We the readers contribute our imagination to that of the writer, willingly entering his world, participating in the lives of it's people and forming from the author's words and images our own mental pictures of people and places. The setting in any novel is therefore an important element of the whole book.
P.D. James
My novel Rubato takes place on an island similar to the place where I live. Island living has oddities which add to the plot line and give ample opportunity for beautiful descriptive language.
"Stepping through the entrance her eyes took in the view from the waterfront home. The sea shimmered silver with the afternoon sun. Sections of the water looked like panes of glass, smooth and transparent. A single dark line of crayon scrawled a lazy trail across the expanse."
Perhaps the oddest aspect of the island in Rubato is the need for ferry transportation, to and from. The detectives are bound by the ferry schedule, but then so is the murderer.
"Stevie pushed back her irritation. This was the first suspicious death on an island she had investigated. The ferry system felt like a hindrance. Reggie Watts, her partner, told her to come quickly as the medical examiner wanted a homicide team to investigate. The examiner told Reggie that he found indications of foul play but did not want to make a definitive statement until the autopsy. She glanced at her phone and noted the time was almost 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Maybe it was early enough to avoid the worst ferry traffic. She had priority boarding which meant she was the first to drive off the ferry. The highway climbed up a steep hill from the water. She noticed a few people on bicycles alongside the road, laboring in what seemed slow motion. Bicycling had once interested her and she tried bicycling from West Seattle to the police precinct. It was an activity that quickly lost it’s novelty."
In detective fiction I love the descriptions of "home" for the detective. For Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs it is the flat she buys for herself with the garden outside the living room, for Poirot it is his fancy apartment, and for Duncan and Gemma, in Deborah Crombie's series, it is the house they rent in London where Gemma has her grand piano.
"When they arrived in West Seattle Reggie took a few minutes to look at the house where Stevie lived. He tried not to gawk, but her house was several steps, no triple digit steps above the apartment where he lived. She must be living with someone or could it be she was living with her parents? That was not a negative idea but it would be a long time before he took her to his dingy digs. The house was older but well preserved and gave the impression of gracious living. It reminded Reggie of a Frank Lloyd Wright house called the Meyer May House. He had always liked looking at American architecture. Three stories of windows faced the street. The top floor window looked like a small attic room. The second floor had four leaded colored glass windows side by side, tucked under the eaves, which stood out from the house similar to bay windows. A covered porch area had boxes filled to the brim with greenery.
“This is a great house.”
An unseen aspect of the setting I picked are the many references to the lack of parking space. My daughter-in-law pointed that out and even suggested that it is one of my themes.
"The address for Mr. Chavez was a half mile further north. The highway twisted and turned as it started going down towards the water.
“There are never any places to park at these waterfront homes.” Reggie made a u-turn and carefully moved his car in front of what looked like a garage. “That trail there looks like the way to the house.”
“The pathway seems steep. I wonder how fun it is to carry groceries up and down.”
“It would get old fast.” Reggie answered."
Lack of parking space is very much part of our modern dilemma. It is fun for me to see that it affects my story and adds credibility to the plot. As Jeffrey Deaver said,
Rule one: Write about settings you're familiar with.
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My novel Rubato
A riveting murder mystery about a morally compromised woman’s resolve to protect her musical discovery.
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