Wandering & Writing: How the Road Feeds My Imagination
How the places I've loved most found their way into my books
In June, my husband and I took a road trip from Phoenix to New Hampshire and back. It was a great trip, and as we drove, I found so much inspiration — for my current series, the new series I've just begun, and even a potential series set in a small, haunted town in the Midwest. I already have the model town in mind. More on that at a later date.
Our family lived in New Hampshire for twelve years, and while I love living in Phoenix, I do miss some aspects of life in New England. New Hampshire was where we lived the longest — the place where all three of our now-grown kids graduated from high school and flew the nest. It became more like home than anywhere else we've lived. Going back to see our son and his wife, and to visit with friends, is something we'll always do.
New Hampshire is also deeply important to my writing. My very first series — a YA paranormal series which I'll talk more about soon, once I find the time to finish the third book and re-release it — is set there. Aisling, the protagonist of the Of Gods and Monsters series, grew up in a small New Hampshire village and still calls it home, though her adventures take her far from it. In fact, the majority of her story unfolds across the Atlantic, in Galway, Ireland — a place that holds a very special place in my heart as well.
My husband and I lived in Galway for a few years when the kids were out of the house, two of the three still in college at the time, and that experience profoundly shaped the Of Gods and Monsters series. There is something about Ireland that makes it impossible not to write fantasy with its ancient stone walls, the mist rolling over green hills, and the sense that magic is woven into the very earth. Living there didn't just inspire the series; it became the soul of it.
Now, a new New Hampshire story is calling to me. The protagonist of The Haunted Manor, the first book in my new working-titled The Haunted Village Series, is Audrey Talbot, who lives in a small village in southern New Hampshire where she raised her children and ran her business. Going back to New England is always a great opportunity to breathe the air of one of my favorite settings, revisit familiar places, and draw fresh inspiration from the beauty of the region.
We stopped through our former hometown during this last visit — the very town that serves as the main setting for Audrey's series, though I've taken many liberties. I've added a bigger downtown with a square, and several restaurants and businesses nearby that exist only in my imagination. That's part of the joy of being an author. You get to make stuff up.
Below you'll find a few photos I took during our visit. In the collage, you'll see the village green, a church that will likely serve as a key setting for book two in the series, and one of my favorite houses in town, the one Audrey calls home. I hope you enjoy wandering with me down memory lane.
What are some of your favorite places? Are there spots you love to revisit? If so, what is it about them that keeps drawing you back? I'd love to hear from you.
And if any of this has you curious about Aisling's world, the Of Gods and Monsters series is waiting for you!
May you have a lovely week filled with many special places,
Kelley
