‘Torquay?’
‘Yes.’
‘You want to set the entire book in Torquay?’ My publisher frowned down the phone.
‘I really do, I can see it all…’
The plot was based around a groundhog day time loop - Rena signs up for the Love Guaranteed dating app promising her true love in 24 hours, what she doesn’t know is that those 24 hours will repeat ad infinitum until she figures out who her dream match is. I felt the repetition needed to be countered with variety and the setting needed to have a multitude of distinct backdrops… You can’t mistake Babbacombe Model Village for Kent’s Cavern. And eating honeycomb ice cream at Meadfoot Beach is a very different date experience to perusing poisons at the Agatha Christie Potent Plants Garden.
Still there was hesitation. I tried to address the potential concerns.
‘Look, I know John Cleese has just brought Fawlty Towers to the West End and, yes, you can still have an eccentric guesthouse stay if you want, but, when you’re standing on a cliff terrace with a cocktail at sunset, you’d swear you were on the Amalfi Coast!’
‘We really think this story needs to be in a big city.’
My shoulders slumped. In my last book - Skip To The End - I felt like my characters spent half their time traversing London via tube or taxi - they couldn’t ‘nip’ anywhere, rather taking the spontaneity out of a scene. Here I’d timed Rena’s seafront stroll to her job at the Princess Theatre (14 mins), the drive to Cockington Court (8 mins), even the ferry to Brixham (30 mins). When everything happens in 24 hours, every second counts.
As my editor spoke of Manchester and Liverpool, I had a thought. ‘What are you picturing when I say Torquay?’
‘Thatched cottages, cream teas, cosy village life.’
‘OK. Give me half an hour, I’m going to email you something.’
I went straight to the photo album on my phone and compiled a montage of the most captivating scenes — the gleaming yachts in the marina, the big white wheel, the palm trees and pink flowers, the local flyboarder rising up out of the water like a superhero. I added images of all the swankiest venues: the Cary Arms with its dolphin bell, the Michelin-starred Elephant restaurant, even the Himalayan salt room at Lincombe Hall spa, so alluring with its blush glow. I titled it “UK’s #1 Staycation Destination”, crossed my fingers and pressed send.
A message came back: ‘Let me discuss this with the team.’
Well, it wasn’t a no. But now there were multiple departments to convince. I went to what was the WeSUP cafe (now reimagined as Soak Lifestyle), sipped a velvety latte and decided I wanted Rena’s best friends to be a barista and a paddleboard instructor. Then I watched the harbour bridge parting, imagining the hero and heroine standing on either side… This had to be the setting!
Twenty-four hours later, my editor called.
‘Two things,’ she began. ‘One verdict and one question.’
‘What’s the verdict?’ I held my breath.
‘We’re unanimously sold - we had no idea how stunning it is there.’
A smile spread across my face and my heart inflated. But then I paused. ‘What was the second thing - the question?’
‘When can we all come and stay?’
I chuckled and gave Torquay an imaginary high five.
Sometimes it really does just take One Day to Fall in Love.
Molly James is the pen name of former Devon Life columnist Belinda Jones. One Day to Fall In Love is published by Hachette/Quercus.
