Fresh Fiction Blog | Sabine Starr | What Are Your Favorite Places And How Do They Affect You?

Some places are romantic, such as dinner for two by candlelight. A trip to the beach, mountains or river is adventurous. Museums, art galleries and music events induce a sense of wonder. A good book with a cup of tea on the patio invites relaxation.

I’m always influenced by my surroundings, so I include that experience when I write. In my Gone Bad Series set in the Old West, locales are important characters in their own right. I traveled to places where events occur in my books. When possible, I walked the land or streets and took photographs that I later used in my descriptions.

Delaware Bend, Texas, was once known as one of the three toughest towns in the West along with Tombstone, Arizona, and Leadville, Colorado. The Bend near the Old Spanish Trail originated as a ferry crossing on the Red River between Texas and Indian Territory, an outlaw paradise due to legal jurisdictional nightmares. Bandits could party in Delaware Bend where liquor flowed freely, then escape ahead of the law into Indian Territory. I couldn’t resist turning The Bend into a major character in the Gone Bad Series.

In LADY GONE BAD, I showcase Robber’s Cave that once served as a major outlaw hideout on the Horse-Thief Trail that ran from Arkansas to Texas. No outlaw was ever caught there. Sharlot sings ballads on top of Lookout Point while Rafe watches her from below.

ANGEL GONE BAD features the Heavener Runestone with a waterfall in a romantic scene between Rune and Angel. Rune is known as the Viking so this locale is particularly effective due to the historic significance of runestones to Vikings.

For BRIDE GONE BAD, I toured Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center and Ceremonial Grounds. The Indian Mounds provide a breathtaking scene with Lucky and Tempest.

In BELLE GONE BAD, pivotal events for Mercy and Belle take place in the Choctaw Nation. The Choctaw Capital was being completed during 1883-1884, so the construction assumes importance in the storylines of the series.

I’d like to hear about your special places. Please comment to win a LADY GONE BAD eBook from Kensington Books.

Lady Gone Bad
Gone Bad
#1.0
September 2012

Angel Gone Bad
Gone Bad
#2.0
March 2013

Bride Gone Bad
Gone Bad
#3.0
October 2013

Belle Gone Bad
Gone Bad
#4.0
April 2014

Sabine Starr website | Video book review | Book Trailer

Comments

Hi, Sabine! I have several special places. Some of them are in Alaska and Canada. I also like to visit Civil War battlegrounds. The scenery is beautiful, but you can imagine what it must have been like during the battles.
(Cathy Phillips 6:16am March 19, 2014)

i love hawaii also oc maryland there are alot of special
places i love florida also
(Denise Smith 8:23am March 19, 2014)

My favorite place is Bryce Canyon...It is so beautiful. I feel so close to God there and so peaceful!
(Bonnie Capuano 8:39am March 19, 2014)

Hi Sabine!
I love the rocky mountains! Tall pines, quaking aspen, and creeks. But then there's the desert in southern Utah and Arizona, with cool rock formations, the harsh beauty with hidden oasis. The Pacific ocean is romantic, too. Which one is more romantic? Hhmm.(tapping chin)
All of them. I can't decide. Nature is good.

I agree with the video book review lady. Your scenes are so well-written that I feel like I'm really there in the old west. You make the countryside vivid and real feeling even though you didn't bog me down with details. Brilliant!

I really enjoyed the first three books. I'm looking forward to your fourth.

Kat
(Kathleen Baldwin 11:25am March 19, 2014)

Vicksburg, MS and other southern Civil War sites.
(Lesia Chambliss 11:39am March 19, 2014)

My fav place used to be my grandparents' house... every time I went there I felt peaceful and very very happy... any time I knew I was going to visit... I felt lighter.
(Colleen Conklin 12:59pm March 19, 2014)

Colleen, what a wonderful memory and tribute to your grandparents. Thanks for sharing.
(Sabine Starr 1:14pm March 19, 2014)

Tina, I wrote Lady Gone Bad to be interesting, exciting, refreshing and fun.
(Sabine Starr 1:18pm March 19, 2014)

When I was traveling in Europe I found castles especially ruined castles to be very romantic and incredibly special.
(Denise Austin 1:30pm March 19, 2014)

My favorite places are always historical, battlefields, castles, revolutionary restaurants that have been constantly open and running, etc.
(Vennie Martinisi 1:59pm March 19, 2014)

Denise, I so agree about castles. A friend of mine worked in a castle in Denmark one summer and loved it.
(Sabine Starr 2:11pm March 19, 2014)

Vennie, revolutionary restaurants sound really special. Too bad we don't have any here in Texas, but we do have the Alamo.
(Sabine Starr 2:13pm March 19, 2014)

My favorite place is my reading nook, where I can enjoy my quiet time and ignore
everything else except for a good book and some coffee...and sometimes my
husband...or our puppies :)
(Kalynn Dresser 5:49pm March 19, 2014)

Kalynn, that's something I enjoy, too, particularly after a long day. In my case, kitties snuggle, but sometimes demand equal time to my book.
(Sabine Starr 7:00pm March 19, 2014)

My hubby's family has a cottage on a lake in northern Michigan that has been in their family for generations. I love going there. Just listening to the gentle waves lap against the shore is so relaxing and there's nothing better than to read on the screened porch. And if a storm comes and the power goes out...I love to stay indoors and enjoy a meal cooked over a fire in the fireplace. Bliss.
(Marcy Shuler 7:05pm March 19, 2014)

Marcelyn, you've created a wonderful vision in my mind. I particularly love the cottage since it's been in the family for generations. I can almost smell a delicious fire.
(Sabine Starr 7:14pm March 19, 2014)

I like to visit well kept cemeteries. The headstones can be very funny and you can find out some things about people. Like how long they were married, if a group died at the same time (flu epidemic), and some of what gets written in stone amazes me. They can be peaceful or desolate depending on the surroundings. Then again I know people who liked to use up the end of a roll of film in various Target parking lots. They've kept up the tradition in the digital age and into the next generation.
(Laura Gullickson 11:33pm March 19, 2014)

Laura, these are wonderful ways of keeping our heritage alive. I really like the idea of photographing a parking lot to chronicle the human condition. Wouldn't that make for an interesting heroine? You might keep a lookout for the AHTA (Anti-Horse Thief Association) horseshoe symbol on old tombstones that date from 1865 to 1930 or so. In Angel Gone Bad, Rune works for the AHTA, a vital grass-roots organization after the War Between the States when there was little law in the center of the nation to help folks with theft. Thanks for sharing.
(Sabine Starr 12:56pm March 20, 2014)

I love the California coast and the mountains of North Carolina. Thanks for sharing the special places in your books.
(Bonnie H 10:52pm March 26, 2014)

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