The Perfect Location (46 page)

Authors: Kate Forster

Once, when she was 11 years old, one of her father’s cronies had decided to skinny dip when she was practising handstands in the pool. She remembered trying to stay under the water in the hope that he might not see her.

He swam up, with a huge erection and a sneer on his drug-addled face. He commented on Sapphira’s budding breasts. She was paralysed with fear and shame, till the Mexican gardener came around the side of the house and stood at the edge of the pool and asked her if she was all right. She swam, desperately to the side of the pool and he reached down with a hand and lifted her out of the water. Knowing her father was wiped out in his bedroom, the gardener, who was also a father of four, knew he could not leave her there with the predatory houseguest.

Instead, he took her back to his house in East LA, where she spent many weekends over the next two years playing with his kids in the backyard, eating dinner with his noisy extended family and learning what it was like to be part of a family. Her father never knew or cared where she was. Sapphira relished the chores and the routine. She loved to dry the dishes, run under the sprinkler in the yard. It was a glimpse of happiness in a childhood she occasionally allowed herself to look back upon.

Once her father died, she no longer saw her adopted family in East LA. At fifteen, Sapphira lived with her mother who competed with her about everything. Angry at losing her looks to age and alcohol, she was self-involved, immature and at times just plain mean. Sapphira learned to stay away from her, her temper and her harsh words. No one could make Sapphira feel worse than her mother, so she made a decision to not let anyone close enough to hurt her again.

As she became an adult, her most significant relationships were with a few actors, an indiscretion with a married man and then an affair with a supermodel, all of which gave her the reputation for being insatiable. It wasn’t a matter of being sated, it was more that they were just there at the time, ready to be conquered, then cast-off, like forgotten clothes. Nothing sinister about it at all, it was quite simple. Sapphira was the conqueror of everything, man and mountain, earth and sky. She didn’t do anything by halves.

Her assistant had her Ducati waiting for her at the airstrip in Arizona, so she could make a private and quick getaway. She pushed on her silver Shoei helmet and jumped on the bike. The instructor waved goodbye, eager to see what she would do with her wings now and even more eager to see the movie she was making all thanks to him teaching her to be an Air Force pilot.

Sapphira knew that was one movie that was never going to happen. She had made it up so he would take her seriously. The charity was a lie also. She had no plans to fly material aid anywhere. All she wanted was to be able to travel the world and not worry about a thing.

What she planned next was to ride into town and get the tattoo she had always wanted.

Alis volat propris

A Latin phrase, it translated;

‘
She flies with her own wings
’

and she was getting it between her shoulder blades. She had earned her wings in every way and she had the feeling she was flying towards something exciting.

After revving the bike with three powerful pumps, Saphirra drove off the airstrip, leaving in her trail a majestic cloak of red dust.

Read on for an exclusive interview with Kate Forster and a guide to the Perfect Locations in Italy.
IN CONVERSATION WITH KATE FORSTER
1. If you were stranded on a desert island, which book would you take with you?

Can I take two please? ‘Boat making for Dummies’ and a blank book in which I would journal, write down ideas and hopefully keep me inspired and sane.

2. Where does your inspiration come from?

Inspiration comes from being a pop culture vulture. I am an avid reader of everything on which I can feast my eyes; online, magazines, books, blogs, the public notices in the newspaper are perfect little stories in themselves sometimes. Inspiration may come from a small piece of information about someone fabulous in an interview, an insight into their life that makes me take notice and try to read between the lines. Once I get that, the story just flows.

3. Have you always wanted to become a writer?

No. I have had many jobs before this, jazz singer, actor, radio host, producer and a general manager in advertising. It is as though all these moments brought me here. I could not have been a writer before now as I would have had nothing to write about. Now when I look back at my life, I see that all the roads I took and the jobs I did along the way were leading to this.

4. What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?

When I was acting, I played a woman who received a bionic ear implant in a national television commercial. It was a huge advertisement which featured the man who invented this amazing, life changing technology. After the ad aired, strangers came to me in supermarkets and in the street, holding my hands and a few with tears, congratulating me on new found hearing. I tried to explain I was an actor playing the role but they didn’t want to hear it (excuse the pun). I ended up just going with it as people were so pleased for me.

5. When you’re not writing, what are your favourite things to do?

Reading books, having massages, cooking, looking at things online, watching television and films, talking to my dogs, seeing my girlfriends, hanging with my family.

6. What is a typical working day like for you? Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, how did you cope with it?

I am very set in my writing ways. I start with coffee, made by yours truly. I have perfected this as I am superstitious that if I have a bad coffee the story will evade me. I read all my blogs, then I write my blog for the day. The blog writing is a nice way to ease into my writing day.

I write from 10am till 2pm then I am very tired. Then I play a silly iphone game that stills my mind or I sleep for half an hour. I have since discovered that sleeping is a big part of a writer’s life. I get tired and I write fast and furiously, between five and eight thousand words a day sometimes.

I don’t get writer’s block as much as I get stuck with the direction of a story. There are so many choices for the character and I want to make sure I make the right one. If I get stuck I do some exercise. The act of moving shifts the thoughts and often I will have a solution in the middle of a dance class.

As soon as I finish one book I start another. I don’t want to lose momentum and there are so many wonderful stories to be told.

7. Do you have any secret ambitions?

To see one of my books become a film one day.

8. What can’t you live without?

My laptop. It is my lifeline, my connection to the world and where I can bring my thoughts to life.

9. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An model/actor/travel agent who secretly worked as secret agent, travelling the world being fabulous and solving crime.

10. Which five people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?

Tina Fey, Elizabeth Taylor, Sandra Bullock, Coco Chanel and my best friend. Girls’ nights are the best.

The Perfect Italian Locations

Hotel Brufani
– The oldest hotel in Perugia and arguably the most elegant. On a hill with the best views of the historic city, it is the place where celebrities stay when in town. Guests have included Charlie Chaplin, Bruce Springsteen and the Queen Mother. Perfectly situated, it is a wonderful place to stay during the Umbria Jazz Festival.

Sandri Pasticceria
– The home of chocolates and desserts in Italy. One of the best features is the gorgeous windows where they display their tempting wares. It’s impossible to diet when faced with such treats. Try the hot chocolate and admire the original Art Nouveau interiors.

Umbria Jazz Festival
– Usually held in July, this is one of the most important Jazz festivals in the world. The city is alive till all hours of the morning as people descend upon it to soak in some of the wonderful music. Some artists who have performed are B.B. King, Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock and my favourite pianist, Oscar Peterson.

Galerie Nationale
– The national gallery in Perugia has one of the best collections of art from the region dating from the 13th to the 19th century. All the art mentioned in
The Perfect Location
is actually in the gallery. An incredible collection organised by chronological history.

Flea Market at Todi
– Held the second Sunday of each month. Bring your cash and your bargaining skills and work out how to get your treasure home.

Al Covo
– A sentimental favorite with Americans Venice and deservedly so. Always lovely food, ambiance and spectacular service. When in Venice, do as the tourists do and visit Al Covo.

About the Author

Kate lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, two children and can be found nursing a laptop, surrounded by magazines and talking on the phone, usually all at once. Kate is an avid follower of fashion, fame and all things pop culture and is an excellent dinner party guest who always brings gossip and champagne.

To find out more about Kate visit
www.kateforster.com
or find her on twitter @kateforster.

Copyright

This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

AVON

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Publishers

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London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Kate Forster asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

EPub Edition © May 2012 ISBN: 978 0 00 745249 1

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