I was invited to do something really cool when Placing Literature asked me to come on over and map a scene from each of my books. I had a blast doing it, and found that it really brought the stories into focus as more than just the character’s feelings and actions throughout the book. Placing Literature is an interactive website that allows readers to go in and map scenes from a favorite book they’ve enjoyed, to the real location on a map of the world. Here is my podcast interview if you want to listen. I ended up choosing one place from each of my books, and then two places from my latest release, The Muse.
These are the places I mapped:
The Passion of Darius – Church of St. Mary, Kilve, Somerset. Built in the 17th century, the scene where Darius would sit behind Marianne in church, smell her perfume, and think some rather lustful thoughts about her.
The Undoing of a Libertine – Quantock Hills, Somerset coast. The country scenery as Jeremy brings Georgina to her new home at Hallborough Hall in Somerset.
Naked, The Blackstone Affair Book 1 – The Liverpool Street Station where Brynne gets off on her way to visit Ethan at his Blackstone Security International, Ltd. office in London.
All In, The Blackstone Affair Book 2 – Cleopatra’s Needle at the Victoria Embankment on the River Thames where Ethan and Brynne reunite after a break up.
Eyes Wide Open, The Blackstone Affair Book 3 – Hotel Samarkand, Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, London where Brynne fights off her kidnapper.
Cherry Girl – The [fictional] Lake Leticia on the Hallborough estate near the commercial lavender fields in Somerset.
Rare and Precious Things, The Blackstone Affair Book 4 – Porto Santo Stefano, Italy where Brynne and Ethan have their honeymoon.
Priceless, The Rothvale Legacy Book 1 – Ards Peninsula in Northern Ireland where Gaby gets lost on the country roads trying to make her way to Ivan’s estate, Donadea.
The Muse – St. Martin-in-the-Fields church in London is the site of Graham and Imogene’s wedding, chosen because it is placed right beside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Graham is a [fictional] founder of The National Gallery in the book. The second scene I mapped is the stone circle on the Gavandon estate Graham had built for Imogene.
I have been to most of these places and all are amazing and wonderful. I have not been to Italy yet, but it is on my bucket list for sure. I hope you head on over to Placing Literature and check it out. You can map any favorite scene from a book you love. You don’t have to be an author to do it, but you do need a Google account to log in. I had a lot of fun exploring the map and look forward to mapping more scenes for future books.
xxoo R
This whole experience of publishing 
Okay then… Yeah, sometimes things happen that are out of the realm of our control and this is one of those times, folks. Amazon, in all of its infinite wisdom and publishing know-how has had some problems *I’m trying to be diplomatic here* with the pre-order file upload of PRICELESS. These problems have been ongoing since the pre-order started back in August. The decision was made early today to pull the pre-order from publication. So those that did indeed pre-order will be getting an email from Amazon that your order is cancelled as well as your payment. They don’t ever charge you for a pre-order until the book releases.
SHE was already washing her hair when I came up behind her into the pool house showers. I watched for a moment as she hurried to do everything in a rush. I needed to slow her down.