Putting It Together

I promised myself I'd bring along a book related to the places I visit, adding a dimension to travel that invites reflection. The challenge I have at the moment is how to put the two together. On this trip, it is putting the three together. I brought and read a novel about a fictitious town bearing an uncanny resemblance to the one I am visiting. I also learned of a book of poems by a local poet, and followed the directions on her web site to a tiny bookstore to find a copy. That was yet another dimension.
When I mentioned I had been directed to his wife's book shop, the husband who was minding the store marveled that a five hundred square foot bookstore could pop up on anyone's radar as a destination hundreds of miles away. At any rate, I enjoyed the poems, and the poet's sense of appreciation for the local natural resources—dunes, trees, a river and a Great Lake. No doubt that book, read quickly once, and piece-by-piece later, enhanced the experience of natural surroundings here, pulling me out to take in my surroundings.
But what about the novel? It was a ghost story…. In her prologue, the author observed that people around "her neck of the woods (Michigan) don't have the need or inclination to spin yarns. Our real lives furnish plenty of material." In the story, a couple moves into a 120 year-old home (as I write this, I am on the 2^nd floor porch of a home built at the end of the 19^th century, I think). The rest of the novel deals with their home's unexpected inhabitant, a woman who died there in the 1930's and how they learn of the tragic events that overtook her in those final days. It was an interesting story and held elements I could see in this real town, even as a visitor. First, there is the natural beauty of the area, then some of its characters. The dunes and the lake are part of the backdrop for the story. As I walk among them, I notice more than I have in the past. Next, the old houses are still here, as I mentioned. There are enough of them to allow me to have a better sense of the atmosphere of the book, and, in turn, appreciate more the real town's atmosphere.
And what about the characters? I met a pompous old woman who seemed to know everyone and had stories to tell about them (although she remains the central character in every story she tells). I was also reminded that this town (the real one) can be a friendly community of year-round people, but they turn out to be fickle and turn against "newcomers" (those who haven't been coming here for generations) in a minor controversy, dropping their friendly manner completely. Both of these types figured in the story of the ghost's tragic life and death.
I am struck by how lucky it was that I hit upon two works that fit so perfectly the place I visited. Not sure how I will go about replicating the fit, but I will try. Anybody know any good stories set in Sonoma, CA?