Hi All:
I just had a wonderful experience. I am reading a romance, "His Pregnant Housekeeper" by Caroline Anderson. The story takes place in Aldeburgh, England, and the hero and heroine walked by a statue on the beach by Maggi Hambling, which is said to be controversial. So I stopped reading, went to Google, and saw several pictures of the statute plus many photos of the seaside town of Aldeburgh.
I found this really enhances the story. I now have some shared experiences with the characters in the story. Do you do this for stories with foreign locations? I highly recommend it. I also appreciate authors who add local color to their stories.
Thanks,
Vince
“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince
Hi Vince...
I looked up the London Eye when I was reading Natasha Oakley's story 'Accepting The Boss' Proposal'. It really gave me a feel for size and scope of of the Eye.
Then, in a reversal, so to speak (as I blogged about last month) I was actually in the area of Linda Conrad's series Night Guardians and chose the books to enhance the trip.
Sometimes I think I'll look something up but don't want to leave the story just then and never get around to looking it up. But, you're right, it can really enhance the story if you have some visuals and info like that, tho lots of times the stories take place in fictitious places.
"When" I get to be published, I will have a web site and I'll have photos of the story's locations, even the fictitious ones!
Great Idea -- I'll Be Watching For Your Site
Hi ChrissieSue:
I think having a website would be great. In fact, I would use the title as the ULR for each book. Like TheTycoonsBarteredBride.com so readers would get the idea to check all the titles of my books that way. It would be a big help if you researched the locations and took your own pictures so as to have no copyright problems. I'll be looking for your site to see how you do it.
Thanks,
Vince
“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince
Hi Vince...
I've got my domain… the rest is around the corner.
I just had a thought. Do you think quietly dropping the URL at the bottom of a submission letter would off-put an editor? Being a visual artist first, I'm always wanting to illustrate everything.
Hi, Vince....
Do I research the backgrounds of the books I read? Well, yes and no. If I know it's a real place, I sometimes look it up, because I agree that learning more about the region and even seeing pictures of it can really enhance the story. However, a lot of settings are as fictional as the stories themselves, and therefore can't be researched.
I firmly believe that an author should research details when writing a story situated in a 'real' location. For instance if it's set in Brookland in the County of Kent, England, then it needs to be accurate. If it's set in Narnia however... well, you see my point.
What I really don't like are books that give little to no information about the setting. I mean, it does make a difference, don't you think? The African jungle setting would be quite different from Arizona dessert. How can we really visualize the character in a mucked-up setting?
The Maggi Hambling statue has piqued my interest. I'll have to look it up, as well.
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain