Thursday, November 19, 2009

It's Not Hot All The Time. Really.

Since I'm too brain dead to come up with my own idea for a blog post, I'm borrowing a page from Tere's playbook and giving you a little bit of info about the setting of my book. It's mostly just pictures, but I said I was brain dead, so you can't expect much from me right now.

As some of you already know, my novel, Embrol, takes place in Arizona--most of it in the Phoenix area. I'm not really sure why I picked Arizona, especially since I've been wanting to move north (way north) for years. I would love to have seasons--not just hot and less hot. :) Despite my desire to get out, there are some things I would miss.

We have the most incredible sunsets.



This one's my favorite. At first, I was annoyed that those water spots on the lens showed up in the shot, but then I started thinking it had kind of a cosmic look to it, so now I love it. It works for my sci fi theme. ;) Click on the photo for a larger view.



We don't get hurricanes or tornados, but we get some pretty insane storms. A few years ago, a miroburst hit our area. It lifted our trampoline from our backyard, carried it over half an acre (over our house and both our vehicles) and dropped it in our front yard, where it basically exploded. Plus, I was drenched within seconds of stepping outside.

Rarely does it sprinkle here, and the rain doesn't often last long, but when we get it, we get a lot. This picture doesn't really show how much we get, but it's the only one I have. I wish I'd thought to take a pic of our 4-wheel drive Tahoe stuck in the river wash when the concrete culvert was washed away by a storm. The whole body of the truck was resting on the ground, front and back tires either buried in the mud or completely underwater. We had to wait until the next day, when most of the water had drained away, and dig it out. Fun times! Still, I love the rain, and I love when it's cloudy all day long--even better when it lasts for several days in a row. Makes me smile. :)





My characters have to go further north to see snow, but these pics are proof that it does get cold enough in the valley to snow, though rarely. I can only remember a couple of times in my whole life, and it's never cold enough for it to stick, but it has happened.

This is the view of the Superstition Mountains from my front door. The snow was completely melted after only a couple of days.







That's it. Very exciting, I know.

So, where do your stories take place, and how do you choose your settings?

13 comments:

  1. Mountains! Holy crap! I've never seen mountains like that. Those are some amazing pictures.

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  2. I love the pics. The rainbow one is so cool.

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  3. Whoa! What cool pictures and what a great idea to post the scene setting of your novel. I may steal it from you and Tere, too.
    I've been to those mountains and they are spectacular. Thanks for posting this.

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  4. Those mountains are BEAUTIFUL! :D Thank you for sharing these pics with us!

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  5. What a great idea! We'll have to do this in a future post. Our WIP is set in Europe and we used a lot of pictures for inspiration!

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  6. Great pics. I agree with you, I want to move some place that has seasons instead of just hot (I live in Dallas). And here we get the pleasure of tornadoes too. Bleh.

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  7. Beautiful place Abby. I have never been to Arizona. Next time I am in the US I will have to pay it a visit.

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  8. Great pics! I've never been to Phoenix although my sister lives there. I'm in Alaska and have always wanted to do a book set here just for the setting. But books in Alaska always need that wilderness slant to them.

    Sigh.

    So I write in ancient Egypt instead! :)

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  9. a totally made-up world (based on Wales). wish i could travel there for research. have to use pictures instead. i have to agree with the sunset thing. we have amazing ones here. all that dust in the air.

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  10. WOW! These are beautiful pictures. What a lovely place to set your novel in. I might need to take a page from YOUR book and do this one time too :)

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  11. Hello to you,

    You have some amazing photos. Beautiful!! You could come stay in Oregon, we have rain, rain and more rain today. I will share with you!

    How goes the NaNo adventure?

    Lori

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  12. Beautiful scenery. I can see how it could inspire setting.

    When setting is needed, I always use the area around my hometown. Travel 50 miles in any direction and you get snow, desert, mountains, sea coast (well, maybe 100 for that one). You name it for recreation, its there.

    I did write a chapter set in Puerto Rico. I've never been there, and I'm hoping the descriptions don't sound too much like a travel brochure.

    ........dhole

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  13. Looks like it's going to be a wonderfully cloudy/rainy day for us.

    Now...how did I not know you were here in Phoenix??? We're practically neighbors! (Well, give or take 20 miles.)

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