Osiyo~

The Mighty Redwoods as a Setting

It’s so great having you back, Jannine! What a great book you’re here to share today. Let’s jump right in. 🙂

Calisa, thanks so much for having me on your blog today to promote my new release, A Deadly Love. I thought I’d talk a little about setting. For me, where the story takes place is huge. It creates more than just a location for the action. The setting is key in creating the tone of the story. A book that takes place on the beach in the summer is probably going to be lighthearted and fun. If your characters are stuck in a backwoods town with a gothic mansion sporting gargoyles and… Well, you get the picture.

A Deadly Love takes place in the fictional town of Woodvale in Northern California. Woodvale is located just south of the very real town of Crescent City. I know this area well—I grew up here. Which brings me to my second point—when creating a setting, authenticity is everything to the reader. You can’t beat firsthand knowledge for giving a location the small details that will make it pop.

So, back to Woodvale. It’s a logging community set deep in the redwoods. If you’ve never seen a redwood tree, they’re incredibly impressive—towering, massive. There’s also lots of fog, as the setting is very close to the coast. What better place for mystery and suspense? What better place to hunt for a serial killer who ties his victims to redwoods and… I’ll stop. I don’t want to give away the whole plot!

I’ll leave you with the blurb and the opening scene from A Deadly Love, which I hope gives you a good sense of both the tone and the setting of the book. The photos were taken by moi. I’d love to answer any questions you may have!

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Blurb:

In the heart of the redwoods, a madman waits…

Recovering from a broken engagement and determined to start over, Brooke Wakefield flees to her grandmother’s home deep in the redwood forest. Discovering her teenage crush lives next door is a less than auspicious beginning. The last thing she needs is another man to break her heart, but every time Dillon glances her way, her heat level soars.

Dillon Tremayne isn’t looking for a relationship. With a young son, an eccentric grandfather, and a logging company running him ragged, he can’t afford any romantic entanglements. But Brooke’s humor and strength are hard to resist.

When a woman from his past is brutally murdered and another disappears, Dillon is heartsick—and terrified the killer will target Brooke next. Can Brooke and Dillon find love in the heart of the forest? Or will a madman’s twisted dream destroy their chance at happiness?

Excerpt:

Fog shrouded the towering redwoods, swirled around the massive trunks, and settled on the fern covered floor of the forest. Brooke Wakefield clutched the steering wheel, straining to see the road through the dense mist creeping in from the Northern California coast. Swearing under her breath, she leaned forward, her gaze focused on the barely discernable yellow line down the center of the highway.

Why didn’t I stay in Eureka? Another bad decision on her part, and there’d been far too many of them lately. A sign loomed ahead, its reflective paint just visible in the gloom.

“Ah, there’s our exit.” She slowed the Subaru to a crawl and turned onto the narrow county road leading to Woodvale. Gradually, she increased her speed. Warm air blasted through the heater vents, and she hummed to an old Rolling Stones tune playing on the radio. “Almost there, Otis. I can’t wait to get out of this miserable fog.”

The dog hung his shaggy head over the seat and moaned. Drool dripped on her shoulder. She loosened her white-knuckled grip on the wheel and gave him a shove. “Back off, boy. Only a couple of miles to go now.”

A flicker of movement caught her eye seconds before a figure in white burst onto the road. The woman threw up her arm and blinked in the headlights’ glare. A cloud of dark hair surrounded a white face dominated by terrified eyes. A blood chilling scream rent the air.

Brooke slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel. Fear lodged in her throat as the tires slid on damp pavement, caught, then slid again. The giant trunk of a redwood rushed toward her, and a tremendous jolt hurled her into oblivion.

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Links:

Website: http://www.janninegallant.com/

Blog: http://janninegallant.blogspot.com/

Group Blog: http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/JannineGallant.Author

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JannineGallant

Publisher: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=4940

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=books&field-author=Jannine%20Gallant

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/jannine-gallant?r=1

That’s a great cover and excerpt. Thank you again, Jannine.

So what about you? How do you use settings to help your writing? Do you have a favorite setting?

Dodadagohvi~