Funk-N-Fiction

I love our “Blank” Makes Me Happy posts — a chance for authors to share a little about the things that make them smile. Today, Coastal Magic Convention Featured Author Heather Silvio gives us a peek into how travel inspires her stories… and makes her happy.

Travel Makes Me Happy… & Inspires New Books!

Does travel make you happy? It does for me. And as an author, it’s a major source of inspiration. I even created my Doctor Danger Mystery travel cozy books for extra justification to explore more. So far, she has had adventures on the Big Island of Hawaii; Savannah, GA; and rural north Texas. But this blog isn’t directly about those (though I’ll connect it more at the end, I promise). Today, I’m talking about my happiness in Italy.

I traveled to Italy for the first time in 2012. It was also my first big trip with my then-boyfriend, and we visited Rome, Naples, and Calabria. After we both passed the unofficial do-we-enjoy-traveling-together test, we got married by Elvis in Vegas the next year (though that’s a story for another day). This summer, we returned to Italy, exploring the cities (and surrounding towns) of Bologna, Florence, and Milan for a few weeks.

From my research before our trip, I thought I knew how important food was in Bologna. Oh, no, I did not! It is a part of the soul of the people who live in the city. So, of course, we had to take a cooking class. We booked a semi-private lesson with Luigi (naturally), who was brilliant. And now I know how to make a variety of pastas by hand. Just look at these cute little tortellini!

One cannot go to Italy without drinking copious amounts of wine… and we definitely obliged while visiting Florence. The number of wine varieties in the Tuscany region boggles the mind. There’s nothing quite like sipping on a glass of Chianti overlooking the countryside, as opposed to with some fava beans and someone’s liver… eww (please tell me you get the reference and I’ve not horribly aged myself here!).

My hubby and I wrapped up our trip with several days in Milan, which I found quite entertaining given that the city is one of the fashion capitals of the world, and I love my t-shirt, jeans, and Converse. But I’ll admit, I had to partake. So, I popped on over to a hoity-toity store and tried on the cutest little Christian Louboutin booties (spoiler alert: I didn’t buy the $1000 shoes). They sure were adorable, though.

There’s something about stepping into an unfamiliar city—let alone a country—that brings me joy and sparks endless story ideas in my mind. Now I’m considering whether to set a Doctor Danger bonus tale in Italy, or maybe write a brand-new standalone book. Or even something entirely different… the beauty of travel is similar to the beauty of the written word: you never know what’s around the corner or on the next page.

Do you have a favorite, or at least highly memorable, trip? Or maybe a bucket-list trip you’d love to take? Comment below for a chance to win a free ebook from my catalog!

Heather Silvio writes fun, fast-paced, paranormal mysteries and flirty romances with guaranteed happily ever afters. She sometimes strays from that to write non-supernatural fiction, and even the occasional nonfiction. She’s also an actress and psychologist who channels her inner flapper as a 1920s jazz and blues singer when not working.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Coastal Magic Convention Featured Author Spotlight post.
Heather will be one of the amazing authors we’ll get to hang out with during the 14th annual reader weekend in Daytona Beach, FL, Feb 19-22, 2026.
 For a full list of Featured Authors, info about the weekend, and link to register to attend, visit http://www.CoastalMagicConvention.com. 
And be sure to watch for more Featured Author spotlights coming up here each month!