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?