The White Hare's Lament by Bryn Colvin

Why you chose that particular setting?

Some of it because it’s the landscape that goes with the history (no spoilers! The setting is in some ways a surprise). Then my research introduced me to a hospital in Devon (I’d been aiming for a south west location). Seale Hayne has the most amazing history and really leant itself to my story.

What does the setting add to the story?

There are a number of settings – lots of wild landscape where the rules of normal civilization don’t apply. Battlefields also feature, and then in contrast to this, the security of life in a small English village.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?

No. Absolutely not. The story grew out of the setting to quite a significant degree.

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

Partly because of the very real history underpinning the story, partly because of the connection with folklore from the south west of England.

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

Yes – quite a few places in Europe, Seale Hayne, assorted towns and villages in the UK, Caedr Idris in Wales, and a few imagined places as well.

Tell us some specific details about your setting. What would we see?

Rolling countryside, some of it green and fertile, some of it blackened and cratered from the ravages of war. A Georgian building, imposing and dramatic. Moorland, the gently rolling English countryside and the wilder places of the imagination. There are a lot of physical journeys undertaken in this novel, so there’s a lot of scenery.

What sort of people are there?

Most of the people are ordinary folk, living through a specific period. Some are soldiers, some formers, others work in the medical profession. Many of them are isolated by the events unfolding around them, and loneliness is a recurring theme. Some of the characters are historical figures.

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

It depends on which bit of the story you fall into, but good boots are essential, and there are times when a helmet may save your life. Cigarettes and alcohol are always welcome gifts, as are decent pairs of socks, cake, soap and other little luxuries.

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

Again, as settings vary there’s no one answer to this. However, what you see at anytime might not be real. Landscape and memory blur into each other, and you cannot afford to assume that anything is quite as it seems.

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

The White Hare’s Lament

http://www.loveyoudivine.com/index.php?main_page=document_product_info&cPath=26&products_id=349&zenid=853cfe4236a8e41e78d726ad01b7c5f7

Terry L White Shares the Setting for her Chesapeake Harvest Series

COME TO CHESAPEAKE COUNTRY

Why did you pick the setting you used in your story?

Chesapeake country was the inspiration for my Chesapeake Heritage series. When I moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland it was like entering a different world. I was used to the mountains and forests of the Adirondack – a place where gardens were planted between the stones and winter lingered for seven months of the year. I fell in love with the tidewater marshes the first time I saw them when I noticed small ancient houses gradually melting into the soggy ground. The forests were different and the land was different – just as wild as the North Country, but presenting different problems. I felt the wildness of the vista, but it seemed bleak and empty compared to the mountains I was used to.

The thought of survival in such habitat seemed impossible, and it was not until I was assigned stories that took me deep into the marsh country that I came to know individuals who were descended from the local Native Americans and the colonists who wrested settlements out of the inhospitable landscapes. I could not imagine finding enough food for a family to survive even the bitter (but brief) winters, and so I found materials for my Chesapeake Heritage series built around the stories of the women in a family who loved, endured and embraced Chesapeake Country.

Why you chose that particular setting?

I had an ancestor who was an indentured servant like Mary Charles in Chesapeake Harvest. I could not think of a more inhospitable landscape for the background of a story about a woman who had to choose between coming to the New World and finding herself in a place where survival was in no way guaranteed.

What does the setting add to the story?

Any effort to colonize a new world has its own difficulties. The Tidewater area offers rich resources, if one can endure the loneliness and sicknesses attendant on life on the verge of the steaming marshes that border arable land. Chesapeake Harvest tells the story of Mary Charles, who endures despite the dangers of being a stranger in a strange land.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?

I could write a similar story, and have. My novel Mystick Moon is placed in Mistic Conn., a place that was built with the same sort of frontier living that captures my imagination.

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

I could use a different setting and the problems would be similar, as long as it was a story of survival in a frontier life. Breaking farms and holding one’s babies as they died of fever are not new themes. I didn’t want to re-hash the Capt. John Smith story which had a very sad ending, but the tidewater environment is a big part of the Chesapeake Heritage stories.

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

I have placed my story generally on the place known as the Eastern Shore, a peninsula composed of parts of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. I have not, however situated it in any particular place on a modern map, but rather ‘between’ those places that survived colonization and are present on today.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?

The landscape of Chesapeake Harvest and the Chesapeake Heritage series was not created from scratch. I did however, go to a place called Elliott’s Island, which is featured in the second book in the series, Chesapeake Legacy. If you don’t have a boat, you must travel through 19 miles of farm fields, forests and marsh to the island. Elliott’s Island has the feel of eternity if you travel there and meet fishermen who have plied their boats on Fishing Bay for thousands of years. The island is so far from today’s techno-world it seems a place out of time. All you have to do is go there and walk down to the shore to feel what our ancestors felt when they first arrived with the intent of colonizing the area.

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

The Chesapeake Heritage series take place in a hard to imagine world. You have to come to Tidewater country, view its endless marshes and walk its shores to realize how very difficult life might have been when John Smith arrived to found the first colony for the Crown.

Please provide your website link. www.terrylwhite.com

What is the link to buy your book? www.amazon.com, or from me at terrylwhite@verizon.net.

Tell us some specific details about your setting. What would we see? What sort of people are there?

The people who live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland are the sort of people Hank Williams Jr. sang about when he said, "Country folks will survive." The people here are a gumbo of Native American, English, and French settlers with a sprinkling of the Irish and other ethnic varieties. Descendants of slaves still speak of picking cotton and working as migrants in the wide farmland acres. There are farmers with thousands of acres under the plow and watermen whose wives pick the meat from their crab harvest . The Eastern Shore has become a Mecca for retirees from across the Bay who find living costs down and volunteer opportunities rich and varies. Summer finds the residents enjoying sailing and enjoying the many weekend festivals the area affords.

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 Eastern Shore of Maryland is tidewater country, composed largely of wetlands with areas of rich, arable land that is now the source of grain for the poultry and ethanol industries. Originally, this land was seeded with tobacco, which paid the colonists’ taxes to the English Crown.

When it rains, you get your feet wet. Summers are long and sultry, with lingering high humidity and long, sweltering nights. The farmlands are fertile and the fishery is rich, providing crabs, oysters, clams and fish for the Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington, DC markets. Situated on what is known as the Atlantic Flyway, late autumn finds the skies alive with migrating ducks and geese – some of which stay the winter to graze on standing grain crops planted by the rangers at Blackwater Wildlife Refuge. Winters are brief and damp. Houses are built on pilings and foundations are plagued by termites and water damage even in town.

If you come to the Eastern Shore, bring your patience. You pretty much have to drive to get here, although there are a few small airports that serve the area. Expect a quiet way of life where the people are friendly and kind to strangers. If I could advise you to do one thing when you come to the Eastern Shore it is to be open and curious. The people here love to share their world and are proud of their rich history that includes a kaleidoscope of characters such as the murderess Patty Cannon, Frederick Doughlass, Anna Ella Carroll and Harriet Tubman.

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

Chesapeake Harvest and Chesapeake Legacy are available both as ebooks and in print. They can be found at Amazon.com, Kindle, All Romance Ebooks, Fictionwise, Mobipocket and more. Chesapeake Destiny is set for spring release as an ebook and Chesapeake Heritage will be released sometime in the fall of 2009 and will be available at the ebook sites or from my publisher at www.writewordsinc.com

The Setting for the Green Healing Stone Fantasy Series

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... 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 primary setting for my epic fantasy series is a continent-sized island nation called Azgard. The geography varies greatly, depending on the latitude. There are huge, snow-capped mountains; lush forests of redwood trees with a house-sized circumference; sweeping grass plains populated by herds of horses; rich farmlands, meadows, and even vast swamps in the far
south. The island is also well endowed with mineral wealth and other natural resources, including abundant water.

At first glance, Azgard seems little short of paradise. Polarized, however, is the key to understanding the island and its society. Azgard is deeply divided by race, by rank, by gender, by wealth, by level of power, by opportunity for advancement, and by access to technology.

Two groups inhabit Azgard. The dominant race, the Toltecs, are long-lived, exceptionally tall, physically strong, black-haired and black-eyed people with skin that ranges from light copper to deep reddish brown. The subject people, the Turanians, are smaller in stature, with blond, red, and light brown hair, blue or green eyes, and skin so pale it seems like milk.

As the story begins, the Toltecs conquered the Turanians several millennia earlier. Turanians endure limited chances for economic advancement, and work largely as servants, low-paid menial workers in industry, or as farmers. A handful of Turanians have managed to accumulate wealth, but they must hide that fact to keep Toltec bureaucrats from plundering their assets. Turanians also have highly circumscribed access to communications and other technology, and are not allowed to own any form of mechanized transport or even drive one without the permission of a Toltec employer.

Toltecs, on the other hand, control most of the wealth and the means of producing even more. A Toltec oligarchy that uses the name of "the Kindred" owns all land and patents on numerous inventions. The Toltec monarch is known as the Exalted Lord of the Kindred. Females are the property of either their fathers or their husbands and have few legal rights or protections.

Visitors to Azgard find that while the Turianians are hospitable to strangers, the Toltecs are much more aloof and suspicious because they regard anyone who isn't a Toltec as inferior. Their racial and ethnic supremacy belief guides the Toltecs' foreign policy, which is based on
military power and subjugation of other countries. Toltec society is also theocratic, with all people subject to civil laws and the religious laws of the state-sanctioned Temple of Kronos. There is no freedom of speech, and the poor and/or Turanians who cannot afford legal representation feel the heavy hand of Toltec justice, which is punitive and often violent.


Why you choose that particular setting?

I didn't really choose the setting. It is an integral part of the overall multi-generational story.


What does the setting add to the story?

Only everything. The setting makes this story.


Could you write the same story in a different setting?

No. One critic took it upon himself to suggest that I set the action in Cyprus, an island torn by centuries-long feuds between Greeks and Turks. That would not make any sense and it would not work for my particular story.


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

The storyline of my entire series is bound up in the ultimate fate of Azgard. This is a tale about how religious extremists bent on absolute power instead destroyed an entire country and imperiled the world. Thus the setting cannot exist any longer-it simply cannot be any place or locale that remains intact.


Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting? Or, did you create the setting from scratch?

I believe I chose real places that once existed as the settings. Others might consider my setting nothing more than a myth at best. It was real to me because I believe I once lived a life as the first-generation heroine of my story.


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

There is a dark secret gnawing away at the underpinnings of Toltec power that will be exposed as the series progresses due to war, plague, and civil unrest.


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


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

Title: Green Stone of Healing® Series

Paperbacks purchase links:

The Scorpions Strike-Green Stone of Healing® Series, Book Three

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780980053753


Fallout-Green Stone of Healing® Series, Book Two

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780980053746


The Vision-Green Stone of Healing® Series, Book One

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780980053739


eBooks purchase link: http://www.healingstonebooks.com

Bleach|Blackout – It’s All In The Setting

The setting for Bleach is a house party, the last 60 seconds of New Year’s Eve, in the Midwest. Jeremy (narrator) is in the bathroom where a girl lay dying. The area is decorated with drugs and sex. The countdown to the New Year forms a point of escalation for the scene as well as a stopping point, allowing the narrator (Jeremy) to go back eight days and explain how he has ended up in this place.

For Bleach, the initial setting is used to both set up the story and because it is a very “in the moment” scene to start a story. The smell of smoke and danger permeates a room full of disoriented guests and someone is knocking at the door.

Sandwiched in between the start and finish you will often find a corporate backdrop used as the setting to establish relationships and tell the story of Jeremy’s adventure back home for the holidays.

The end of Bleach circles back to where the book starts, the evening of debauchery where all the men are dressed as prostitutes, all the women look like pimps and decadence and debauchery dictate the rules. Everything seems to be spiraling out of control, and Jeremy realizes there are no guarantees for him or anyone else.

Blackout picks up two years after Bleach in Las Vegas where Stoner and friends are celebrating his bachelor party complete with strippers and crack cocaine. The ride home is blurry and the next morning in Los Angeles brings a surprise when Stoner’s friends, Chip and Jeremy, wake to find police officers and a dead body they are allegedly responsible for, but neither can recall. The move to the West Coast setting allowed me as the writer to show some type of evolution with my characters as well as play the Hollywood angle, a secondary theme running through Bleach.

The settings in both Bleach|Blackout put the characters in a place for them to interact and act on impulse, allowing the reader to not only paint their own picture of the characters, but also spare them a boring back story chapter. While writing both Bleach and Blackout I never thought about any different setting. Bleach had to begin and end with the party of the ages while Blackout had to move, allowing me as the writer more freedom (and liberties) to develop my cast of fictional friends.

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

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

Thank you for sharing details about your book setting. Now, what's the title of your book and where can we buy it? Bleach|Blackout is available online and select bookstores. To purchase go to: http://www.offensemechanisms.com/bookstore.html

Thank you for having me. -David

The Setting for Conor and the Crossworlds by Kevin Gerard

Questions About the Setting of Conor and the Crossworlds

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?

I chose the Crossworlds because it is infinite. It is an endless series of worlds of light and darkness where anything can happen. What could be better than that for a fantasy writer?

What does the setting add to the story?

Surprises around every corner. There are four main venues that Conor and the other characters populate from time to time.

The realm of the creators is the home of the Council of Seven, a group of creators emeritus who oversee the Crossworlds. It is a place of unparalleled beauty and wellbeing. It is where Conor and the Champions go to rejuvenate themselves and prepare for battle.

The Glade of Champions is the world where the giant protectors of the Crossworlds live. Heavily forested and filled with lakes and small hills where the great cats can sun themselves, this is where Conor first meets Purugama’s brothers.

Earth – Conor lives there with his family in Northern California. His girlfriend Janine, introduced in Book Three, also lives there.

The Shadow World is the home of the Circle of Evil. The destroyers; Drazian, Gandron, Fumemos, Seefra, Pikiwik Loff, and the horrible assassin Nemelissi all stage their attacks in this place. Zelexa, the Lady of the Shadows, controls this world along with the three arcs of the ruling body.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?

Why would I ever want to do that?

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

It’s not that I wouldn’t, I simply couldn’t. To me, the Crossworlds is as real as the world we all know. Conor is alive, as is Purugama and the rest of the Champions. The Lady of the Light has come alive with all the others, the destroyers, shadow warriors, the ezuvex, and on and on. This is a real live dimension I’ve created, and I could never change a thing about it. To do so would be an injustice to all the characters in the Conor and the Crossworlds story.

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

Only on earth. I went to Humboldt State University for a graduate degree. The redwood forest is a very mystical place, and I loved the tiny little towns along the Redwood Highway. For some reason the town of Willits really put the hook in me. I always imagined Conor growing up there. Also, Conor and Janine attend “Redwood State” when they get to college in Book Five.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?

Everything besides earth came right out of my runaway imagination, including the Crossworlds, the corridors, the shadow world, the Champions, seekers, guardians, and the armies of the shadow world. I have to say, though, that I have been influenced by many wonderful writers. I’m certain the Lady of the Light emerged from my love of the science fiction / fantasy genre.

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

Anything can happen, and usually does. The great wonder about fantasy writing is the spontaneity of the experience. Imagine freeing your mind completely and allowing yourself to write absolutely anything. That’s where great stories come from.

One thing that I’ll tell you is that very little in the Crossworlds is synthetic. I love the idea that the corridors are living, organic creatures. In Book Two they began to unravel because the Circle of Evil attacked the spiritual and social health of the planets connected to them. In Book Three you really get the sense of how emotional the corridors can be.

Please provide your website link.

http://www.conorandthecrossworlds.com

What is the link to buy your book?

Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, Borders.com – go to any of these sites and search for Conor and the Crossworlds.

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?

If you went to the Glade of Champions, you might encounter a 5000 pound lion, a 2800 pound jaguar, a 2100 pound cheetah, a 3000 pound tiger, a 3000 pound flying cougar, and if you were lucky, you might see Maya, the Lord of the Champions, a 1900 pound alley cat. They are all cordial gentlemen, to a point.

If you went to the realm of the creators, your jaw would drop as you looked upon glorious gardens, waterfalls, pools, and perfect sunlight. The weather is always perfectly soothing to the spirit and soul. Young creators tend to the grounds constantly, and attend to the needs of the creators emeritus. Seekers (powerful visionaries with a gift finding lost souls) and guardians (healers from an ancient race of ezuvex warriors) might be roaming about. Bring relaxing clothing; you may pass by a healing water wall and want to stop for a moment’s rest.

Beware if you enter the Shadow World, for no one who perishes there can ever be rejuvenated by the creators. If you hear that the destroyer Nemelissi is on the loose, hide somewhere and stay absolutely quiet. Nemelissi the assassin is the most horrible of all destroyers, a disgusting creature who relishes new methods of slaughtering its victims.

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

Conor and the Crossworlds: Breaking the Barrier

Conor and the Crossworlds: Peril in the Corridors

Conor and the Crossworlds: Surviving an Altered World

Conor and the Crossworlds: Charge of the Champions – October 2009

Conor and the Crossworlds: The Author of All Worlds – October 2010

Each person who posts a comment on any or all of the blog tour spots will be entered in a random drawing for a copy of Kevin Gerard's Conor and the Crossworlds – Book 1, Breaking the Barrier or Book 2 Peril in the Corridors. In addition – the blog owner who hosts the winning commenter wins the book not chosen by the commenter.

Stop by any tour stop and share your thoughts and comments with author Kevin Gerard as he prepares for the December release of Book 3 Surviving an Altered World. He will check in throughout the day at each stop to answer questions. You’ll learn more and have a chance to win one of his books, and the more you learn about Conor and his exciting realm the more you'll want to know. Visit Kevin's website http://www.conorandthecrossworlds.com today to keep tabs on the upcoming release of Surviving an Altered World. While your there click on the contest video for exciting details regarding The Hunt for the Five Keys of the Creators which begins in January.

For more information about Kevin Gerard and his virtual tour, check the schedule at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/10/virtual-book-tour-conor-and-crossworlds.html

Surviving an Altered World Blurb:

Conor and Janine watch in horror as a powerful warrior sent by the Circle of Evil destroys their world and imprisons everyone they know, including the Crossworlds Champions and the creators. The Lady of the Light appears, explaining that she and her kind deposited the five keys of the creators on different worlds just before the chaos began. If Conor and Janine can recover the keys, the Crossworlds will be restored

Amazon Link for Surviving an Altered World: http://tinyurl.com/55akjz

About Conor and the Crossworlds

Conor and the Crossworlds series: This series opens with book 1, Conor and the Crossworlds, when 10-year-old Conor Jameson unconsciously calls forth the power of the crossworlds creators who send the mystical beast, Purugama, to accompany the boy on a fantastic journey into the realm of the crosswords. This immense collection of mystical worlds connects by organic "corridors" that allow creators, champions, seekers, and at the other end of the spectrum, destroyers, shadow warriors, slayers and keepers to travel between worlds as easily as Conor walks between the rooms of his home. In book 2, Peril in the Corridors, the story continues when Conor and his huge mentor disturb the integrity of the crossworlds corridors, and must join the Lord of the Crossworlds Champions, Maya, on a mission to repair them, with all of creation hanging in the balance. In book 3, Surviving an Altered World (due to be released in December 2008), Conor and Janine Cochran, two everyday high school students find themselves caught in a race to save an altered world after Conor ignores his mentors' warnings and divulges secrets about his past.

About the Author:

After running three companies and working a variety of jobs during his life, Mr. Gerard returned to school and earned a master's degree in sociology from Humboldt State University. He returned to San Diego after completing the program and worked with two professional research organizations over the next seven years. In 2004, he resigned from the second position in order to pursue a writing career. While still teaching at the university, he spends the bulk of his time writing for publication. The Conor and the Crossworlds series provided the main impetus for his decision to permanently extricate himself from formal employment.

"Stepping away from full-time work was the best decision I ever made. Writing this story has given me tremendous personal satisfaction, and it has shown me an avenue for expression I will always treasure."

Kevin Gerard lives in San Diego, California, with his wife and four children. He teaches sociology and statistics for the California State University. When not writing or teaching, Mr. Gerard enjoys walking the grounds at the San Diego Zoo, golfing with his father, hitting the waves and his favorite pizza hangout with his brother, nieces and nephews, and loving his wife and kids. He also enjoys playing Halo on the internet; look for him in the rocket games as Drazian, the destroyer in the first Conor and the Crossworlds adventure, Breaking the Barrier.

Conor and the Crossworlds Contest

Visit his website and click on the contest video for exciting details regarding The Hunt for the Five Keys of the Creators which begins in January http://www.conorandthecrossworlds.com

Website Address: http://www.conorandthecrossworlds.com

Primary Blog: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A1Y85GB3KR02Y6/ref=cm_blog_dp_artist

Kindred Spirits by Marilyn Meredith

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...

There are three important settings in this mystery. First, Bear Creek, where Tempe Crabtree is the resident deputy. Yes, it is loosely based on where I live--but I've changed it some--including moving it 1,000 feet higher into the mountains. It's a small community town, almost a village, which is fairly close to the Bear Creek Indian reservation.

The second setting is Crescent City where Tempe goes to learn more about a murder victim and possibly the murderer.

The third setting is Santa Barbara where Tempe finally confronts the murderer--and nearly loses her life.

Why did you choose that particular setting?

This is book eight in the series and Tempe has always been the resident deputy of Bear Creek. I like the small town nuances and uniqueness of the mountain setting and the problems that arise, such as forest fires.

Four years ago I went to Crescent City to teach a workshop at a writers conference. While there I met a most interesting Tolowa woman and learned a lot about the Tolowa people, their history and some of their legends and knew that one day I wanted to put all of this in a book. Crescent City is a beautiful place on the Pacific Ocean and bordering on Oregon.

It was logical for Tempe to go onto Santa Barbara in pursuit of the murderer.

What does the setting add to the story?

I think all three settings add a lot to the story itself. I'm a firm believer that settings are as important as character in the telling of a story. I've often given workshops about setting.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?

I could, but it wouldn't be the same story since the settings definitely influence what happens in all three cases.

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

The story begins with a forest fire so the place has to be where there are forest fires.

The Tolowa Indians are important to the story in the Crescent City setting and that's where the majority of the Tolowa people live.

As Tempe follows the trail left by the killer, she ends up in Santa Barbara. I know Santa Barbara and the place fit what I wanted to happen.

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

I usually use a real setting or base it on a real setting. For me, this helps me see the places in my mind as the story unfolds.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?

In all the 20 plus books I've written, I've never totally created a setting from scratch. I've never felt the need to do so, though I've certainly moved things around in Bear Creek to suit what I was writing.

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

I love Crescent City. It's right on a rather rugged and rocky coast that has been the scene of many a shipwreck. In places, giant redwoods grow right down to the sea. It is one of the places where Big Foot has been sighted. The first people who lived and thrived in this wonderful place were the Tolowa people--until they were nearly wiped out by the newcomers who settled in the area. Not many people realize that the California Indians were nearly eliminated either by illness or at the hands of their neighbors. Though this is not what Kindred Spirits is about, it is a part of the characters in the book.

Please provide your website link.

http://fictionforyou.com

What is the link to buy your book?
http://mundaniapress.com/books-kindredspirits.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?

Before arriving in Bear Creek you could make a side-trip to the Indian casino, or head up higher to visit the old growth Sequoias.

In Crescent City, on your way up you could drive through the trail of giant redwoods and perhaps catch a glimpse of Big Foot. When you arrive, there are all sorts of wonderful sea food restaurants with ocean views. It can be chilly in Crescent City because of the fog so bring a sweater.

In both places, you'll likely see many retirees. In Bear Creek, you might run into a Native American as well and the same for Crescent City though there are other ethnic people represented.

In Santa Barbara you'll see lots of tourists along with the many who live there all the time. Besides the ocean vistas, be sure to visit the Santa Barbara Mission.

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

Kindred Spirits is the title. If you'd like to purchase it from the publisher, go here:
http://mundaniapress.com/books-kindredspirits.html but it is also available from all the online bookstores and can be ordered from any bookstore. It is also available as an e-book.

Thank you for hosting me and allowing me to tell you a bit about the settings for Kindred Spirits.

Marilyn Meredith

Hunting The Egret by Bryn Colvin

Why you chose that particular setting?

I like to write about places I know, and having grown up not for from the River Severn in Gloucestershire, it’s a landscape that has really imprinted itself on my soul. Knowing the places I wanted to write about meant not needing to do much research, which is nice sometimes. The Severn is an incredible river – muddy, tidal, with its huge estuary – it’s a totally unique habitat surrounded by beautiful hills. It has a lot of its own myths, and I managed to weave a few of these into ‘Hunting the Egret’.

What does the setting add to the story? Otter shapeshifters need water. My first otter shapeshifter novel was set in the fens – in the east of England, a very flat and damp part of the world. I wanted a different setting for this one, and needed water. I wanted egrets, and they are only in the south of the UK at present. Going back to the river I knew and loved as a child seemed a logical choice.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?

The plot itself doesn’t depend on the setting, I could have used a number of large southern rivers as my backdrop, but it made sense to use the one I know best.

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

Other rivers have myths and deities, but they all have their own character, so changing the setting would make some difference to the feel of the book.

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

Yes, for the greater part – The Severn River, Bristol, Gloucester, Lydney, the Sharpness canal and the surrounding hills are entirely real. The village of Arlode is fictional, but owes a lot to the villages on the Severn.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?

Only the village of Arlode, which is a typical small Gloucestershire village, with an aging population and its key facilities falling by the wayside.

Tell us some specific details about your setting. What would we see?

The Severn is a moody river, muddy, and tidal. On either side are hills. The combination of hills and river seems to make the place a rain magnate and its damper than average, with grey skies being very much normal. Although many of the villages are picturesque, there’s a smattering of industry, and communities suffering from rising house prices and dwindling populations. At the moment, there is no Severn barrage, but it remains a threat to this beautiful landscape.

What sort of people are there?

Villages are increasingly being taken over by weekenders and commuters – there being so little work in rural places. The younger people can’t afford the buy houses in the places where they grew up, and most leave for towns and cities. It’s hard to live in rural England if you have no car and no money.

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

Walking boots, a waterproof coat, binoculars for bird watching.

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

It’s a fairly quiet and lovely corner of the world, with plenty of good pubs, and wonderful walks.

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

Hunting the Egret

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