One of the things I enjoy about being an author is placing my characters in some of my favorite Minnesota locales. That’s something many of my readers have commented on–they’ve loved revisiting those sites in my book.
One location that plays a significant role in Chain of Mercy is Target Field, the home of our Minnesota Twins. (One of the best places to watch a baseball game!) Last Thursday, our family celebrated birthdays and graduations and Father’s Day and book releases at a Twins game. Since two scenes take place at Target Field, I had to bring my book along and get a picture!
And I had to find the seats where my character, Sheila Peterson, holds season tickets. These are cushioned seats located right behind the first base dugout. Wish I could have watched the game from there! Maybe someday. 🙂
From Sheila’s seats looking waaaay out toward the grandstand seats in right field. That’s where our actual seats were.
Now, I did take a few liberties with the setting, particularly a scene that takes place in the concourse, but that’s authorial privilege, right? (Oh, in case you were wondering, we lost the game. 🙁 But one of our guys hit a grand slam which was sweet to see.)
Question for you: Do you enjoy reading about familiar settings in novels? What’s one place you’d like to visit in a book?
Comments 5
I enjoy reading about familiar places in my area, but it had better be accurate. It’s okay to take liberties with specifics if you’ve proven you know what you’re talking about.
I wouldn’t mind living vicariously in Hawaii or Australia . . . 😉
Author
I agree, Nicole. When you take liberties, you still have to stay true to that location. It has to be believable within that setting. In Chain of Mercy I also created a street in Madison, WI for story purposes. Was that street true to the city? I believe so, but Madison purists might object.
I think if you prove you know an area, the disclaimers most of us post at the beginning of a novel (about fictional scenes, locations, etc.) cover those particular creations. I write a fair amount with locations in the eastern part of my state where I’ve never lived for any length of time (although a few brief times), but I’ve been there and through it enough times to know its particulars. It’s totally different from my side of the state, but I feel qualified to do settings there.
Author
Along these same lines, at my book launch a friend approached me & asked if I’d been to the pier in New York I mentioned in the beginning of the book. I haven’t but used Google Earth & other research to flesh it out. This friend told me he’d lived in that area & I was spot on in the description. That was a nice *warm fuzzy*, as we call them. 🙂
Well done!