How a church I never visited became part of my novel

and why the name of the church fits perfectly with Truffle Hunt.

Church of San Mauro, Istria, Croatia

When we visited Croatia in 2011, the last thing on my mind was sculpting a novel from the experience. But, on the flight home, an idea popped into my head that wouldn't leave me, so I ended up writing Truffle Hunt which was finally published in 2015.

Because I didn't know I was going to write a book, some of the things…