Sinbad's Last Voyage

Why did you pick the setting you used in your story? I'm not looking for -- "because I live there". I want you to dig deep and tell us...

I definitely do not live in any of the places described in my book! If I did, I wouldn't have time to write about them! I wanted it set partly on Earth and partly on other planets so contrasts could be shown, as seen through Andi's eyes.

Why you chose that particular setting?

It's a couple of centuries in the future so technology would be advanced enough to allow for planet travel, also also for crime to have followed explorers into outer space.

What does the setting add to the story?

Sinbad lives in Old Town in the Thieves Quarter. By unwritten law, the Federation stays out of Old Town because they have no jurisdiction there. When my hero and heroine have to leave, they leave the planet because Andi's likeness has been posted on every continent on Earth. There are loudspeakers on the highways blasting out her description as she speeds away from a pursuing Federation Marshal's Drone.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?

I imagine the basic story--man wrongly arrested, escaping from jail, wife and hunter searching for him while unconsciously falling in love with each other--could be set anywhere.

Why or why couldn't you use a different setting?

Because I have an SF frame of mind and I saw this as a futuristic story and never anything else.

Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting?

None whatsoever.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?

I'm certain there were unconscious influences somewhere along the line, but as far as I know, everything--from the Thieves Quarter in Old Town to Antilla City with its five miles of shopping malls to the jungle planet of Albegensia--was made up out of whole cloth, in my imagination.

Please provide your website link.

www.tonivsweeney.com

What is the link to buy your book?

www.lulu.com; www.doubledragonbooks.com.

Tell us some specific details about your setting.

On Earth, the people are still much the same, struggling to get along. There's so much pollution now, however, that one group has retreated into an area inland where they've established a cult, the Naturals, growing their own food, making their own clothes, using herbs to cure their ills. They don't use anything that wasn't used by their ancestors in the mid-twentieth century and this, along with their doctrine of "Everyone is created equal," they've been placed on the Federation's Suspects List. Because they also provide the country with two-thirds of its flood supply, they are soon taken off the List, however. They also don't believe in space travel or even air flight and when Sinbad takes Andi up in th mariner, it's the first time she's ever been off the planet and she's terrified. Prisoners are kept in Penal colonies on asteroids and political prisoners are sent to the Toxic Zone, the area which used to be Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri and was later turned into a gigantic asbestos disposal area, and then into a prison. Sinbad has the dubious distinction of being the only man ever to escape from the Toxic Zone.

What would we see? What sort of people are there?

Besides the Naturals, there are the city dwellers, and the Federation people--both of whom are much more affluent--and the prisoners in the Toxic Zone. Earth hasn't become a very nice place to live if you're "different." It's become a holier-than-thou place, where to be considered "human" or Terran, is to be desired. Conquered people are considered "animals" until they've been admitted into the Federation, and accepted the Faith of Earth. The first thing done to a conquered planet is to send in soldiers and missionaries. The farther from Earth one gets, the freer and more friendlier the planets are.

If we were traveling to your setting, what should we bring with us? For visitors, what do they need to know to visit your setting?

On Earth, you'd better bring a pollution mask and your ID card and don't talk back to anyone wearing a uniform with the Federation "Stars and Planets" on the sleeve! You don't want to go to Felida. They don't like humans!

Thank you for sharing details about your book setting. Now, what's the title of your book and where can we buy it?

Sinbad's Last Voyage, (Book One in the Adventures of Sinbad) available from www.lulu.com or www.doubledragonbooks.com

Spring House by David Bowles

Title: Spring House, Book 1 in the Westward Sagas

Author: David Bowles

Web site: http://www.westwardsagas.com

Why did you pick the setting you used in your story? I'm not looking for -- "because I live there". I want you to dig deep and tell us...

Why you chose that particular setting? My novel is based on my family history, and the book is set in the time and place my ancestors, who are the main characters, lived.

What does the setting add to the story? Setting is crucial to the story--the family farm was turned into a battlefield in the Revolutionary War. My main character fought in that battle while his mother, wife, and children hid in the nearby spring house.

Could you write the same story in a different setting? No

Why or why couldn't you use a different setting? The story is historically accurate, and the history happened in that setting, and much of the action revolved around the setting.

Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting? Yes, the story is set in Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, which was important in the American Revolution.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch? No

Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know? Feel free to share. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was a pivotal battle in the American Revolution, though it is not as well known as some other battles. The book was released at the 225^th Observance of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, and I participated in the observance at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, which includes land that had been my ancestors' cornfield before the battle was fought on it.

Please provide your website link. http://www.westwardsagas.com

What is the link to buy your book? http://www.westwardsagas.com/order.html

Tell us some specific details about your setting. What would we see? What sort of people are there? If we were traveling to your setting, what should we bring with us? For visitors, what do they need to know to visit your setting? The setting is a North Carolina farm during the Revolutionary War. The people who lived there were hard-working Scots-Irish Presbyterians. If you were traveling to the setting at the time of my story, you would travel over rough roads in a Conestoga wagon, carrying your Dutch oven and food to cook over the open fire as you traveled. Visitors would need to know that they might encounter fighting between the British and Continental Army. They might want to hide in the spring house with Margaret Mitchell, her daughter-in-law Elizabeth, and her grandchildren. However, the crude little shed designed to keep dairy products cool was already overflowing with people.

Thank you for sharing details about your book setting. Now, what's the title of your book and where can we buy it? Spring House, Book 1 of the Westward Sagas is available at http://www.westwardsagas.com/order.html as well as Amazon.com and bookstores.

Cynthia's Attic Series

This description takes in the whole series (3 books): Cynthia's Attic: The Missing Locket, The Magic Medallion, and Curse of the Bayou. Since it's a continuing series, I thought we could talk about the setting for the entire series.

Why you chose that particular setting?

I chose Southern Indiana because that's where Cynthia's attic was located. The dream takes place in a mysterious attic. At times the attic is exciting and mysterious, but many times it is dark and foreboding. I'd just finished telling my best friend about the recurring dream I'd had for almost 20 years, when I had a "light-bulb" moment. It occurred to me that the dream took place in the attic of my childhood friend, Cynthia. We used to play in her attic all the time. When I realized that it was the place of my dreams, the dreams stopped and the writing began.

What does the setting add to the story?

I've always been told, "Write what you know." I had so many pictures of my hometown, Corydon, Indiana, in the early 1900s that I knew exactly how it looked, how the people dressed, and what the downtown looked like. I believe this adds a certain realism that I might not be able to achieve, otherwise.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?

The main characters, Cynthia and Gus, travel to many locations. Since they have a "time-traveling trunk," they're able to visit many locations, including an early 1900s cruise ship, a cottage in France, a Louisiana bayou, and New Orleans.

Why or why couldn't you use a different setting?

The stories are loosely based on stories from my childhood. To make the adventures realistic, I wanted to begin the books in Southern Indiana.

Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting?

Yes. My hometown.

Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know? Feel free to share.

The Cynthia's Attic adventures cover a 120-year span; from 1964-1844. Most of the action takes place in 1914 where Cynthia and Gus first meet their 12-year-old grandmothers! Life in the early 1900s was quite different from life in the 1960s. Although the books are categorized as fantasy/fiction, I like to describe them as historical fiction with fantastical elements. The books give the reader a sense of history without bogging them down in facts.

Please provide your website link.

http://www.marycunninghambooks.com

What is the link to buy your book(s)?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/103-7177880-8331022

Tell us some specific details about your setting.

What would we see?

A small town, dirt streets with large sycamore trees looming over the streets. The center of town is the courthouse square. A split rail fence surrounds a small stone building, the first state capitol of Indiana. The bandstand is also in the town square, and many Friday nights are spent listening to the town band and attending an "ice cream social."

What sort of people are there?

1914: Settlers, Corydon natives who are third generation. Bankers, farmers, blacksmiths, business owners, mothers, fathers, and children running down the streets, gathered on the sidewalk playing marbles, or getting a frosted malt at Rosenbarger's Ice Cream Emporium.

If we were traveling to your setting, what should we bring with us?

Only your imagination. As Cynthia and Gus travel through time with only the clothes on their back and some necessary clues on their destination, they don't need money or food, although Gus has been known to stuff a hunk of lunch meat in her pocket.

For visitors, what do they need to know to visit your setting?

Visitors would need to blend in with the times. They'd need to know that help and information was readily available. All they'd need to do is ask the right person. And, don't expect to find the Internet, cell phones, television, or even indoor "facilities!"

Thank you for sharing details about your book setting. Now, what's the title of your book and where can we buy it?

Cynthia's Attic: The Missing Locket

Cynthia's Attic: The Magic Medallion

Cynthia's Attic: Curse of the Bayou

Amazon buy link for all three books:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/103-7177880-8331022