Lush, sun-drenched, relaxed and nestled seductively between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Santa Barbara is one of America's best-kept secrets.

From State Street and the Santa Ynez Mountains to the rugged Channel Islands and the burgeoning wine country, Santa Barbara basks in sunshine, natural beauty, creativity, cultural sophistication and an appreciation of taking life at your own pace. It’s a city proud to be home to artists, poets and all kinds of writers, including best-selling novelists, award-winning journalists, travel writers, humor writers, children’s writers, historians and graphic novelists.

It’s no wonder that Kate Schwab has chosen this bastion of writers, from Richard Henry Dana (Two Years Before the Mast) to Sue Grafton (T is for Trespass), from T.C. Boyle (Tortilla Curtain) to Regan biographer Lou Cannon, as her home base.