Margie Willis

Paraiso Escondido Margie Willis

The setting for my fictional novel is Paraiso Hot Springs, in the hills above Soledad, California. This novel starts in 1985 and goes through 1986, however I base my impressions of this magical mystical place on the years between 1987 and 1998 when I lived there. My intent is to share the personality of this rustic resort before the claws of development began to rip it up and make it something more civilized and altogether different. There will never be another time when such a memorable zany group of eccentrics could enjoy an ambiance of acceptance, never again to be recaptured. My characters are completely made-up, but based on how people of these times really did conduct their whimsical lives. Back when Carlos Santana invented the phrase spiritual orgasm it wasn't an outlandish idea. My fondest desire is to capture how such a way of life might feel.