Moonstone Mountain
Inspired by both fact and fiction, real places and imaginations, Moonstone Mountain is an immersive romantasy exploring love and loss, healing and transformation — as one woman desperately searches for home in the midst of devastating change.
This is only the beginning.
Everyone wants to feel like they belong somewhere… or to someone.
For Maggie, she was sure that someone was handsome, well-off, reliable Ben.
She had it all planned out. It was perfect.
And then, get this: it wasn’t.
So what happens when a woman like her — so strong and finally so secure — has all she ever wanted ripped away in an instant? When home isn’t home anymore, and everything familiar is changing?
An adventure. A divine reckoning. A lesson… or two. Okay, maybe a few.
And why?
Because an end is also a beginning.
Early Praise for Moonstone Mountain – Book I from readers like you.
The places that started it all.
In Moonstone Mountain, you’ll meet fictional characters and wander the fictional halls of the Palácio de Monte Lua. But behind it all lies some things that are very real: a beautiful palace, a wealthy English family, and a heartbroken woman trying to find her way home.
Where fiction meets fact:
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The setting for the majority of Moonstone Mountain, Palácio de Monte Lua, is based on the real life Palácio de Monserrate in Sintra, Portugal.
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In the novel, you’ll meet the Grey family (and one of their ancestors), who are loosely based on the real life Cook family. They spent their millions to rebuild Monserrate after years of decay and plant the sprawling gardens inspired by the site’s Romantic history.
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Although our protagonist is fictional, along with the story itself, many of her traits and experiences are based on the author and her own time spent in California, London, and Portugal.
Go there… like, IRL.
If you were at all curious what it would be like to actually live and travel like Maggie, look no further. Below is a Moonstone Mountain Location List, in order of appearance, to inspire your own real-life whirlwind adventure.
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![A large park with many people sitting and relaxing on the grass, trees in the background, some lawn chairs, and a clear blue sky overhead.]()
Maggie's Flat
For a brief time, the author lived in a flat on Albany Street near the Queen’s Head & Artichoke pub across the street from Regents Park - her favorite park in all of London. She found a lot of refuge in its walks and gardens, often making herself a picnic from the local shop called Regents Natural Grocery. Although her stay wasn’t nearly as idyllic as Maggie’s (a nightmare actually), she imagined what it might be like if it was, and wrote about it for you.
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![People waiting outside a restaurant or bar in the evening, illuminated by vintage-style lanterns, with a storefront displaying signs for food and beer.]()
The Pub
Central London, England
It’s hard to narrow down a singular pub that inspired Maggie’s first job in London because, if you know England, pubs are incredibly hard to come by. However, there are three local pubs the author pictured Maggie and Ben first meeting, which includes a few closest to her flat at the time of writing: the Queens Head & Artichoke, The Albany, and the Globe in Central London near The Regents Park.
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![Interior view of a grand building with a domed glass ceiling, white ornate columns, arches, and marble details.]()
The Museum
Maggie and Ben’s first date, where they attended the The Sargent Exhibition, took place at the Tate Britain in London. Although the characters themselves aren’t real, the moment they’re admiring Sargent’s Lady Agnew of Lochnaw was a real experience the author had. As she walked alone through the exhibition herself on June 28, 2024, she stopped and lingered there before the Lady awhile longer than the others, studying the brilliance of the artist and wishing she had someone beside her to share it with.
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![People gathered outside a bookstore named 'The Notting Hill Bookshop' on a busy street with a storefront window displaying books and a neon sign that reads 'It's always a good time!' next to a green storefront, with a small tree in front.]()
The London Montage
London, England
Saturday’s flea? The Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill, where the author shopped vintage for her Lisbon trip. She also once stumbled into a fancy antique shop down the road and met the owner - the kindest older woman named Nesrin - who invited her to tea at Selfridges.
Sunday brunch on the canal? Darcie & May Green in Paddington Basin. Better yet, take the train out to Richmond for Peggy Jean at Riverside Green. And be sure to visit Petersham Nurseries for tea in the greenhouse while you’re there!
Wednesday evening poetry workshop? Inspired by the ones she attended at Charing Cross Library, and readings she attended at Burley Fisher Books near Dalston.
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![People sitting and relaxing on a grassy hill in a park with trees, with a city skyline featuring tall buildings and skyscrapers in the background under partly cloudy skies.]()
Primrose Picnic
Primrose Hill, London, England
A classic London pastime, picnicking on Primrose Hill was something the author enjoyed on numerous occasions with friends in her master’s program during her time in London. It’s on one such picnic, on one of those rare sunny days, that Maggie has the bright idea to set Rowlie up with Dani… and the rest is history.
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![Wooden staircase leading down to a sandy beach with cliffs on the left and ocean waves on the right. Few people walking on the beach, with the ocean and distant land in the background.]()
Home Town Blues
Although the author herself grew up a few miles north in Orange County, she decided on a San Diego vibe for her heroine.
It was in Encinitas that Maggie grew up with parents Helen and Dave Maudeline, her babie angel pup Pepper, and her best friend and bride-to-be, Dani Peterson. It’s also here that she retreats after her break-up with Ben. Like the author, Maggie finds healing when she comes back home and spends some time by the water, with her family and friends, working through the pain and mustering up the courage to go back to London with her head held high.
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![People sitting at a table inside a modern restaurant, viewed through a large glass window with white framing.]()
Café Wedding Planning
Central London, England
That coffee-shop-wine-bar-combo sounds pretty specific, right? Well, that’s because it is. Conveniently located near her flat on Albany Street and Warren Street Station, the author often posted up at Blooms Yard Café Wine Bar and, depending on the time of day, would either order a couple lattes or glasses of wine to pair with her graduate papers and the beginnings of Moonstone Mountain.
Other writing locations included Qima Café and Pâtisserie in Fitzrovia, Burr & Co. at the Kimpton in Bloomsbury, WatchHouse in Marylebone or Spitalfields, and The Café at Foyle’s on Tottenham Court Road.
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![A panoramic view of a hillside cityscape with colorful buildings, a castle on a hill, and the San Francisco Bay Bridge in the background under a clear blue sky.]()
Landing in Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal
After leaving the Humberto Delgado Airport with Dani, Maggie rides in the backseat with Dani into Lisbon’s vibrant city center, passing major sites like the Praça Marquês de Pombal roundabout, the buildings on the Av. da Liberdade, and the Praça do Comércio square along the edge of the glittering Tagus River.
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![Yellow building with multiple balconies and white-framed windows, some open, and a sign at the bottom reading 'Bar Bicos'.]()
The Aparthotel
Lisbon, Portugal
Although the author had mainly stayed in hostels during her solo trips to Lisbon, she knew she needed a fancier location fit for her fictional wedding party. Luckily, located just down the street from one of the hostels she spent some time in, she found 54 Santa Catarina Boutique Aparthotel. With its luxury apartments, rooftop views, and close proximity to Lisbon’s sites and stomps, it was perfect inspiration.
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![A bar shelf illuminated with red lighting, stocked with various bottles of liquor.]()
Vagabond Bar
Lisbon, Portugal
On her first trip to Lisbon, the author was invited out to Vago bar on the outskirts of the Bairro Alto in the Santa Catarina neighborhood. The evening started out casual and fun — cocktails with the girls, catching up on life, nibbling on small bites. But as the night drew on, the bar began to fill up, the staff began to remove tables, and the DJ started to play. Soon the room was flooded with so many good looking European men, the girls didn’t know what to do with themselves. They felt underdressed and overwhelmed. Needless to say, the author needed to document this unique experience in the best way she knew how.
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![A scenic view of a hillside city with colorful buildings and a fortress on top of the hill.]()
Entering Sintra
Sintra, Portugal
As the bride and her bridesmaids travel out to the wedding venue for the first time, they are all completely taken by the sites, sounds, and magic of Sintra… Maggie most of all. On their tuk-tuk tour, they are guided passed sites like The Moorish Castle high upon the hill, the looming Quinta da Rainha (based on the real Quinta da Regaleira) and it’s mysterious Initiation Well, the Palácio de Seteais where they later experience Fado for the first time, and the Quinta da Bella Vista which was once home to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
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![A flea market stall filled with various vintage items including paintings, ceramics, brass candlesticks, and figurines, with more items on display in the background.]()
The Flea Market
Lisbon, Portugal
Every time the author has had the pleasure of visiting Lisbon, she has made time to browse the flea market at the Mercado de Santa Clara near the beautiful Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora. On her last visit, where she was determined to research for the novel, she was lucky enough to find some magazines from the 1920s and spent the evening in her hostel translating the text. Sure, she probably overpaid the guy, but she thinks it was worth it for Maggie.
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![Night view of a hillside castle in Lisbon, Portugal, illuminated with red, blue, and green lights, overlooking a cityscape with residential buildings and some church steeples in the distance.]()
Saturday Night Fever
Lisbon, Portugal
After Maggie spends Saturday’s sunset with her friends on a yacht on the Tagus, she meets her date at a rooftop bar on the Liberdade called Sin (SEEN Sky Bar in real life) and joins him for a party in the courtyard of the Castelo de São Jorge. Fun Fact: the author once snuck into one of the castle’s summer parties with a friend she met at her hostel. They made it home just fine, but Maggie? Well, you’ll have to read Book I to find out her fate.
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The Quinta
Sintra, Portugal
When the author took a private tour of Monserrate Palace, she was told by her guide that, during the time of the family’s residence, they had bought up most of the surrounding lands and Quintas to house their guests. Naturally, she thought to do the same for her characters and stumbled upon the Quinta de São Thiago Guest House on AirBnB. Perusing its photos and researching more about its history, she was determined to make something of it in her novel.
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![The historic Monserrate Palace in Sintra, Portugal, with ornate architectural details, surrounded by lush trees and plants, with a pathway leading up to the entrance.]()
Palácio de Monte Lua
Sintra, Portugal
Inspired by the real Park and Palace of Monserrate, Palácio de Monte Lua is the heartbeat behind the novel. The gardens and palace, with their grandeur and mystery, had such an impact on the author when she visited that it singlehandedly sent her back to London with a dream, furiously researching and writing the novel that would become Moonstone Mountain.
Sit down with Sister Siren.
Come join Olivia and one of her own besties, Felicia, at her apartment in Southern California as they debrief the novel’s biggest themes and chat about the “why” behind Moonstone Mountain.