Local Settings

I have never had a problem with any of the settings for my books. I am a traveler and have been to all fifty states and nearly fifty other countries. I grew up at the edge of the Appalachians, five of my books are set there, and there's another one in the planning stage. Experience helps paint the backdrop of what a place is like.

I first dabbled with using a setting where I've lived most of my life in Transplanted to Red Clay, the last book in the Appalachian Roots series. Rachel comes down the mountain to spend several months with her Aunt Ivy's family in Big Lick, North Carolina. Once a thriving town, Big Lick is now a small community whose main crossroads is about a mile from my house. At first, I was concerned that someone might not like the way I wrote the plot or the people. A book needs some villainous people to make a story. This never happened. I had been meticulous in my research of the town in 1878, and I felt that would bear scrutiny.

Now I have another book ready that's set in 1961 in Oakboro, just to the east of Big Lick. I'm hoping it will be just as well-received as Transplanted to Red Clay has been. Unexpected came together quickly, and I had beta readers ready who remember Oakboro in 1961. I didn't move to the area until the early eighties. As with all my books, I feel sure it will attract a wide readership because the setting is simply the backdrop to the story. It's the story itself that's most important.

I have already begun research for the third book set in the area. Maneuvers (maybe not the final title) is about troop training in the area during World War II. A dear lady has given me a copy of her father's book. He had come to Oakboro from Alabama for training, met and married a local girl, and lived here for the rest of his life. I've also gathered some initial information from an interview and one of the historical museums, but I plan to do much more. 

Local settings are motivating and can be a lot of fun, however, they add some challenges, too, particularly for historicals.  Fictitious locations are much easier because they don't require all the research and pressure to get everything right. If I can't find a bit of information I need, I can give it an educated guess. Actual places require more exactness. But I majored in history for my bachelor's degree, so I find that the research can be fun, too. It just takes some detective work. But local settings are a win-win situation for readers. Those in the setting location have a special connection, and those who are not get an authentic setting that feels real.

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