Have you ever read a novel where the setting was so breathtakingly described that you almost felt as though you had seen the movie version?

Lately, I have had the pleasure to read several self-published books that left me with just that feeling – novels in which the setting became a character in and of itself. I started to get curious about the relationship between a writer and a setting that was so vividly described. I speculated that to write in this way, an author probably has a unique relationship with a particular location. I decided to explore this idea by inviting these authors over to my blog to do a guest post on this topic.

The first of these authors has already appeared – Linda Gillard was here to tell us about her inspiration for her latest novel, Cauldstane. Her post was resplendent with Scottish castles and Highland scenes. This Saturday, March 15^th, I will be featuring Ron Geigle, author of The Woods – a stunning novel set in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. The following Saturday, March 22^nd, Gillian Hamer will be here to share how her relationship with Northern Wales became integral to three of her novels.

After organizing these guest posts, I realize I’m setting a pattern. I’m indebted to Deb Young from Off the Shelf for giving me an idea. She wrote a post announcing a new guest feature on her blog entitled: Selling My Books – Top Tips from Self-Published Authors. Guess who is going to be her first guest, next Wednesday, March 19^th? Yes, yes – it will be me – the next stop on my book tour. I hope you’ll pop over on the 19^th and get in on another chance to win a book prize.

Anyway, as I read Deb’s post, I realized that I might do something similar.

So – here goes – I am announcing a new feature on my blog – Location, Location, Location. If you have self-published a novel that is set in an area you are intimately acquainted with and if you would like to write a guest post on the ways your knowledge of this setting has influenced your writing, please let me know. You can email me at guenettefrancis@gmail.com

I’m going to try and schedule these posts for the 1^st Saturday of every month. I’ll want to read and review your novel before featuring your guest post, so give me some lead in time. I’ll also ask that you supply a few photos of the location you are writing about.

I’ll leave you today with a photo of the location that figures so dominantly in my books – the inspiration for Crater Lake.