The Coral Tree Tea House hummed with the sound of 34 excited booklovers settling down to late morning brunch. At the head of the room, local Coronado author Belinda Jones sipped mango passion tea and chatted with her hostess, Susan McBeth.
The event took place on April 12, 2015, and was just one of the many book-themed experiences that Susan hosts. She is the founder of Adventures by the Book, a San Diego-based organization that seeks to connect authors and their books with local readers through custom-designed, interactive literary events. “My background is event planning, ” Susan explained. “I used to coordinate author signings for bookstores. But I always thought something was missing.”
So, in 2011, Susan took matters into her own hands. “Our first trip was to Tuscany for Under the Tuscan Sun and we got to meet [the author] Frances Mayes!” she explained. “I thought, ‘This is what it’s all about!'” Since then, Susan has been gathering readers and authors together on literary adventures around San Diego and the world. This summer she’s looking forward to leading two trips: one to Alaska with award-winning author and renowned wilderness guide Lynn Schooler and another trip to Paris and Provence with NYT bestselling author Susan Vreeland.
Back in the Coral Tree Tea House on Sunday, the guests had finished their first cup of tea and were tucking into plates of mini sandwiches, cake, and scones. Belinda Jones then shared with the group a bit about why they were there and the story behind her latest book.
Belinda herself is from the U.K., but she now lives in Coronado (“It’s been 15 years I’ve wanted to live here!”). She has been writing since she graduated from high school, first for magazines and later as an author of romantic fiction. “Always,” said Belinda, “my books are about a woman traveling abroad and how she is changed by the countries she visits.” Her third novel (The California Club) is set in Coronado; The Traveling Tea Shop is her 11th novel, and the first published in the States.
We were gathered to celebrate this new novel, which is the story of Laurie, a British-born New Yorker who is tasked with showing Britain’s best baker around New England. Their mission is to discover America’s favorite cakes and combine them with British classics. They decide to adventure in a red London bus kitted out as a pastry shop, and their journey is filled with cake, love, adventure, and New England charm.
Belinda explained that she and her mother, Pamela, took a similar road trip around New England to do research for her book. She saw many of the characters and places she describes in The Traveling Tea Shop. “It was this amazing excuse,” Belinda laughed, “to eat all cakes all day all the time.” The book begins in Newport, RI, which was Belinda’s favorite spot. “Once I started exploring all the mansions, I could have set the whole book there!”
Belinda described other stops on the tour she took of New England, ending with the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont, a place that features significantly in the end of her novel. Belinda described meeting Sam Von Trapp, a grandson of Maria Von Trapp of The Sound of Music fame. Sam was a former ski instructor and Ralph Lauren model. Afterwards, she and her mother found a quiet hillside on which to reenact “The Hills Are Alive” scene from The Sound of Music, and just as they were performing, Sam pulled up in his car and said laughingly, “Oh, I’ve never seen that before!”
Belinda concluded her story of how The Traveling Tea Shop came to be written, and then she took some time to sign books and chat with attendees. Suddenly someone spied a flash of red outside the window, and everyone hurried to take in an extraordinary sight: a red double-decker London bus in San Diego. Belinda ushered the group aboard, and most people excitedly picked seats on the upper deck. The bus swung down the road and onto the highway, bound for Coronado.
A bus tour of Coronado fit perfectly with Belinda’s love for travel, her British past, and her California present. As the bus flew over the bridge (riding much higher than most people were used to doing), she pointed out various sites in Coronado. The tour passed her house, where she described her beloved dog, Bodie, a character in her next novel. The bus turned onto First St and she asked, “Have you been to Tartine? They have wonderful dog biscuits.”
The tour stopped at Belinda’s beloved Bayview Park. “I’ve always thought this would be the perfect writing spot,” she sighed. Afterwards the bus drove the length of Orange Avenue, and Belinda pointed out her favorite places. “Have you been to Bay Books, the local amazing book shop? It’s lovely.”
The tour of Coronado concluded with the Hotel del Coronado, where Belinda set most of her third novel, The California Club. “The main character is actually a pastry chef at the Del!”
Susan had arranged for a stop in Balboa Park because a tribute band was playing Beatles songs by the International Cottages. The group had an hour to enjoy the music and explore, and everyone wandered off to buy sausage biscuits, sing along to Hey Jude, or find a quiet spot to read The Traveling Tea Shop.
The tour concluded back at the Coral Tree Tea House, where everyone thanked Belinda and Susan for a wonderful chance to enjoy cake, books, and Coronado in such a unique and creative way.
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For more about Belinda Jones, visit her Amazon store, or come meet her at Bay Books this Thursday, April 16, at 5pm for a book signing. For more information on upcoming book and author adventures, visit Adventures by the Book’s website or on Facebook. The second, third, and fifth photos in this post were used with permission of Susan McBeth of Adventures by the Book.
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Becca Garber
Staff Writer
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