Escape to Paradise: The Setting of Waves of Desire

There’s this couple I watch on YouTube—yes, a sentence that still feels vaguely ridiculous to say out loud. Once upon a time we lived in a world before YouTube existed. (I don’t remember those days clearly, because my memory enjoys playing hide-and-seek, but I’m told they definitely happened.)

Anyway. This couple lived in an RV when I first found them during my vanlife-curious era, and eventually they traded wheels for a sailboat. Something about that shift—taking your entire world with you across the water—stuck with me. The idea of living untethered, drifting with the tides, following the wind like a promise.

Now, am I a seafaring girlie in real life? Absolutely not. I’m a mountain soul through and through. Give me fog-wrapped pines, altitude, and a quiet that feels ancient. But one random shower brainstorming session (the birthplace of 94% of my ideas) had me thinking about that couple learning to sail in the Bahamas—turquoise water, sky for days, a whole new life unfolding.

At the same time, I was deep in research on Indigenous cultures across French Polynesia for another project. Two separate threads… until they weren’t. And suddenly, a whole new set of characters marched straight into Winter Tower, the mental mansion where all my fictional people live while waiting for their turn on the page.

BBC’s Sherlock has a mind palace. I have Winter Tower. And this group? They came in sunlit, barefoot, and determined. They wanted love. They wanted healing. They wanted sea breezes, island magic, and a story that felt like saltwater on skin.

So I gave them the South Pacific.

Why This Setting Stole My Heart

I wanted a story soaked in adventure and sunshine—warm nights on the beach, waves whispering secrets, and that delicious feeling that anything could happen. I wanted the rush of unexpected love, the kind that arrives like a boat on the horizon you weren’t looking for but can’t stop staring at.

I wanted a small community that welcomes newcomers with open arms. The kind of place that says, You belong here. Even if you don’t realize it yet.

The South Pacific holds that energy naturally: dreamy, lush, expansive, and real. It's where the line between sky and sea blurs until you’re not sure where you end and the world begins. It feels like transformation is woven into the tides.

Of course I had to set a love story there.

The Mood of Waves of Desire

Open this book, and you’re stepping onto warm sand. You’re breathing in frangipani and ocean salt. You’re feeling the weight of the life you left behind melt away with each wave.

This is a story about wanderlust and passion. About choosing love over fear. About finding yourself in a place you never planned to stay.

It’s golden hour stretched across an entire novel—hopeful, glowing, full of momentum. It’s the moment right before the leap. It’s the quiet, breathless yes you didn’t know you had in you.

The Soundtrack Behind the Story

My writing playlists are absolute chaos in the best way—lo-fi, K-pop, Caribbean beats, 2000s nostalgia. So I pulled together an hour-long playlist that captures the exact atmosphere I wrote this book in.

🌴 Paradise Island: The Waves of Desire Playlist

Island Chill & Lo-fi Beats

• “Island Breeze” – Kupla

• “Palm Trees” – Swørn

• “Coastline” – Philanthrope

• “Tide” – Mondo Loops

• “Sunset Beach” – L.Dre

K-Pop Tropical Vibes

• “Dynamite” – BTS

• “Alcohol-Free” – TWICE

• “Holiday” – Girls' Generation

• “Wave” – ATEEZ

• “Summer” – SEVENTEEN

2000s Pop Escapism

• “Beautiful Soul” – Jesse McCartney

• “Island in the Sun” – Weezer

• “Summertime” – New Kids on the Block

• “Stole My Heart” – One Direction

Caribbean / Island-Inspired Chill

• “Three Little Birds” – Bob Marley

• “Is This Love” (Chillhop Mix) – Bob Marley

• “Electric Feel” (Island Remix) – MGMT

• “Kokomo” – The Beach Boys

• “Riptide” – Vance Joy

This playlist isn’t just aesthetic—it’s the heartbeat of the book: bright, romantic, eclectic, and full of life.

Waves of Desire is my love letter to anyone who’s ever dreamed of stepping off the map and into a new version of themselves. Come for the turquoise water. Stay for the love that rewrites your coordinates.

The island is waiting.

So is the story. ✨

Are you ready to escape to paradise?