Being Romantic in Manhattan!

As you can imagine it’s not very romantic researching with your character in tow, especially when they are the same sex, ten years younger than you and pining for their footy-head ex-lover back in Australia. But, determined to stick to my research schedule, we did manage to find some romantic moments along the way to include in Manhattan Dreaming. Here’s our top three:

* The Rockefeller Centre: One of the most romantic things we did in the name of research was head to the Rockefeller Centre one Friday night to ice-skate. Well Lauren skated, I watched. Couples holding hands and gliding in time, others propping each other, young lovers gazing at each other as they went round and round and round the rink. I got a bit dizzy watching them actually. After that we went up the tower and saw the lights sparkling across the city. A glassed-in deck allowed us to sit outside and just wonder at how many proposals may have occurred up there, and whether or not Cash Brannigan – the perfect male character you will meet in Manhattan Dreaming – would appear with another diamond rock at the Rockefeller Centre. When we go back to launch the book in New York in July, perhaps I’ll go and see if Cash is there waiting for us.

* Empire State Building: What is a trip to New York without going up the ESB? Lauren and I weren’t romantic, but we watched other people being romantic, not in a perverse way, you know what I mean; in the ‘I’m really jealous’ kind of way. Who can forget those romantic movies like Sleepless in Seattle and An Affair to Remember? If you’re like Lauren and I you’ll go up the ESB just to search out your own Tom Hanks or Carey Grant. Go at sunset, it’s when it’s most beautiful.

* Horse and carriage ride in Central Park: Like the experiences above, strolling through Central Park, going on the carousel and taking a horse-drawn carriage ride are all romantic activities, whether you are alone or with your character. And there’s nothing like it in Sydney, or anywhere in Australia. It is a Manhattan must-do. We took our carriage-ride on a cloudy, cool day, put the rug over our legs and didn’t speak while we did the one mile, twenty minute ride. It’s really a romantic must-do when you’re in New York. It’s the equivalent of riding a gondola in Venice, but without the water of course!