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I have four Special Editions coming out in 2012. All of them are set in Texas: three are in a
fictional town outside of Dallas (I’m calling it Celebration, Texas). The other one is part of the popular Fortunes of Texas series and it’s set in the fictional town of Red Rock,Texas, which is supposedly 20 miles east of San Antonio.
It’s the first time I’m writing about Texas. I’m excited to be spending so much virtual time there because a have quite a bit of family in the Dallas area. I’m vaguely familiar with the state – enough to know it’s flavor, and, of course, I can call on my family with any questions.
In the past, I’ve set books in Orlando and Paris because I’m familiar with those cities. The only real place I’ve written about that I’m not familiar with is Boston. It was part of a Special Edition continuity (I was one of six authors writing books for this series). I actually visited before I finished the book so I could make sure I captured the essence of the city.
I’ve heard of authors writing on a wing and prayer, setting books in regions they’ve never visited. But I shy away from doing that because I strive to get everything exactly right. So, if I make up the city – it might even be a fictitious city based on an actual city – I feel better about taking artistic license and not being bound by maps and facts.
I have two questions for you: do you like reading books set in fictional places or imaginary worlds? If you prefer actual cities, how much leeway to you give an author to fictionalize neighborhoods and the texture of the area?
Aug 16th
2011
6:59 am
Emily McKay Said:
I’m like you, Nancy. I much prefer to really know a place before I set a book there. If I had my druthers, all my books would be set in Texas, in cities I know.
But for various reasons, I’ve had to set books in southern California, northern California, the Hamptons and New York City.
New York was the hardest … mostly because I’ve only been there a few times, but it’s a city *so* many people know *so* well.
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Aug 16th
2011
8:13 am
EllenToo Said:
I have to say you have a lot of room east of San Antonio to place a new town.
I prefer fictional cities unless the author is really familiar with a real city. If I am familiar with the city and the author gets something wrong then it pulls me out of the story. I have read a few books set in Texas where the author obviously didn’t know or didn’t care about accuracy and it pulled me out of the story. 
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Aug 16th
2011
9:05 am
Cindy Kirk Said:
I’m a big fan of fictional towns…although my current series is set in Jackson, Wyoming. lol Still, I try to make up restaurants, country clubs etc while keeping to the current way the town is organized.
Naming placing that are currently there can really date a book if they go out of business before the book is even out!
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Aug 16th
2011
10:12 am
catslady Said:
I really enjoy both. But if it is a real place, I would hope the author would have a feel for it and that there was a bit more research involved. It is kind of nice to be able to say – oh, I’ve been there and I remember that. Also, it can be – oh, I would like to visit there someday.
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Aug 16th
2011
10:26 am
Kathleen Said:
I do like fictonial towns to read about. I think the reader and the author can take liberties with the settings and not have to worry about authenticity. But when using a read city, like Boston, if a reader has been to this city, they would want to see authenticity.. I myself have been to Boston, so I would know when something is not right… But hey there I am sure many places in Boston you could take liberties with. Now a Place like New York which is such a huge metropolis, I think that if you went wrong somewhere, it would not be so noticable..
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Aug 16th
2011
2:21 pm
Shana Said:
I like to read books set in real or imaginary places. I certainly write about an imaginary place as I don’t think the Regency England of my books is probably much like the reality. I don’t like reading books set in Houston (where I live). It jars me and makes me think about real life instead of the story.
I wrote two contemporary books set in Chicago, and that was some of the most intense research I’ve ever done.
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Aug 16th
2011
5:54 pm
Kristan Higgins Said:
Great post, Nancy! I like to read both; fictional because you can get away with making stuff up. But real places…the author should get it right! It would bother me if someone made a mistake on a place I loved.
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Aug 16th
2011
9:06 pm
Kristen Said:
I don’t mind if a place is real or imagined, but if it’s real, I’d prefer it was true to life. I love when authors get my local attractions correct. It’s fun. When they don’t get the feel of the area or don’t do the research, it discourages me away from the author.
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Aug 16th
2011
11:51 pm
Kandace Said:
i like my stories to be true to their setting. If you use a real city, staff true to the feel & maybe make up places to eat/shop. If it’s a fictional city keep it true to the type of towns you’d find in that part of the world. I’d hate to go to ireland after all beauty & such I’ve read about it to find it’s like florida.
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Aug 19th
2011
10:59 am
Nanette Wisehart Said:
Good, thank you.
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Aug 19th
2011
2:04 pm
Nancy Robards Thompson Said:
Hi Everyone!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! You provided some great insight. Kandace, you made me laugh with your Ireland/Florida reference. : grin: Ellen, great to know there’s lots of room for a “new city” east of San Antonio.
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