Where to Set Your Story by Victoria Chatham

 

TO BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 2025

All stories have a setting. Some are instantly recognisable, others are not. One of my favourite authors is Rosamund Pilcher, who set many of her stories in Cornwall, the English county that dips its toe into the Atlantic Ocean. The first line of her book, Coming Home, tells you this, but in a charming way:

'The Porthkerris Council School stood halfway up the steep hill which climbed from the heart of the little town to the empty moors which lay beyond.'

Lee Child, another of my favourite authors, leaves you in no doubt of his setting in the opening of Oneshot:

'Friday. Five o'clock in the afternoon. Maybe the hardest time to move unobserved through a city. Or maybe the easiest. Because at five o'clock on a Friday nobody pays attention to anything. Except the road ahead.'

The setting anchors the story in time and space, providing a sense of reality for the reader. The author is responsible for further solidifying that setting by engaging the senses. If it is an indoor setting, such as a house or a building, where is the character located? What furniture might they have to move around? What can they see, hear, and feel? I often close my eyes and visualise it, typically typing as I move from hallway to stairs, from scullery to dining room. The devil is in the details, so all the details I ‘see’ are typed. What time of day is it, and what part of the year? Where does the light fall, and what shadows does it create? How does that affect the colour palette of the décor? Being specific usually holds a reader’s attention, especially if it appeals to the senses.

Shakespeare wrote, ‘Let me count the ways.’ OK, he was writing Sonnet #43, but that phrase could just as easily refer to creating settings as to declaring love. In As You Like It, he also wrote, ‘All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.’

While the Bard waxes poetic, authors are not so different in creating the stage or setting and moving characters around in that landscape. As much as I love creating characters, I also enjoy creating their settings. For my Regency romances, my characters have followed the social round from someone’s country seat to London, then on to the spa towns of Brighton, Bath, Cheltenham, Buxton, and Harrogate. While there were others, these are the most easily recognised, particularly Bath, for those who enjoy Regency romance. Being such popular cities, many of which have changed little since their inception, street plans are readily available online with some digging into each city’s archives.  

Typical town plan

I have been torn between using real-life locations for my contemporary stories and creating a town because I’m writing fiction. This is where I combine fact and fiction. I take a location I know and fictionalise it. That way, I can still write with a measure of conviction that might otherwise be lacking. Readers invariably sense a weakness, and I do my best to make my fictional settings as real as possible. I mix up English village names if my setting is in England, and I’m sure there are many more fictional ranches in Southern Alberta than in reality.

Fall colours in Southern Alberta

Another aspect of setting is designing the houses in which my characters live. I need to understand how they move through these spaces and what keeps the upstairs household members separate from those below stairs. Even with my ranch houses, I approach the same considerations. After designing one ranch house, I knew almost every log and stone in its construction, but I could not picture the roofline. I phoned a local architect’s office, explained my dilemma to the receptionist, and asked if any of the architects there would be willing to assist. The following day, I received a call from a gentleman intrigued by the process of building a house in a novel. We scheduled an appointment, and when he examined my floor plan, it didn't take him long to add a roof to it. Job done, but our conversation about the intricacies of writing a book continued well beyond the one-hour slot he had allocated me.

My current work in progress is set in a place I know well, but I have fictionalized it out of respect for the residents. Whether they recognise it or not remains to be seen when A Murder in the Meadow debuts this coming September.

Victoria Chatham

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Lighting the creative fire and keeping it burning

At a recent writer's workshop, one of my students asked, "How do you stay motivated to work on a book that may take years to complete?" My first thought was to pass on the old adage, "Don't be overwhelmed by the elephant laying before you. Eat it one bite at a time." I sensed the student needed something more immediate. 

I said each book has a series of milestones. While it's immensely satisfying to see your name on the cover of your first book, that's only a single milestone along a long path of writing. I sensed he needed something immediate, so I passed on advice I'd received from Nevada Barr, the author of the Anna Pigeon series. She writes three pages a day. Every day. If she's inspired, she writes very small. If uninspired, she writes large and double spaced. That discipline yields a book every year. 

I could see my student glaze over as he considered the prospect of a year of daily writing. I said, "the milestone was three pages, not the whole book. Write three pages and step back. Say, 'I've succeeded today. I've written three pages!" 

Still not sensing any enthusiasm, I reassured him. "Do you have an opening sentence? If you do, you've passed a milestone. Is there an opening paragraph? Great, another milestone is behind you. A first page. Another success." I could see him starting to feel better about his accomplishments. 

"Next, tell your wife or call you best friend when you've finished the first chapter. They'll be impressed and their enthusiasm will drive you on. You'll have the energy to write the second chapter."

As he mulled that advice, he smiled. "I can write three pages a day. Thank you."

A second student told me she'd stalled. Halfway through a book, she'd hit the wall. She was a "pantser', writing by the seat of her pants, whatever thoughts came to her mind that day. I suggested she step back to create an outline of the plot she's completed. When I do that, I perceive the "trajectory" of the book I'm writing, which helps me envision what comes next.

As the students left, a smiling middle-aged woman approached and shook my hand. I asked if I'd provided the tools she needed to move ahead with her book. Her reply was priceless. "No, Dean, what you've done is convince me I don't want to write a book. You've pointed out the things I enjoy in a book, and I'm motivated to dive into my "to be read" pile. I'll look at the plots and characters more critically. Thank you."

I heard later that she was working her way through my Pine County mystery series. That's a milestone for me; a reader who enjoyed the first Dean Hovey book she read, and is now moving on to the others.

If you're an inspired reader, check out "Skidded and Skunked". It's the latest book in the Pine County series. This is the first book for my co-author, D.L. Dixen, She's just hit that incredibly exciting milestone of touching the first book with her name printed on the cover. 

Better yet, if you search for D.L. Dixen on Amazon or my publisher's website, you'll see "Skidded and Skunked." Not only did she make the book better, she hit that BIG milestone of her name on the book's cover. 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=D.L.+Dixen&crid=2GBIPB966OLU5

Dixen, D.L. - BWL Publishing Inc.

A woman doctor in the 18th century, impossible, or is it? by Diane Scott Lewis

 

A young woman seeks to learn a physician's skills in the late eighteenth century, but discovers strange village secrets, and a possible murder, instead. To purchase this book, click HERE  

For this novel I delved into eighteenth century medical practices, and found some interesting facts concerning women. I hope you find them interesting as well.

In this time period woman weren't allowed to study as doctors in Great Britain. But some women found ways to circumvent the restrictions.

Women were often relegated to treat female issues only, but a few went beyond that practice.

An Irishwoman named Margaret Bulkley dressed as a man, attended Edinburgh University, and graduated a fully fledged doctor. Her charade went largely undetected in her many years of practice.

Margaret as "James Barry"

A Mrs. Roman in 1760s Wiltshire, England, worked as a physician, for the poor, treating both men and women. She was paid the same as the male doctors but her formal education is unclear.

Here is an excerpt from my novel, when Rose confronts the village doctor. (all her examples are pre 1790s) 

“Why are you interested in these things, may I ask?” Dr. Nelson's tone turned a little cold as he scrutinized her.

“That’s what I’ve come to discuss with you.” Rose scanned two other book titles then faced him. “Since I was a little girl I’ve been interested in healing, practicing on cats and dogs, mostly. I set a dog’s leg, and he recovered quite well. I even treated our servants in America with poultices and syrups.

“I discovered a Lucretia Lester of Long Island who practiced midwifery for years, but she was respected as a nurse and doctoress to the women she treated.” Rose sat in a Windsor chair before a large oak desk, the books in her lap.

“Women have long been respected as midwives.” Nelson sat at his desk. The size of the piece dwarfed him, and it displayed no personal items and no portraits hung on the walls.

He stared down at his hand and tapped a finger. “Of course, since the use of forceps started twenty years ago, which brought men into delivery rooms, midwives were relegated to rural communities or serving the poor.” He related this as if delivering a lecture. His stiff words pushed aside any friendliness.

Undaunted, Rose plunged on. “I also read an article in an old edition of the South Carolina Gazette about a Mrs. Grant who attended lectures by professors of Anatomy and Practice of Physick in Edinburgh. She had a certificate and practiced as a doctoress in Scotland.”

“I have heard of her. That was almost thirty years ago.” Nelson looked up again, his frown deep. “What do you hope to accomplish, Miss Gwynn?”

“Women were allowed to be physicians in England until Henry VIII legislated to put a stop to it.” She pressed the history books against her thighs. “It’s time that women were allowed back into the practice.” 

“Do you intend to find a way to attend a medical college? I’m afraid that’s— impossible.” His skin flushed as if he fought against a stronger emotion.

A quack doctor assists a patient in 1792

Rose has no idea she's stirring up trouble for Nelson, but soon she'll be in the thick of it. Along with her meet Catern, a tavern wench out for revenge against the earl who is courting Rose's sister, and the mysterious Charlie who watches them all, hoping to help or hinder.

For more on me and my books, visit my BWL author's page

https://bwlpublishing.ca/lewis-diane-scott/

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with one naughty dachshund.

An Invisible Multicultural Age Gap…by Sheila Claydon

https://bookswelove.net/claydon-sheila/

 Hello from Singapore,

I’m writing this on a very old iPad that is refusing to post any photos so you’ll just have to take my word for it that life is very different here. It’s so hot and humid that the most energetic activities take place before nine in the morning or after five in the afternoon. In between those times the best place to be is in one of the many air conditioned malls with their myriad coffee shops and restaurants, or in a pool in the shade. Despite the heat, it is an amazing place with a very chequered and interesting history. Its parks are pristine, its roads shaded by trees and bordered by luxuriant well tended foliage, and everything works. Trains and buses arrive on time, taxis are prompt, supermarkets are stocked with more things than you’ll ever need, and the museums, art galleries and other tourist attractions are numerous, interesting and immaculately organised. The best part of this extended holiday visiting family, however, has been our trip to Indonesia. 

Although only 45 minutes away by ferry it really is a different country. Green of course and with a wonderful coastline and the clearest sea I’ve ever seen and the warmest one I’ve ever swum in. And its people are so welcoming, which is what I’m coming to. As I explained in my previous post, this trip was all about celebrating my birthday, the special one that comes along once every decade. We stayed in a truly multicultural complex where, unbeknownst to me, my son, knew the tennis coach.The result was an amazing unexpected birthday party complete with wine, candle and cake. What made it even more memorable were the people the coach brought with him. All young and yet happy to spend an evening with someone from a much older generation. He also brought his girlfriend to the party, a stunning trapeze artist from Japan. I had seen her perform so knew she was talented. That she was also beautiful, kind and very interesting as well as being one of the nicest people I have ever met made the vast age gap between us disappear in an instant. I wish we could have spent more than one evening together.

Meeting strangers who quickly become friends, yet knowing you will probably never see them again, is the upside and downside of travelling, but there are always the memories. And having my birthday celebrated by a mix of mainly young people from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, China, Australia, South Africa, Holland,France and the UK is one of the very special ones.

Sorry about the photos!

Rainforest Writers Retreat ~ A Little bit of Heaven

 

This is my latest novel. The first offering in BWL Publishing Inc's Paranormal Canadiana Collection.

I spent a few days in early March at the Rainforest Writers Retreat at Lake Quinault in the Washington Rainforest. It is a wonderful magical place and to spend 4 days surrounded by other writers and just soaking in the creative juices was amazing. It's a pilgrimage I try to make every year, but lately it hasn't happened as often as I would like. 

I fly to Portland OR and meet my dear friend. Then we road trip up to Lake Quinault where we meet up with the other writers who are taking in Session 3 of the retreat. Patrick Swenson (Fairweather Press) hosts the retreat which runs for 4 weeks in late February and into  mid March. It is such fun, chasing tree squids and enjoying the raucous Cabin Party on Saturday night. I usually managed to get in about 20,000 words, but this year I didn't have a ms on the go as my latest novel (see above) released on March 1. So instead, this year I took in more of the social aspects and didn't spend most of the time in my room glued to my computer. And this year I also managed to write some poetry. 

I got to be a bar fly on Saturday night- enjoying laughs and some new cocktails : Sidecars, green tea shots (which incidentally had NO green tea in it at all.)

I let the pictures speak for themselves.