Funny how pop culture will change one's perceptions. When I think of Independence Day now, I think of the movie with Bill Pullman and Will Smith, and yet the message is the same. A loud thank you to all our veterans who saved us from being taken over by bogies, and our forefathers for their insight into building a strong governmental system. It's lasted over 200 years, and although it could definitely use some overhaul, the principles are still sound. In the tech industry, we would call this user error. The hardware works fine, its the people using it that are broken. But I'm not going into politics today. Off that soap box. I'm an author! The reason I write books is the same reason other people read them - to escape from the real world, even if only for an hour or two.
I had an interesting conversation with an old friend yesterday, in which I told said friend about the new release. "Where does this one take us to?" was the question. I was pleased to offer a vacation spot! My first novel, Touched by the Sun, travels to Italy, to Pompeii. Intimate Distance does some traveling through the United States, but far less exotic locales. Chicago. New York City. So in answer to the question, Living Canvas travels to Scotland, briefly. It also goes to Fort Lauderdale (briefly) but my home base generally centers around the Chicago area.
While I was developing the story, I was working with a critique group through RWA which was frequented by a British woman. I was so looking forward to her feedback to make sure I got my details correct because, although I've been to Scotland and England, it was a short trip and I didn't want to misrepresent anything. Imagine my surprise when she told me I should visit a place before I wrote about it! And her comments struck me odd. She expected me to write about the mall in Manchester, England (which Audrey is passing through, but not stopping, especially for the purpose of going shopping) and to write about the glories of the train station in Glasgow and its architectural wonders. And I definitely should have written about the Lake District. These are all fabulous tourist places and certainly noteworthy, but I wasn't writing a travelogue, and Audrey is a seasoned traveller, and perhaps a bit jaded to some of these things. I was hoping for more on the things that Audrey did note, and the accuracy of those details. My British critiquer did spur me on to double check some of my other facts, and indeed I included the Angel of the North (which wasn't there when I visited) and the train station in Edinburgh (there are two!). I can only guess that since she skipped over the things I did address, that I got those right. Fortunately, I have a British critique partner in another group who helped me to correct some of the things I wasn't quite sure about.
It's nice to have a point of reference, especially when you haven't visited a place. For instance, Italy. I did a ton of research and interviewed a lot of people to make sure I got that right. It's on my list, but I haven't actually been there (should I admit that?). One of the ladies I interviewed, who scolded me soundly for writing about a place I hadn't visited, gave me her seal of approval on the final product, however, so I guess I did enough homework.
The story I'm working on now is based in the Chicago area again (surprise!) but it has definite German ties.
Am I rambling again? Then again, that's kind of what this blog is for.
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