorf Astoria, which is where Victoria's upcoming gala is slated to take place. The restaurant of Bella's choice: Peacock Alley. This is a legit place, and although I've never been there myself, here's what it apparently looks like inside:

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Jasper was busy explaining an upcoming issue of GQ that focuses on professional baseball players. Now, for those who aren't familiar with the sport, Evan Longoria is a player for the Tampa Bay Rays, and isn't to be confused with Eva Longoria. In fact, here he is:

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And low and behold, Derek Jeter was actually on the cover of GQ once (which I didn't know before writing the chapter). It pained me to use a Yankee at all in this chapter, but Derek is on my list of acceptable people from that team, so ...

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My, my, my.... How I love baseball. ;)

Music from 'Home Sweet Home'

I'm a fairly big country music fan. This song is one of my favorites. And it seemed to me like it just fit for everyone in this story right now (couplewise), especially B&E.


 

Fandom Choice Awards

THANK YOU times infinity to whoever is responsible for my Fandom Choice Awards nominations! I was nominated for Best Author, Hot Commodity was nominated for Best All Human, Best Quote, and Best Friendship, and If You Only Knew was nominated for Best Drama.

In the midst of a relatively bad week, this was a huge treat to see. Most of the time I feel like a small fish in a big ocean when it comes to the expansive fic world, and to see any of my stories get nominated for anything is something I'm so very grateful for.

Head on over, check out the nominations, and vote for your favorites here!

xo