Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Finding the Perfect Setting by Patricia Forsythe

In my opinion, authors who create their own worlds, such as Tolkien’s Middle Earth or the wizarding world of Harry Potter are extraordinarily talented.  Not only do they create the characters and their stories, but also magical places that become characters in their own right.  Frequently, these authors create new languages.

I began thinking about this recently when I went to Nevada to visit my son.  While I was there, we took a trip to Zion National Park.  The park was incredibly beautiful with huge cliffs rising above us, their tops weathered by millenia of erosion.  The colors of the canyon walls -- brown, red, gray, even white -- are layered in stripes.  
Seeing these beautiful canyons gave me the setting for a new series of books I want to write.  I’ve had the idea in mind for a while, but couldn’t really focus until I had a place to put these books.  I’m the type of writer who can’t move forward on a project until I have the location fixed in my mind because, for me, the setting is as much a character as the people in the story.
These books will be set on a ranch, near a small town, not far from a big city so that I can take advantage of all these places. 
The town of Reston, Oklahoma is the setting for my current releases from Harlequin Heartwarming and tell the stories of three best friends, Gemma, Carly, and Lisa.  At Odds With The Midwife was released last November, The Husband She Can’t Forget was released in February, and His Twin Baby Surprise is available for preorder and will be released on May 1st.
 

Happy Reading!

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Patricia Forsythe is the author of more than three dozen romances, both print and ebooks.
 

6 comments:

  1. Patricia, I'm with you. I have to have the setting and the characters worked out in my mind before I can begin a story. Nevada sounds like the perfect place for a romance.

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    1. Thanks, that's what I'm hoping.

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  2. Hi, release date friend! My fictional settings are usually a hybrid of places I've been with locales/climates that are realistic geographically but happen to be convenient for my story :) Just curious, where in Oklahoma is your Reston? I'm in Tulsa.

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    1. Happy to share a release date with you. Reston is in southeastern Oklahoma. My parents were from Pushmataha County and I've still got cousins there.

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  3. Patricia,
    You're right. The setting is so important to a book. Best wishes on your latest release!

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