Janet Lee Carey - 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’ve said little of my stand alone fantasy Stealing Death (Egmont USA, 2009) in these interviews. Because of this and because the setting surprised me, I’ll delve into that one here. It’s a favorite of mine because the setting really stretched me. I grew up in a redwood forest near the sea. I knew trees and mist and water, so many of my novels take place in or around the wild woods.

Stealing Death had to be set in a drought-ridden country, in sand and dust and thirst and heat. First a short description of the novel:

Would you steal death to protect the one you love? After Kipp loses his family in a fire, Kipp swears he will never let anyone he loves die again. When the Death Catcher comes after the girl he loves, he steals the soul sack, and rides away.

Kipp is alone in the desert on the run from the Death Catcher through most of this story. I had to get to know the stark realities of desert survival to write an authentic tale. To learn how to find water when there’s none to be seen on the surface, to describe the landscape strewn with boulders that looked like hunched giants after dark, or show the dusty road drenched in light, to learn the habits of scorpions instead of woodland larks.

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

I love Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa. I listened to it on tape and and read it many times to taste the dryness of the landscape on my lips, and see the beauty in a wilderness that was ‘other’ than forestland. Dinesen loved her time in Africa and you can scent her love in her words. Beryl Markham, the author of West with the Night, also taught me how to see desert and dry savannah with a new light.

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

The book opens with Kipp’s dream: “In his sleep, Kipp heard hounds baying in the foothills. He dreamed of sweeping human bones into a sack. His mouth was dry when he awoke. The thorn bush scratching the window whispered the same kush-kush sound the broom made in his dream. But there was no howling now and no scattered bones to be swept off the floor.”

The dream is brought about by the sense of impending death due to the long drought and the hazards of fire. Kipp’s father had hoped to start a new life in Zolya, but the drought has withered his father’s dreams along with their orchards.

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

Setting is a character in this story. It is the first antagonist, the bringer of death. Kipp’s journey forces him to live close to the land. He’s riding and camping out in the wilderness alone. He’s caught between the world of the towns and the world of the nomads. Because he’s different and alone, he’s not trusted in either place.

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

Since Stealing Death is a fantasy, I want to mention the relationship between fantasy and reality in setting. Magical elements can be used to increase danger. Using magic to ‘rescue the character’ is problematic. I wrote this story knowing Kipp could just as easily die of thirst in the Zolyan desert as he could in a realistic novel. If that weren’t true, the book wouldn’t have any weight.

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

I have stacks of desert books. Along with studying landscape, plant, and animal life, I looked at tribal life in places like rural Africa and studied the nomadic way of life. My researched showed me the desperate need for clean water in drought-ridden landscapes like Africa. I usually donate to charity as a part of each book launch and raise awareness on school visits and put a link on my website to allow readers to learn more. For Stealing Death I chose Water for People (http://www.waterforpeople.org) to raise reader awareness for the need for clean drinking water. You can see more on that on the “giving back” page on my website.

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

Atypical. It was really a challenge for me! I loved the challenge.

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

Setting development comes naturally as the characters interact in time and space. Every detail heightens the reality. It’s especially essential in fantasy to ground the story. This is done through narrative using the five senses and through the character’s physical experiences. Masterful setting is real enough for the reader to feel it. An author friend of mine who grew up in India used to read Alistair MacLean’s book set in the Arctic Ice Station Zebra each year to “cool off”. Sitting outside in 110 degree weather, she would actually feel cold! That’s the ultimate setting challenge for any author.

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

I’m a sucker for a good setting! One of the reasons I‘ve read Tolkien again and again to return to Middle-earth. And the same is true for other books like Out of Africa and West with the Night. Ursula K. Le Guin’s settings also stir me not only in her Earthsea books but in her science fiction and fantasy novels. I also relish well-crafted settings in historical fiction novels like Amy Tan’s descriptions of China in The Bone Setter’s Daughter, and Indu Sundaresan’s The Twentieth Wife and the rest her Taj Mahal trilogy set in the time of the Mughal Empire in India.

Yes there must be story and yes there must be character but I also want to GO somewhere. Don’t we all?

Author website: www.janetleecarey.com



Alane Ferguson - Author Interview: Setting

Pick one of your favorites 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 favorites or an interesting example from your fiction?

The story of Dragonfly Eyes is set in Charleston, South Carolina, as it is one of my very favorite settings ever. I fell in love with the area while on a speaking trip, so much so that I vowed to create a place for it in my fiction. Dragonfly Eyes has been the perfect fit! America is a relatively new country, and my state, Colorado, is one of the later additions to the Union. Where I live, a building over one hundred years old is considered ancient. So when I walked down the candy-colored streets of Charleston, as I drank in the city’s almost four- hundred-year history along with its magnolia-tinged air, I knew this was the place for my character Savannah to live and to die. I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise that one of my favorite places was walking through Charleston’s oldest cemetery late at night. The worn headstones, the skull-and-crossbones etched on granite (indicating the occupant died of a contagious disease, warning potential grave robbers to stay away) and the spiked fences caught my imagination. But in addition to the ethereal graveyards, Charleston’s enchanting architecture made me feel as if I had wandered into a fairytale. Because my story is magical, I wanted a magical setting, and Charleston was note-perfect for Dragonfly Eyes.

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

I read and loved The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, which is also set in lush, mysterious South Carolina. However, although the setting is where the similarities begin, it is also where they end. One reason for this could be explained by the element of time. The Secret Life of Bees is set in 1964, while Dragonfly Eyes is set in the present. The decades significantly alter the landscape.

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

The expanded trilogy of Dragonfly Eyes begins with Savannah in her palatial Charleston home. While distant storm clouds darken the sky, Savannah gathers friends to help conduct a séance, which leads to a flash-in-the-mirror visit from a once loved, now dead boyfriend. The introduction is both sinister and romantic.

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

The setting is crucial to Dragonfly Eyes because it furthers the mystical elements essential to my ghost story. I cannot imagine this novel set anywhere but South Carolina. Charleston itself has become a character in its own right. In these novels, the story and setting are bound to one another.

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

The research for Dragonfly Eyes included two trips to South Carolina and a several late night visits to Charleston’s oldest cemeteries. I’ve researched the history and walked the walk – which was much more pleasant than my trips to the morgue for The Forensic Mystery Series!

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

The setting of Dragonfly Eyes is completely atypical for me as an author, since I’ve lived in the American West almost all of my life and that’s where all my other stories have been set. ‘Write what you know’ is a creed I’ve lived by as well as advice I’ve taught to aspiring writers for over twenty years. Having said that, it was fun to stretch my wings and mix things up as far as location was concerned. To that end, I immersed myself in the south and just luxuriated in a change of scene. Jewel-colored flowers, enormous trees ensconced by hanging moss and the ocean undulating nearby was nothing short of paradise. It was a joy to place my story in Charleston!

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

Again, up until this point, my settings normally reflect my own habitat, which for the past twelve years has been beautiful Colorado. It was a departure for me to go to the south for Dragonfly Eyes, but the choice was thought out because I wanted a more historic vibe for these novels, and Charleston fit the bill. The Civil War comes into play, which also suggested a location like Charleston. In my mind, the setting is my canvas. It is an advantage to know my palate by heart, and a wonderful challenge to learn a new one!

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

As an author, I’m almost exclusively drawn to the characters of a novel rather than the setting, but switching my location in my own novels has made me more sensitive to the importance of setting when reading. My latest passion has been The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Her Capital setting as well as her two different, exotic fighting Arenas, were critical to telling her stories. Her books transport me to another world.

Author Website: www.alaneferguson.com



Katherine Towler - 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 have written a trilogy of novels set on a fictional New England island. The setting came first, before characters or plot, in my thinking about these connected books. I was fascinated by life in a small, contained community and what happens to the people who reside in such places. There is plenty of romance about islands. They are places of escape, away from the mainstream. People fantasize about leaving everything behind and going to an island where life will be simpler, and they can live in harmony with nature. In many ways, this fantasy is true, but islands are also places of confinement. When you cannot leave, unless the ferry comes or you have your own boat, your understanding of life’s possibilities becomes constrained. Locate an island far enough offshore, with a small population, and you have a petri dish for looking at human experience and character. It was this that attracted me to writing about an island and making the setting the centerpiece of the trilogy.

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

The Canadian writer Alistair MacLeod comes to mind, though I hesitate to compare myself to him in any way. His collection of short stories, ISLAND, and his novel, NO GREAT MISCHIEF, are set on Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. He evokes that landscape and the Scottish immigrants who have carved out tough lives there in beautiful prose. Other writers whose use of setting inspired me are Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, and Thomas Hardy (to name a few).

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

I introduced the setting in the first volume of the trilogy, SNOW ISLAND, through the characters and their daily lives. The book begins with the arrival of an enigmatic character, George Tibbits, who returns to the island for his annual visit each spring. The first chapters detail his trip to the island, and then from the point of view of another character who works at the island’s store, his arrival on the ferry. Through the different viewpoints, I attempt to bring the island to life and place the reader in a world where the arrival and departure of the ferry is the main event of the day.

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

A number of readers have said that the island is really the main character of my books. Though I didn’t quite think of it this way as I was writing, I have been pleased that readers see the setting as so essential to the story. My aim in writing is to evoke both setting and character in ways that make them vividly real for the reader. Though there is plot in my novels, character and setting drive plot, rather than the other way around. A major focus as I wrote the trilogy was the relationship between character and setting. Alice Daggett, one of the main characters in SNOW ISLAND, is a teenager who has lived her entire life on the island. I was curious about how knowing only island life shaped Alice. Though she has led a sheltered life and is unsophisticated (in the eyes of the mainland world), she is independent and resourceful. As I took the book through repeated drafts, Alice became a character who was both vulnerable and strong, and in many ways wise beyond her years. The island made her someone with values a bit different from those who live in cities.

The three volumes of my trilogy span the years from 1941 to 1991. Each volume covers a period of a couple of years, with 30 years in between each book. The novels have different main characters, though many of the characters appear in all three. In the third volume, ISLAND LIGHT, Alice is a grandmother in her early sixties. I tell the story, in the course of the three books, of Alice’s life from adolescence to approaching old age, although not in a direct narrative. The reader pieces together the arc of her life from one volume to the next.

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

Because my characters live in a contained community, the setting defines the story. Everything that happens occurs on the island. They can’t leave, and neither could I as I was writing the books. This posed particular challenges. I didn’t want the story to become too static, but at the same time I was determined to be true to the nature of island life. The setting forced me to look closely at small moments in the lives of my characters because on the island there weren’t a lot of big moments. Yet within those small moments, I found a large canvas for the interior lives of my characters, and their experiences of love, loss, and betrayal. I like to tell stories that focus closely on characters’ emotional experience and interior lives, so the island setting was a natural fit with my interests and inclinations as a writer, even as it was also a challenge.

Each volume of my trilogy is set with war as the backdrop. The first volume takes place during World War II, the second during the Vietnam War, and the third at the start of the first Gulf War. The wars provided another setting, in a sense, though there are no scenes on actual battlefields. I wanted to tell the stories of the men and women who left the island to serve in these wars – what happened to them and what happened to those who stayed behind. My island setting became a microcosm for registering the impact of war on the country as a whole.

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

I lived on a small island in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, in the United States, for a short time in the late 1980s. I didn’t go to the island with the intention of writing about it, but I was so entranced with the island and the people I met there that I went on to do so. I visited the island several times over the next few years. The “real” island has a year-round population of 125 and is accessible only by ferry. Much of the atmosphere and landscape of my books comes from the real place and my observations of it. I also did a fair amount of reading about island life, especially in the 1940s, and research on the fisherman who work in Narragansett Bay (along with lots of other research about the different wars, popular music, events in the news, and on and on).

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

I am very interested in place and the role it plays in people’s lives. Setting is always significant in anything I am writing. The novels in the trilogy are my only published books to date, but I am currently working on a non-fiction book set in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and a collection of short stories. I love the ocean and seaside towns, which tend to turn up in my stories. I grew up in New York City and have set some of my stories there, but New England, where I have lived most of my adult life, is the place I feel most at home and for which I have a real passion, so many of my stories are set in New England.

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

As I think I have already demonstrated, setting, character, and story are intertwined in my work. The setting is not usually a conscious choice, but results from the intersection of all three elements. I tend to write about places I know well.

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

I choose some books to read because of the setting. Anything about islands, for instance! But I read widely and enjoy reading books that take me to places I have not been.

Author website: www.katherinetowler.com



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