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So, our posts this time are supposed to center around location. What is it about books that can transport you to another time and place? I've been to so many locations, enjoyed many places not only from our world, but places available only in the imagination. Fantasy was my favorite genre to read growing up: from the dragon-filled skies of Anne McCaffrey's Pern to the world full of talking horses/spirit guides, griffons, and other magical beings, Valdemar, created by Mercedes Lackey. I've spent many hours in these other worlds, pretending I was the characters I read about. As I got older, my reading choices have changed somewhat, but I've spent a lot of hours in New York with Mary Higgins-Clark, solving mysteries, and I've spent a significant amount of time in Bon Temps, Louisiana, falling in love with a certain vampire viking from the imagination of Charlaine Harris. Oh, and I absolutely love traveling back to the Victorian era to fall in love with numerous men while reading the fantastic imaginings of Amanda Quick.
While the locations in my book are certainly more mundane than places I've visited, I find that water plays a significant role in my location choices. Always & Forever takes place on the shore of a large lake in fictional Serenity, Oregon. My upcoming release, Crime & Passion, opens with a murder on the beach in a small town in Northern California. Even though I told myself I wasn't going to do another story next to the water, in the book I'm writing next at some point the characters will end up at a mansion next to a lake while hiding from the enemy. I can't seem to get away from it, and I love it! Water is the soothing balm that my soul cries for. The sound of waves crashing, a river rushing down a mountain side, the gentle patter of rain even. I love it all.
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What are the favorite places you've ever visited in a book? Happy reading and good luck in the giveaways!
eeeChantelfff
Thanks for the giveaway, Chantel!
ReplyDeleteI love the water too. as a teen I grew up around mountains in New Mexico. I like a little of both!
I've never been a fantastic swimmer, but I love the water. You're so right, Chantel, that it soothes the soul. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Just stopping by to say hello to a fellow hopper :)
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine life too far away from the ocean...
ReplyDeletevitajex(at)aol(dot)com
What a lovely post, Chantel! Even just reading your last sentence describing the sound of water makes me feel all serene - very appropo for the name of your fictional town! I can't help but wonder if you're a water sign. Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces? Thanks so much for participating in the hop!
ReplyDeleteHmmm...interesting theory. I'm actually a Leo, but very close to Cancer (only a week in), and I was raised by two Cancers. Thanks again for organizing the hop!
DeleteI love being by the water, too. So peaceful! Or action packed, from the sound of your books!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Chantel! And I've enjoyed the presence of water in your books. (I love water, too.) Like you, I've always loved getting lost in books as I allow them to transport me to distant places. I travel quite a bit, and I always seek out books set in the places I'm travelling. I find it extra special to be visiting and reading about a location at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for coming by! Well, it seems overwhelmingly that you all feel the way I do about water, so I guess it's okay the setting of my books is more mundane than others :-) Thanks for commenting and have a fantastic weekend! Good luck to you all in the giveaways!
ReplyDeleteYes, there is something about water that acts as a balm. You've inspired me to put a fountain into one of my landlocked stories. Thanks, Chantal!
ReplyDeleteLove love love the sound of water! Especially the more dramatic sounds - waves crashing on a windy day, rain pounding on a roof. A tin roof, to be exact! A sound I know from many camping trips with my family, staying in a camper and then a motorhome. I could stay up all night listening to that sound. And the very best, thunderstorms! Waterfalls, water crashing down to the earth from this beautiful plateau. Amazing! I enjoy the calming sounds too, but I really love the others.
ReplyDeletedreammie_angel at yahoo dot com
Oh, yeah! I LOVE thunderstorms! The lightening, thunder, and then the sky just opening up and dumping really, really hard. Love that! :-)
DeleteSome of my most enjoyable reads are set on the beach, lake, or waterfront. The ocean can always be a character all its own. I love the majesty, the intrigue, and the unpredictability of the water in books. Happy Hopping!
ReplyDeleteThis is horrible but I honestly only recall ONE book that I have read recently that involved a lot of the surroundings and included them in the book. What is worse is I do not recall the NAME of the book. I have the worst memory! But the book took place in Paris and the surrounding areas and made it sound so dreamy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with us and for the giveaway,
Marlena
charmedpoms(at)yahoo(dot)com
Congratulations to Nancy S. who won the Amazon gift card from my page! Thanks to all who read and participated in the hop!
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