Women's Fiction and Cline White Cashmere

Last week I attended a fabulous event that perfectly catered to two of my longtime interests: wine and women’s fiction. Especially now, with the publishing date of my eBook quickly approaching, I was particularly thrilled to go to an author reading at the Book Passage in Corte Madera organized by Chick Lit + Wine. Cline Cellars provided the wines.

Sisters Danielle and Sonya English launched ChickLitandWine.com in 2010 to provide book reviews with wine pairings. What an amazing concept for women who appreciate a great book and a wonderful wine. (Like me!)

While sipping on Cline’s White Cashmere (a delicious blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Muscat Canelli and Viognier), I listened to the author readings by Meg Donohue (All the Summer Girls), Gretchen Berg (I Have Iraq in My Shoe), Seré Princeton Halverson (The Underside of Joy) and Libby Mercer (Unmasking Maya) and thought about two things….what portion of my manuscript I will someday read to an audience and what wine I would pair with my first novel, Where I Want to Be.

With so many real wine references in my novel, it’s hard to imagine picking just one wine that fits the entire story. The main character, shy and insecure Olivia, has a thirst for wine knowledge. With a little encouragement from her friends, she enrolls in a wine program in the Napa Valley and starts trying new things like online dating, playing bocce ball and sitting alone at a restaurant bar. She makes new friends and does a lot of wine tasting while learning to embrace change and live her life more fully.

Because I have enjoyed many different wines while writing this novel, I am more likely to compare the characters to specific wine varieties. Olivia is most similar to a young Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that needs a good amount of time to open up in the glass but has an underlying strength and complexity. Winemaker and world traveler Charlie resembles Cabernet Franc—luscious and forward with a spicy kick. Grace, who is training to be a sommelier, is intense and effervescent like Champagne. And social media specialist McKayla is zesty and bright like Sauvignon Blanc.

I hope you will download my eBook and read it while enjoying a nice glass of wine once it is available on Amazon. For more info about the release date, please check out Facebook.com/AuthorCortney and follow me on Twitter @AuthorCortney. 

P.S. The Cline Cellars White Cashmere is only $18/bottle and it’s the wine that gives back. To date, Cline has donated over $150K to breast cancer organizations. Drink up and read more women’s fiction!

Editing and enjoying the 2010 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon

I love blogging about wine, but it’s not the only writing I do...

As a writer, I have always been encouraged to write what I know. It was sometime in December 2011 when I started a novel. Because I was living in Yountville at the time, it was the logical setting for my story. I wrote about dating and drinking wine in the Napa Valley—two topics I know well.

In the second draft, I flexed my creative muscles and developed the main character, meaning I made stuff up. This is not an autobiography; it is contemporary women’s fiction (yes, that’s a genre!). The third draft was all about adding wine references and a few wine-savvy personalities to support the main character—a wine novice—on her wine-soaked path to self-discovery.

The development of this story and the writing process itself has been inspired and fueled by many glasses of wine. After working with a wonderful editor, Susan K Cole, I am currently polishing the final draft with hopes of self-publishing my ebook on Amazon soon. For updates on the official ebook launch and other fun fiction tidbits, please like my new Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/AuthorCortney and follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AuthorCortney.

Who knows where I would be in my writing process without wine. Last night with a glass of the 2010 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, I edited the 22^nd chapter.

At $25/bottle, this is a tasty weeknight Cabernet and pretty affordable by Napa standards. The nose offers aromas of dark berries and oak spice. Concentrated and bold, this Cab has a lush mouthfeel and well-integrated tannins. With ripe blackberry flavors, dark chocolate notes, and the tiniest whisper of black licorice, this is a young wine with a lot of potential. Over the next six months, it will benefit from decanting and don’t forget to give it a good swirl. Cheers!