Today on the blog I have Daniela taking over to tell us about the locations mentioned in her novels and why she used them. Dreams was a lovely book and now the sequel Tide is out in the UK at the end of the month HOW EXCITING!
Sarah’s Places
Sarah’s adventure starts in Edinburgh, a city that I personally adore. Edinburgh is dark, mysterious, beautiful and, as somebody once said, ‘dreamt up by either a poet or a serial killer’. It’s just the perfect place for a story of demons and secrets. It was also important for me to set the novel somewhere I know and love, to give it strong emotional roots.
The story branches into Europe and the rest of the world as we follow the surviving Secret heirs’ adventures. Elodie Brun, Harry’s widow, is sent to a small village in the Italian mountains, Castlemonte (“Mountain Castle”), heavily based on my own home village of Caravino. Niall Flynn, Irish heir, and Mike Prudhomme are sent to Mike’s home on Grand Isle, Louisiana. I chose Louisiana because I’ve been fascinated by its music connections for a long time. In Dreams I describe a Louisiana/Irish evening of music with Niall and his fiddle taking the stage. I just had to get it in there!
The second book, Tide, starts in Glasgow, in the John Lewis cafĂ© on Buchanan Street. I mention various places that are local to me – the Royal Concert Hall, Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street – which helped me visualize the scene and gave it personal resonance. The action then moves to Islay, a little island in the Hebrides (on the West Coast of Scotland). I’ve never been to Islay, so I had to do quite a bit of research to begin with – however, I soon decided I would portray Islay not as it really is, but as more of a dream place where Midnight Hall stands lonely and isolated. It was an amazing experience, as a writer, to be able to spend a few months in such a beautiful place, although only in my head! Now that Tide is finished, I’ll miss the location immensely.
The third and last book, Spirit, moves to Eastern Europe as Sarah and her friends continue their demon-slaying quest.
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