Oct 20, 2011

Brian Freeman - Author Interview: Setting

Pick one of your favourites among the settings from your published fiction stories or a setting which is an interesting example from your published fiction. What makes this setting one of your favourites or an interesting example from your fiction?

I think extremes enrich drama. Most of my books are set in Duluth, which is an extreme place – a small city on the shore of violent Lake Superior, on the border of the Canadian wilderness, in one of the coldest places in the U.S. The intensity of the setting reflects the intensity of the story. Weather plays an important role in many of my books, because weather inevitably plays a role in the life of people in the American Midwest. It’s a day-to-day reality of how people survive. It also means that the setting is intertwined with the characters.

Interestingly, my second book STRIPPED is set in Las Vegas – another extreme place on the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s wide open where Duluth is closed off, red hot where Duluth is ice cold. But they contribute to the novel in similar ways.

What is a setting from a published fiction story by another author you would compare this setting to and why are they similar?

People in Sweden refer to Minnesota as “Swedish land” because there are so many Swedish immigrants here, and because the bitter landscape is similar to Scandinavia. Not surprisingly, readers of the “Swedish noir” authors such as Larsson, Nesbo, and Mankell often feel right at home with the “Minnesota noir” of my books.

How would you describe the way you introduced this setting to readers of your story?

I’m not an urban author. We have plenty of great writers who set their novels in big cities like Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago. I wanted to write books with a more rural, more remote setting, dealing with intimate emotional issues rather than urban themes. That’s why I chose Duluth. It’s large enough that you can imagine dark things happening there, but small enough that you’re always bumping into your past. That’s the essence of my novels, and Duluth reflects those themes.

How would you describe the integration of characters and setting in this story?

Duluth was a very wealthy city once upon a time. In the early part of the last century, Duluth was the busiest shipping port in the U.S., and fortunes were made on mining and shipping. Most of that money and glamour have bled away with changes in industry. As a result, there is a sense of faded glory about Duluth; there is a sorrowfulness in the way people think about the past and yet a determination to keep going in the face of hardship. My characters bring that same mix of toughness and tragedy. They reflect the city, and the city reflects them.

How would you describe the interaction of story and setting in this story?

Well, of course, no one would want to visit the Duluth in my novels. The crime rate is way too high. I’m never sure whether the Chamber of Commerce will let me back in! However, Duluth gives me fertile ground for the kinds of stories I tell. I like scenes that are set outdoors. I like extreme weather influencing the plot. I like unusual, dramatic settings. In my fifth book, THE BURYING PLACE, for example, I located a ruined school building in the rural lands outside Duluth – and it proved to be the perfect creepy locale for many of the book’s scenes. It’s a real place, just like nearly all of the places I use in my books.

How much research did you do for the setting of this story, and what did that involve?

My books should give readers a “you are there” feel. I always say that movies do a great job with two senses – seeing and hearing – but a novel should activate all of your senses. Every scene should make you feel like an invisible observer, where you’ve been dropped down in the middle of the action, and you can hear, see, smell, feel, touch, and taste what’s happening around you. The way I capture that authenticity is by scouting locales for every scene the way a film director would. I carefully pick a setting that matches the tone of the chapter – and then I go there to record my own impressions. I use a voice recorder and camera to establish how the places feel to me – and then I pour all of that into the manuscript.

To what extent would you describe the setting of this story typical or atypical of the settings in your fiction stories?

This is who I am as a writer. It’s exactly the setting I like to write about. When I was growing up, my parents had a little cottage in rural Michigan where we went on summer weekends. That’s where I cultivated my love of the Midwest. To me, this area is about dirt roads, deserted beaches, storms, fields, and remote farmhouses. Those are the places I remember from my childhood, and I try to bring them to life in my books.

How do you usually decide on or develop a setting for your fiction stories?

I have to fall in love with an area. Some people may wonder about that, because usually I describe these places as pretty dark! It always seems to be raining or snowing. Everything’s in disrepair. You can’t trust your neighbors. It makes you wonder how I would describe places I didn’t like. However, I’m always attracted to the essential mystery of a region. If I drive through an area and wonder what’s going on behind closed doors or in its shadowy woods, that’s an area I’d like to write about.

To what extent do the settings of novels you read have an impact on why you read them, and why?

I do pick books based on their settings. I’ve always been a great fan of rural England – so Peter Robinson and his Yorkshire settings appeal to me. The same is true of the settings in books I read growing up, such as Ireland in Uris’s Trinity or Michener’s Hawaii. If it takes me somewhere fascinating, I know I’ll enjoy the book. On the other hand, a great writer can make any setting appealing. I may not have a lot of interest in gritty, urban L.A. – but when Michael Connelly takes me there, I’m happy to go.

Author website: www.bfreemanbooks.com

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