By Kait Carson
The best compliment I ever received came from a friend’s next-door neighbor. She raced from her house one day, book in hand, and called out, “You gotta read this book.”
Long out of print awaiting revision
The book was Zoned for Murder, the first in the Catherine Swope series. She explained she thought it was a first book by ‘this writer’ and then said, “I really liked it, and you’d swear the author set the story in our village.”
I couldn’t help myself. I asked her if she wanted me to autograph her copy. She stepped back and gave me that…hum, do you need me to call the men in the little white coats look. Then she said, “Your name isn’t Kait Carson, do you know her?” I chuckled, pulled a bookmark from the stash in my handbag, autographed the book, and then took her on a sightseeing tour of familiar locations.
Cavalier Hotel from Pixabay
Setting is almost as important as characterization. Characters don’t exist in a vacuum. They exist against a backdrop, and that backdrop becomes a character as well. My stories take place in South Florida. Hurricanes and tropical storms make occasional appearances. Gator gushers flood streets. Heat devils shimmer on roadways. The air always tastes ever so slightly of salt. Homes and stores are tropical colors, and in the Keys, they’re built on stilts. In Miami, you can determine the age of a house by appearance. From elevated wood frame Bahamian Conch to stucco Mediterranean Revival to decorative Art Deco to the Jetson-style Miami Modern (MiMo) early homes were built with the climate in mind.
In spring and into early summer, South Florida streets disappear into a riot of color. Red royal poinciana trees, yellow tabebuia, and lavender orchid trees burst into bloom. The scent of orange blossoms perfumes the air. Jasmine runs riot. Bell shaped angel’s trumpets fill backyards, and all varieties of crepe myrtle turn the landscape into a crazy quilt of color.
Hurricane Wilma’s Revenge – a week before our Maine move
Details bring the reader into the story, set the story and characters apart, and create a shorthand between the reader and the author that serves as an anchor for the characters.
When I’m reading, I expect the writer to develop a sense of place. When I’m writing, I try to do the same for my readers.
What about you? Do you want to know where the stories you read take place? Does the setting make a difference?
