A Picture Worth 1000 Words

Do you know where this is? Odds are you do. Which means you also know the setting for Frank, Incense and Muriel, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries.

Where a story takes place is important. Used well, it becomes another character. It helps establish mood. It creates conflict and causes turmoil. It can (and should) move the story forward.

A sleepy English village on a clear, winter’s day is a profoundly different setting from a bustling Asian city of fifteen million battered by a category five typhoon. A story’s location provides distinct conditions that influence the pace, progression and telling of the story, as well as determine a character’s actions and reactions.

Western New York State is the backdrop for Frank, Incense and Muriel. Readers from around the world may not be aware of Lackawanna or Buffalo, but they will likly have heard about and/or recognize Niagara Falls. It is a romantic destination. (My mother and father honeymooned there in the 1940s!) It is also one of the natural seven wonders of the world.

Today is day 11 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and I’m discussing setting with Marilyn Meredith. To read more of what setting can do, go to Marilyn’s blog. Leave a comment (either here or on her blog) and you will be eligible to win one of three e-copies of Frank, Incense and Muriel, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. The winners will be announced December 9.

Good luck in the draw and happy reading!

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