As a reader, a setting can actually draw me into a book or a book series.
As a writer, the setting can spark ideas. I generally like to work with fictional settings because of the freedom, but they’re usually based on a real place or area.
The story and characters play a large part in choosing an appropriate setting for each story.
My cozy mystery series, The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, is set in a fictional place called Portside, located in Rhode Island. Belinda and Bennett made sense on the coast to me, not to mention I love the ocean.
And since I spend a lot of time on the coast of New England (I’m a Mass. native), I knew immediately which town was getting my fictionalized treatment: Newport, Rhode Island.
Newport is a fabulous mix of quaint and exciting.
It boasts the classic coastal New England sites: lovely shingled homes, stunning ocean vistas, and a cute downtown.
But it also hosts an active nightlife, attracts an international audience, and keeps the visitors coming throughout winter with a slew of festivals and activities. It’s really the perfect setting for a cozy mystery series.
Plus, Newport sports a few lovely beaches. And though you’d think every acre of land would have a building on it, there’s still a surprising amount of preservation land, farms, and vineyards!
Not that food is usually a determining factor for a new setting, but it’s hard to ignore gelato!
Visiting Newport energizes me to write, and I keep track (especially with photos) of new and interesting places to take my characters in its counterpart, Portside.
No matter how many times I visit, I always discover a new building downtown or a vista on the ocean road that gets logged away for future reference. It keeps my books fresh, but it keeps me fresh too!
If you’re new to the series, start it for free on Amazon, iBooks, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords, & Wattpad!