Before writing the Watersong series, I brainstormed the idea for well over a year, working out different scenarios and debating different features. One the hardest decisions I made was about where to set the series.
Initially, I considered staying in Minnesota (where I'm from and where several of my books are sets), and I also considered Chicago and Lake Michigan. But quickly I decided that the ocean was essential to make the stories work, and even the Great Lakes wouldn't do.
Maryland is gorgeous, and it shares a similar climate and some vegetation with the Medeterannian area where the mythology behind the Watersong series originated. Plus, it has an ocean coast, so I thought it'd be perfect.
I knew right away that I needed to create a fictional town, and I loved the idea of a summer tourist attraction. So it's this quiet, sleepy town all winter long, and then during the summer, it explodes with tourists.
Capri definitely took inspiration from Greece and the mythology associated with it, but I wanted it to still be a contemperary, American town.
What are some of your fiction settings in books? Mine are probably Terabithia (a fictional setting in a fictional setting), and Gotham City, even though Gotham City literally has to be the worst place to live.
