I Remember Tomorrow by William Butler

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

• The adage "write what you know" applies here. While raised in the metropolitan environment of Los Angeles, the past 25 years of my life have been spent in the rural environment of Northeast Texas. Because I wanted to write a story that felt like real people, I chose the smaller, more comfortable setting of a community much like the one I've come to know in my current hometown.
• Why you chose that particular setting?
  Again, it was important that the story feel small and comfortable. My desire was to create a world that the reader could "snuggle up to" like a warm blanket on a cold night.
• What does the setting add to the story?
  The setting lends itself to the feeling of a close-knit community. A place where, for the most part, everyone knows everyone else. Small town American is an ideal; a place we've seen on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post; a place we've read about but that most of the country has never really visited.
• Could you write the same story in a different setting?
  Yes... but the effect would not have been the same. I could have placed my main character in a larger city; one with planes, trains, and automobile but it would have been a very different story.
• Why or why couldn't you use a different setting?
  My main character is running from her past. She's running from a failed marriage (hmm, imagine that) and a life filled with too many people. To drop her in a place just like the one from which she was fleeing would not have provided the change she sought.
• Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting? Or, did you create the setting from scratch?
  While based heavily on the actual city where I live, I changed the name of the town and mixed things up a bit.
• Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know? Feel free to share.
  Not really. I try to write according to what I believe are my strengths: dialogue and setting. I go to great lengths to paint a picture of a surroundings, up to and including weather and the physicality. I want the reader to see, hear, smell, and feel the environment I've drawn. As such, there are continued references (either in dialogue or narrative) to those aspects of the setting.
• Please provide your website link.
  http://iremembertomorrow.com
• What is the link to buy your book?
  http://www.amazon.com/I-Remember-Tomorrow-William-Butler/dp/1424188903/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195934294&sr=1-1
• 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?
  Northeast Texas is called the Piney Woods area of the state. Most envision Texas as a part of the southwest. However, this part of the state has a more "woodsy" feel to it. Wooded areas abound; even in the larger cities. It is a farming and ranching environment full of harvest festivals in the fall of every year. Winters are cold and wet with the occasional snowfall. Summers are hot and humid with heavy thunderstorms, and the subsequent threat of tornadoes, frequenting the area. The rural communities tend to be quiet and comfortable. But like most such places, that's just the surface. Scratch beneath that and you will find the same things here as in any other community. Every town has its secrets. The area (much like the state as a whole) tends to be rather conservative. There are many, many churches--more than one would think the community could support. High School football is important. But that seems to be true for Texas as a whole rather than something reserved for small towns. For the most part, it's the kind of place where you can raise a family and worry less that the environment will have a greater influence than the family.
• Now, what's the title of your book and where can we buy it?
  Title: I Remember Tomorrow (ISBN: 1424188903)
  Where to buy: Amazon or the publisher's website http://www.publishamerica.com
  Synopsis: Jeanette just wants to be normal. She wants to have a good job, meet someone she can love, and someday get married and have a family. She just wants to be happy. But fate whispers to her, tells her its secrets, and shows her the things it knows. And so, when she relocates, trying to start a new life after a failed marriage, she quickly learns her past is the least of her worries, because the future is the thing that scares her most. Now, rather than finding happiness, she’s trying hold onto her sanity—because tomorrow is here and she remembers tomorrow.

Bloody Halls by Carl Brookins

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

The college I write about in this new series is
an urban institution. It was conceived to serve a
specific audience--working adults with some
college; individuals who frequently have a family.
A student profile--at the time I'm writing about,
(the early 70's) would be a single female parent
working  half to full time, often divorced.  This
woman would be between 27 and 31 years of age and
had dropped out of college because of marriage or
pregnancy, or because the program didn't fit her
needs at the time. But many were successful in
careers, still, they were seeing promotional
opportunities missed because they didn't a
bachelor's degree.

This was a real, setting in a large Midwestern city.

Why you chose that particular setting?
Because I lived it and because at the time it was a
unique and highly individual institution that lent
itself to a wide variety of situations and circumstances.

What does the setting add to the story?
The unique richness of a modern urban city.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?
Sure, but it would be a different story. The rhythms, textures
and colors of every city are different in broad and subtle ways. 
Had the city been in Oklahoma or Idaho the stories and the feeling
would have been different.

Why or why couldn't you use a different setting?
I wanted to use a place I was very familiar with and one in
which some of the action really took place.  This book/series is
rooted in reality, real places, real weather, reality.  On the other
hand I have never hesitated to move buildings, create alleys where
there aren't any, or insert a park.  After all, cities aren't static. 
Planners change streets from two-way to one way, add developments. 
So the dynamic city I write about, and the interesting characters
who populate the pages of my books are ever changing. So why shouldn't
I anticipate that if it serves to make the novel a more enjoyable
experience for the reader?

Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting?
As I said above.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?
All my books use real places, sometimes altered slightly to
serve the stories

Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know?

This is not New York, Philadelphia, Washington or Los Angeles. 
Yet the Twin Cities share some similar characteristics with those
other places, They have some of their own unique characteristics
that you won't find anywhere else. Our mean streets can be as
mean as anyplace.  Or as gentle.

Please provide your website link.
www.carlbrookins.com

What is the link to buy your book?
Independent book stores in the Midwest, Amazon, B&N, Borders

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?

What you will find is two cities, quite different but side by
side with a big river running through the center, a river that
connects Minnesota  with the major ports of the world through 
New Orleans.  It is a commercial and recreational center with
interesting scenery, commerce, some of the finest medical
facilities in the nation; we have an outstanding theatre and
music community as well.

What should you bring?  Ah, bring warm clothes! Winter weather
can be both nasty and exhilarating.  Oh and in the summer,
bring sun screen.  Lots of it. The Twin Cities are places of
extremes, both in weather and occasionally, behavior!


Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com
Old Silver, The Case of the Greedy Lawyers
Bloody Halls 

Whale Song by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

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

When the plot for Whale Song hit me in early 2001, I knew it featured killer whales, and so Canada's west coast was the most obvious setting. The setting for Whale Song came naturally to me since I had spent many years living on islands or near the ocean. I grew up on the Queen Charlotte Islands, north of Vancouver Island in BC, Canada. The Charlottes are rich with native folklore and culture, and wilderness filled with plants, trees and animals. It is an isolated region of Canada, cut off from the rest of the country and not easy to get to. But I didn't want the story set there. I needed an area that had a marine station and was surprised to stumble across one in my research. It was at Bamfield on Vancouver Island. And, viola! My setting presented itself to me.

What does the setting add to the story?

Having Whale Song set on Vancouver Island allowed me to showcase a beautiful part of Canada to the world, and a remote town that few know about. I needed the isolation for the story to work. The actual setting keeps the story real and gives the reader a sense of wonder and hardship. Bamfield is a small town nestled near the water at the northwest end of Vancouver Island. It is actually divided in half by an inlet. Bamfield was the original home of the Huu-Ay-Aht First Nations. The First Nations people (referred to as 'Indians' in the late 70's) reside in the general area, contributing cultural events, art, music and stories. The wildlife is abundant--birds, deer and more. Fishing is an important industry. The marine station there is popular as a field trip event for high school student in Western Canada. All of these aspects add to the unique 'flavor' of Whale Song.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?

I did have one fan ask me why I didn't set the story in Emdonton, Alberta, where I live now. Ok, well, this is prairie country...no oceans...no killer whales. West Edmonton Mall just won't cut it! :)

Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know?

Although I use the actual town of Bamfield, plus Victoria and Vancouver, BC, as settings, some of my description is fictional. For my story to work, I needed certain things, and it's amazing what the mind can create. This setting was perfect for Whale Song. Many people have emailed me, telling me how they could picture everything so clearly, from Sarah's new home, to the bay to the town. Some of them had never been to that part of Canada, but they want to now. :)

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,

author of the bestselling novel Whale Song

(a bestseller in Canada and the US)

http://www.whalesongbook.com and www.cherylktardif.com

Sales link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601640072/cherylkayetar-20

A Prescription for Love - Leeanne Marie Stephenson

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 Michigan and the community I worked in as a Registered Nurse. I take the reader on a journey back into the 1970's at Blodgett Hospital where I began my own career as a nurse. All the places in Michigan that I write about, I have visited, so I have a first hand knowledge of their beauty and significance!



What does the setting add to the story?
Since my story is a medical romance, it depicts the heart of the medical community in Michigan. it also takes the reader into a world of wealth and prestige in the varios wealthy areas of Michigan.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?
I could write the story in another hospital setting.

Why or why couldn't you use a different setting?
A different setting would be difficult, because the personlity of the setting wouldn't come through since I never experienced the setting myself. In particular, Michigan's Mackinac Island is such a glamorous romantic setting, it couldn't possibly be repaced in my story!

Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting?
Every place I wrote about existed back in the 1970's, and I have been to all these places.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?

Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know? Feel free to share.
This romantic journey highlights Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids and the beautiful historical Mackinac Island of Michigan. The details of the setting make you feel as though you are right there with the characters. You willparticularly fall in love with the romantic Mackinac Isalnd! It's a love story in a setting you don't want to miss!

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

What is the link to buy your book?
http://www.amazon.com/Prescription-Love-Leeanne-Marie-Stephenson/dp/1424165075/sr=8-12/qid=1172424584/ref=sr_1_12/104-7067955-3361511?ie=UTF8&s=books
A PRESCRIPTION FOR LOVE
BY
LEEANNE MARIE STEPHENSON

Leeanne Marie Stephenson
Author of "A PRESCRIPTION FOR LOVE"
(Publish America ISBN# 1424165075)
www.lmstephenson.com

CJ Maxx - Coming Back a Virgin

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...
Okay. I won’t give you “because I live there”. I’ll be more flippant, because it fit the story. Now, I’ll explain.

Why you chose that particular setting?
My hero doesn’t have a clue about romance or women. In his spare time he writes mainstream novels with pornographic sex scenes. I wanted his surroundings and his apartment to reflect someone with little intimate contact with actual females.

What does the setting add to the story?
It reinforces who he is. He sees his place as a cool bachelor pad. The state of disarray, the lack of food, the mismatched furniture, his collection of X-rated videos, the need of a thorough cleaning, and everything else points to the lack of females in his life and his cluelessness.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?
I suppose I could have made him a compulsive cleaner without a clue about women but it would have taken a lot out of the story. No, the setting’s critical to the story.

Why or why couldn't you use a different setting?
My whole point about the setting was to reinforce his weaknesses. Besides that, it gives my heroine something to bitch about, something to question why she’s there.

Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting?
No. The apartment is imaginary. I used the name of a restaurant in the Knoxville, Tennessee area but I never identify where he lives. I’ve used that restaurant in another story and I just like the name of it. I’ve never been there.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?
Definitely from scratch, the apartment is never described until the heroine makes her walk-through inspection. Much to her disgust, I might add.

Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know? Feel free to share.
The transformation of the setting is essential to the story. It changes from a bachelor’s slovenly haven into something that a woman could enter without cringing. In fact, some actual romance takes places there.

Please provide your website link.www.cjmaxx.net

What is the link to buy your book?http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=211

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?
This is probably not a good question for me since the story deals almost exclusively with two characters inside his apartment.

Thank you for sharing details about your book setting. Now, what's the title of your book and where can we buy it?
The title is Coming Back a Virgin and the publisher is Whiskey Creek Press-Torrid. It can be purchased from them. The link is in a previous question.

Judi Moreo and Kim Baccelia - Virtual Tour Stops

Promotional Interview with Judi Moreo

This is the first author promotional interview that I've posted on my Self Promotion blog on the Inspired Author site. This is the first interview in a series that I'm doing with Kathleen Gage. She is posting some on her blog and I'll be posting all of the interviews on my site. To read about Judi Moreo's promotion - visit http://inspiredauthor.com/v3/promotional-interview-judi-moreo-0

~ and ~

Kim Baccellia - Young Adult Author - Earrings of Ixtumea

Join Nikki Leigh and Muze as they interview young adult author Kim Baccelia about her book - Earrings of Ixtumea. This is the opening question of the interview -

Nikki & Muze – I was reading the synopsis for your book and was intrigued by the inner struggle that your character faces. It’s also interesting that she is confronted by the same cultural problems in the fantasy world. Can you give us some information about how you came up with this idea and what sort of problems she deals with in the story?

Kim –As a bilingual teacher in the later ‘80’s and early ‘90’s, I saw a lot with my second language students. I taught in a LA county school district, close to East LA. I also was researching my own family history at this time. I was bothered how each year my students would draw themselves blond, blue-eyed, and fair skinned. Click here to learn more about Kim and Earrings of Iztumeahttp://muzesmusings.blogspot.com/

Nikki Leigh – Fiction Author – www.nikkileigh.com
Book Promo 101 – www.nikkileigh.com/book_promo_101.htm
“Coastal Suspense with a Touch of Romance”