Location, Location, Location

You've heard it time and again; it's all about location. But have you ever thought about how that plays into your writing? No, well perhaps it's time you did. It's no mistake that my first novel, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll, takes place in a tiny town in Colorado. I chose carefully based on the history of the area being colonized, and on the needs of my story and characters.

A truly good story uses setting as a sort of character. It becomes so much a part of the story that you feel as though you know the place, have been there, can feel it's weather, breath in its scents, and taste its native foods. If the location is well done in a novel, chances are you want to go back to it. This is the kind of experience we want to give our readers.

In To Ride A Puca, I worked hard to make the location of ancient Ireland take on a life of its own. From the damp mists that seem ever-present, to the towering trees (ancient Ireland remember) and rolling green fields, it is a place with a life of its own. A place I hope my readers will fall in love with as much as I did.

I can't help but think of location as I lounge upon the beach this week while on vacation in one of my favorite places on Earth. Oh yes, finally, I'm on vacation! I hope each of you get to take a vacation this year and use the experience to enrich your writing.

~Heather