The stories I write are all set in a fictional area that I based on an amalgamation of places I know. As these are works of fiction I have added/taken away/relocated/altered elements to suit.
Storley is a market town bordered on one side by the North Sea and the other by the river Jubilee that flows into it. Originally it could only be accessed by the coast road from the neighbouring town of Leam. The coast road continuing up to the town of Halloween. During Queen Victoria's reign the Albertine Bridge was built connecting Storley to the villages of Kepner, Willow Green, Longdale, and on to the city of Mosley. The People's bridge was added to celebrate the Millennium making a direct link to Mosley. A metro system connects Leam, Storley, Mosley and Kepner.
Most of the stories in Moments and Memories are set in Storley. The Man in Black is set in Halloween. Cooked to Perfection, It's in the Cards, Bewitched, Two Minutes Silence and The Blessing are set in Kepner. Kepner is a place with a history of magic and mystery. Over the centuries Kepner has become the home of artists.
Longdale and Willow Green are farming communities who now embrace the tourist industry. They are well known stops on the hiking trails the area is well known for.
Halloween was once the fishing port of North Point. After a violent storm wiped out most of the fishing community those remaining abandoned the town renaming it after the night it happened.
Leam was once a shipbuilding and mining community. In recent years it has established itself in the entertainment and events world with a wide range of venues combining the historical and the contemporary.
Mosley is an evolving place with a Cathedral, a university and a diverse population. It has several themed areas within the city walls. There is an overarching inclusive vibe businesses are required to sign up to.
I wanted a sense of belonging in my stories, a sense of community and diversity. I felt it was important for the area to have a history and to reflect the changing face of society.
I have lived my life in a town split in two by a river with bridges spanning it. it was known for shipbuilding and mining, those industries sadly all but gone now. It is now a city trying to draw on it's heritage while updating its profile to remain contemporary. I was born in Yorkshire and I'm familiar with County Durham past and present and various other parts of the UK. My knowledge of these places and the people who live or lived there are fed into my stories. All my characters are fictional.
How lovely to have such a detailed landscape to work with. Things like this make a writer's world more real to their readers as well as to themselves.