READ AROUND THE RAINBOW ~ WebRing ~ Have I set books where I’ve lived? ~ #RAtR

Posted on June 24, 2022June 23, 2022 by Addison Albright 10 Comments

Have I set my books in places I’ve lived? I’ll give a wishy-washy yes and no to this question. For the record, I live in the middle of the USA in the so-called “heartland.” Let’s look at each series/book separately, shall we?:

The Plans Trilogy
Definitely not. This one is set in a completely made up fantasy world.
~ ~ ~

The Faction Series (The Recruit and The Choice)
No. It’s set in an unnamed large city in the USA.
~ ~ ~

Vows Series
The part that’s not on a tiny South Pacific island is set in and around Seattle, Washington, USA. I had a brief visit there years ago that I remember little to nothing about. Never lived there.
~ ~ ~

Standalones

When Are You? – No, not other than that I live in the same country. The story briefly begins on the USA east coast, then the guys live in the Pacific Northwest for the rest of the book, but without a real named city/town.
Weekend at Bigfoot’s – Kinda/Sorta/Not Really? It’s set in Northern California amongst the huge sequoia trees. I’ve never lived there, but my daughter did, and I visited. And further, that visit was the inspiration for the story. So it’s somewhere I’ve been but not somewhere I’ve lived.
Deja Vu – No. It’s set in an unnamed large city, presumably in the USA.
Of Rats and Cats – Finally! A YES! It’s set in Kansas City, MO, USA and the non-POV MC is freshly moved from Saint Joseph, MO, USA. I’ve lived in both!
Closets Are for Clothes – Another kinda/sorta/not really. The setting is shared between Austin, TX, USA, and a made up small town in Kansas, USA. I’ve never lived in Austin, but I did live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of TX. So same state but not the same vibe in the different cities. I’ve lived in the state next door to Kansas, and the general vibe would be the same.
Cultivating Love – Yet another kinda/sorta/not really. I’ve visited a town that I based this made up small Nebraska town upon. Visited plenty of times because my (now deceased) husband grew up there and his mother still lived there at the time. I heard plenty of stories and got a good feel for the people, but I never lived there.
Snapshots (a collection of 11 short stories) – I think that’s an all-around nope. Born to Be Wild had named cities in Massachusetts, USA, and Now and Forever was set in California, USA (neither based on anywhere I’ve lived or visited), but unless I’m mis-remembering, the others are unnamed places assumed to be in the USA.

Other than that island for the Vows series, they are all based in the country I’m familiar with as far as overarching customs, etc., go. But only my short story, Of Rats and Cats, is based in cities where I’ve actually lived. I keep meaning to do more of that, but story ideas that I’ve had more recently wouldn’t fit that setting.

WEBRING ~ Read Around the Rainbow!

Be sure to flip through the webring to check out more about your favorite authors’ story settings! For your convenience, here are direct links to the other WebRing participants’ posts for this month’s topic:

Ofelia Gränd :: Nell Iris :: A.L. Lester (no post this month) :: Lillian Francis :: Fiona Glass :: Holly Day :: Amy Spector :: K.L. Noone :: Ellie Thomas