It occurred to me recently that the majority of my stories take place in warm,
often exotic locations and nearly always in the heat of the summer. That's
certainly true of my latest release, OUT OF CONTROL, where most
of the action takes place in the mountains of southern Spain, in a villa
overlooking the Mediterranean.
With a little thought, it's not hard to understand why this appeals to me so
much. I'm English, and I grew up in a small town in the north of England, in an
area known as the Lake District. It's a beautiful place but the sun rarely
shines and it rains there—a lot. From an early age, I dreamed of hot
places. When I started reading romances in my early teens, I was always drawn to
the ones with hot, sultry settings and hot-blooded heroes. I fantasized of one
day lying on a sun-kissed Mediterranean beach with a stunningly gorgeous,
very-nearly-naked hero of my own. He'd be all golden skin and rippling muscles,
and one look from his dark eyes would melt me into a puddle in the sand.
It never happened. I found a lovely English guy instead, but we did travel a lot
when I was younger, and I spent a lot of time lying on sun-kissed beaches. And
when it came to settling down, I ended up not far from the Mediterranean. In
fact, I now live on a farm in those same mountains of southern Spain where OUT OF CONTROL takes place.
I love the area, the people, the food, the fiestas...It's a fabulously inspiring
place and so it's hardly surprising that when I sit down to write, I'm drawn to
the same sort of settings that I love to read about.
Here are a few thoughts as to why setting is so important to me:
Reading for me is total escapism and I love being transported to fabulous,
exotic places—preferably hot.
Setting can add atmosphere and depth to a story. It helps writing what you
know and have experienced as it can add depth.
Setting can reveal things about a character. Where they actually choose to
live or visit can tell us a lot about the type of person they are.
Setting can affect the pace of a story—I always find it much easier
to move faster when it's cold. And a city setting is likely to be faster paced
than a story which takes place on a hot beach.
Setting can provide the means to keep a couple, who would otherwise have no
reason to meet or spend time in close proximity, together. Maybe they're snowed
up in a cabin in the mountains, shipwrecked on a tropical island, forced to
travel together in the close confines of a car.
Setting can provide conflict. From the extremes of surviving in a hostile
setting, to learning to adapt to new surroundings.
In OUT OF CONTROL, Zach,
the hero of the story, is in trouble—someone wants him dead. He's holed up
in his villa in Spain with a couple of bodyguards to protect him, including
Dani, a wounded soldier awaiting a medical to see if she can return to the army.
It's time out of real life for Dani. She's totally out of her comfort zone, but
seduced by the warmth and the beauty of the place.
But with the heat of the Spanish sun warming her, she experienced a first,
faint lifting of her spirits. The villa nestled in the hills between the Sierra
Nevada Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. The views were spectacular and the
grounds enormous, running rampant with glorious pink and orange bougainvillea
and hibiscus that scented the warm air with tropical flowers. Taking a deep
breath, she let the atmosphere soothe her.
So are you like me and drawn to the same type of setting again and again? Or is
setting unimportant to you? Let me know—I'll be gifting two ecopies of LOSING CONTROL, book 1 the
Babysitting a
Billionaire series, to commenters.
If the setting works for the story than it works for me. I'm open to explore with the characters since I haven't traveled that much myself. (Marcy Shuler 12:52pm April 30, 2014)
thanks for the contest. your books look interesting. Happy summer and good luck with your writing (Gloria Vigil 4:55am April 30, 2014)
I don't have a specific setting I enjoy, but I love when the setting becomes almost a character. (Karin Anderson 8:47am April 30, 2014)
Setting is important but to me it is mostly the characters interaction that I look for. I love the books that the characters fight over the stupidest things but that the arguments are heated and create the friction that brings them together. That is where the setting being brought in helps. (Tina Ullrich 10:16am April 30, 2014)
I have to admit that I tend to read books that have a "homey" small-town setting. I do on occasion like to read about exotic locations, but I have to admit that I have a hard time connecting with a character if the setting is hard to picture/imagine that character fitting into. (Sandy Kenny 11:06am April 30, 2014)
I'd love to read your books. (Mary Hay 5:54pm April 30, 2014)
Wow, Congrats on your new books: LOSING CONTROL and OUT OF CONTROL. I can get used to any setting and your books sound like fantastic reading. I would love to win and read your new books in 2014. Thank You very much. Cecilia CECE (Cecilia Dunbar Hernandez 6:24pm April 30, 2014)
Would love to read your books! (Courteney Moore 6:47pm April 30, 2014)
If I'm enthralled by the story, the setting is just icing, otherwise the setting helps to keep me interested. (Sharon Mitchell 7:42pm April 30, 2014)
im like you to the same type of setting again and again the book looks really good (Denise Smith 1:24am May 1, 2014)
I don't pick books based on setting, but occasionally the setting makes me more interested in a book. (Pam Howell 7:26am May 1, 2014)
I don't really mind what the setting is so long as it makes sense for the story and characters. (Jen Barnard 10:59pm May 1, 2014)
The setting is very important to me. Even though I enjoy a variety of settings, I am drawn to a city setting, especially San Francisco or New Orleans. (Bonnie H 10:13pm May 7, 2014)
settigs are not a major issue for me its the story and charaters that count (Mick Gillies 3:16am May 27, 2014)
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