The Inexact Science of Choosing a Book Setting

If you’ve ever wondered how authors choose their book settings, here’s a post just for you. Although it will probably leave you scratching your head and muttering, ‘Gee, thanks a lot. Very useful. Not.’

Because the truth is, I’m not sure how we choose our settings - or at least, how I choose mine. It’s definitely not an exact science. You just… know. Let me give you a very recent example.

I’ve been away on holiday.

Last year I was busy daydreaming and plotting a few possible new series for after I’d finished working on the Tuppenny Bridge books. I had in my mind no less than three speculative romance series, a cosy mystery series, and two contemporary romance series. I wasn’t sure which to begin first, but I was leaning strongly towards the cosy mystery. Anyone who knows me or who follows me on social media will know I’m a huge fan of Agatha Christie’s books, and the urge to write mysteries has been with me since I was a little girl devouring Enid Blyton’s Famous Five stories.

Working hard at Watchet - holiday or no holiday!

I had a great premise for the series, an idea for the first book (and titles for twelve of them!), a couple of interesting amateur detectives in mind, a clear picture of the pretty village they’d live in, and a definite idea of where that village would be set.

Exmoor. No question. I’d been there on several occasions and thought the villages in that area were so stunning they’d make a perfect backdrop for the series.

I decided I’d start with my mystery series first, and as that was to be set in Exmoor I booked a working/research holiday in North Somerset. I booked to stay in Watchet for a week, as that was a great place within easy reach of several of the locations I had in mind.

I’d also decided that, as I’d quite like to work on one of the speculative romance series, too, I’d fit in some research visits for that. I booked a night in a hotel at Stratford-upon-Avon at the beginning of our holiday, as that would break up our long journey from East Yorkshire to North Somerset into two days. (We always avoid motorways as we like to explore the countryside and villages en route so we were looking at least nine hours without the stopover!)

To break the return journey I booked a night in Chipping Norton, which was the perfect base for more research. The speculative romance series I wanted to write, you see, was to be located in the Cotswolds area, so I needed to scout there, but since the cosy mystery series was my priority the main part of the holiday was to be in North Somerset, close to the border with North Devon. Got it?

Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans…

In the event, two things happened to derail all my careful planning.

Firstly, long before it was time to set off on our holiday, it became apparent that the cosy mystery series would have to be put on hold, as my immediate focus is now on one of my speculative romance series, followed by one of the contemporary romance series. The cosy mystery series will definitely be written, but sadly it might be a few years before it gets off the ground now.

Secondly - and this is something I really hadn’t planned for - as I travelled around the Exmoor area, visiting possible locations, I realised with a sinking heart that it wasn’t the right place to set my mysteries in, after all.

No idea if this is a house or a hotel or something else entirely, but what a place for a murder... (fictional, naturally!) This beautiful setting is Lynmouth, Devon.

Don’t get me wrong - it’s absolutely stunning, and I enjoyed every moment there. I can absolutely see lots of cosy crimes being set in the area. They just won’t be mine, and I can’t even explain why. It had everything I needed and more, yet something about it just felt all wrong.

Why? Who knows? It’s very hard to explain, but it’s a feeling you get when you’re working on a book or a series, and you somehow know which elements fit and which don’t. The fictional village where my detectives will live is very, very clear to me, and I thought it belonged in Exmoor. Now I know it doesn’t. So where does it belong?

It’s like when I first started writing the Kearton Bay series. Now, usually I have a setting before I have a story or characters. It’s the setting that inspires me. The only exceptions to this have been There Must Be an Angel (characters came first), and Baxter’s Christmas Wish (story came first).

At the time I began writing Angel, which was my very first book, it wasn’t set in a place called Kearton Bay. It wasn’t even set in Yorkshire! In actual fact, back in 2012/13/14/15 when I was working on it, I was pretty obsessed with Glastonbury. Actually, I still am pretty obsessed with it - even more so since our visit there last week which was fantastic! Anyway, I digress.

The stunning grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, and Merlin to greet us, no less!

The point is, back then I’d decided to set There Must Be an Angel in Glastonbury. Then, when I realised I didn’t know the town well enough and couldn’t, at the time, make any research trips, I thought I’d set it in a fictionalised version of Glastonbury instead.

Then I completely changed my mind, because no matter how I tried I simply couldn’t make the story work. I then tried setting it in the Yorkshire Dales, but again I couldn’t get it to work, and in Cornwall with the same dismal result. I had no idea where the community I was writing about was going to be based, and it was slowing the work up dramatically. Setting is so important, and without it I was lost.

Then I remembered a pretty village on the North Yorkshire coast I’d visited many years before. In fact, during the week of my fifteenth birthday. (Yeah, that long ago!)

Robin Hood’s Bay. I persuaded The Husband that a trip there was the very thing we needed, and bless him he went along with it. We took a day out and drove up the coast to this gorgeous village and I fell completely in love. More than that, I realised this location was exactly what I’d been looking for. It just clicked in my mind. It was right.

I changed Robin Hood’s Bay to Kearton Bay and began to create my own version of the village. The rest, as they say, is history.

The stunning village of Robin Hoods Bay, North Yorkshire

My point is, sometimes you have an idea in mind, and you genuinely believe it’s the exact right thing for your book or series, but somehow, subconsciously, you know it really isn’t. And when that happens there’s nothing you can do about it except go with your gut instinct. If you try to fight it, I’ve realised the story will flounder and I won’t be able to make it work no matter what I do.

I love Somerset and Devon passionately. I think they’re beautiful, and I hope one day I will set books there. (I’ve already visited Glastonbury several times in my The Witches of Castle Clair series and will no doubt return again!)

But as utterly stunning as the Exmoor area is, it’s not right for my cosy mystery series. I’m not sure where I’ll set that now, and for the moment it’s not a priority as I’ve got two more series to write first, as well as trying to fit in a third series which will be connected to my Witches books. I’m certain that, when I’m least expecting it, I’ll stumble across the perfect location for my whodunnits.

The good news is, the locations I was scouting in the Cotswolds for my speculative romance series were absolutely perfect, and exactly as I hoped they’d be. Yes, I will need to fictionalise them, and add things to them, but the “feeling” was most definitely right. I can really see my characters living and working there. The odd thing was, when I was actually staying in the area I discovered a few things that I’d written into my series planner as fictional additions already existed, and I hadn’t even known they were there! It was almost as if it was meant to be…

And that’s what I mean about going with your gut, because deep down you’ll feel it when something isn’t working. In my experience, it’s definitely worth listening to that nagging doubt, because when things come together as they should it can be amazing. I’m so glad I made this trip before I started the series, because something exciting happened recently.

As it turns out, I woke up the other morning with a burning idea for another series featuring a heroine we’ve already met through the Castle Clair books. And where does she live? None other than one of those pretty villages I visited on my Exmoor holiday! It was clear as day to me where she was and why my murder mystery hadn’t been right for the place. It was waiting for me to realise that my new witchy series fitted there perfectly. Ooh, I do love moments of realisation like this! It makes the job so exciting, and I can’t wait to get cracking on it… One day soon hopefully.

Back to reality and work now, though, and I’ve so much to do that I’ll be more than ready for another holiday before too long . Who knows - the next one might lead me to the perfect place for a murder, and my “holiday” could turn out to be an unexpected research trip after all. Stranger things have happened.

Have a great week!