Hi, everyone! I would like to introduce my special guest for this Sunday-- Téa
Cooper! Welcome Téa!
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Whether
you are a plotter or a panster you have a picture in your minds eye
of your characters. I know I’m stating the obvious! It makes a lot
of sense particularly if you are writing a romance. A hero or heroine
can make or break a story but perhaps my favourite “character” is
their silent partner. The setting. It doesn’t take the limelight
but it is an often forgotten and very powerful tool.
I
read a review recently of a romance book and the reviewer’s only
complaint was that they didn’t realize until half way through the
book where the story was taking place. Does it matter in a romance?
Possibly not but setting can be a very powerful metaphor and without
it the characters are simply performing in front of a blank canvas.
The
setting can reflect the mood of the story, change the temperature and
give colour and texture to your characters emotions. It is the
perfect way to carry the reader deeper into the story and allow them
to feel your characters’ mood.
Like
the back story it is not something that can be dumped in several
consecutive paragraphs and then ticked off a list of plot points it
needs to be ever changing and woven through the story like the
threads of gold in an Indian sari.
I
was thrilled when many of the reviews for Tree Change made comments
about the setting. “I
could taste the salt on the sea breeze…”
and “The
description…makes me want to pack up my bags and head for the
coast…”
and “The
settings are depicted with vibrancy and colour...”
Truthfully
the descriptions in Tree Change were more by accident than design but
it has become something I pay more attention to now, a tool I don’t
intend to waste.
What
about you?
Tree
Change Blurb:
Despite
her success in the Sydney art world Cassia yearns for the idyllic
life she once lead with Jake in their shack over looking the Pacific
Ocean. Seeking closure she falls, like a recovering addict, straight
back into his arms, and out again equally quickly. Not only has
he taken up with his brother's wife but it seems they have a child.
Truth
is Jake is living a lie, sworn to secrecy and hamstrung by a
promise. Cassia’s fey, artistic character and magical body
possess his imagination and his heart. Can he convince her to trust
him long enough to save the crumbling remains of their relationship?
Here’s
an excerpt from Tree Change. I like to think the setting adds to Jake
and Cassia’s angst.
A
blanket of silence filled the car. It was palpable. Jake could touch
it, feel it suffocating him. His breathing slowed, and time stood
still. The red traffic light registered through his subconscious, and
he slowed the car to a halt. It had started to rain, and the road
surface was slick and black, the streetlights reflecting shattered
pinpoints of light. Large raindrops bounced on the hood of the car.
He glanced across at Cassia. Her eyes looked big and bruised in her
pale face as she stared through the windshield, focused on some space
beyond.
Making
a left-hand turn, he slowed the car, the tires bouncing on the old
cobblestones of the access way. The Harbour Bridge hung, cold and
dark, across the black night sky of the bay. The red and green
navigation lights flickered their warning to the ships passing
underneath. As Jake stopped outside the last apartment at the end of
the wharf, Cassia opened the car door and stepped out into the rain.
Buy
Links:
Tree
Change is available from:
Téa’s
Bio:
Lurking
in the back of Téa’s brain somewhere was the knowledge that one
day she would write a novel. It probably started with a rather risqué
story in the back of an exercise book at boarding school featuring
the long suffering school gardener - not really the stuff romantic
heroes were made of but it was before she knew any better.
Life
and few heroes of her own showed her the error of her ways and with a
baby under one arm, a husband and a half built house she entered a
Mills and Boon competition. To her absolute earth shattering
amazement she won second place – the prize was a bottle of perfume!
Next time she determined she would do better.
But
it was still the stuff of fantasy and her family, a herd of alpacas,
a protea farm and teaching intervened until one day she decided it
was time to do or die. No more procrastination. The characters and
plots that had lived in her head for so long were clamoring to
escape.
In
August 2011 she got serious and joined Romance Writers Australia,
entered the Harlequin Mills & Boon New Voices competition and to
her horror discovered she hadn’t been – discovered that is. Not
even a bottle of perfume this time. But in reality she had won.
Procrastination was conquered and determination set in. It was time
to get serious.
Tree
Change is her first contemporary romance novel and is
available
now. Her second, a historical novel Lily’s
Leap - set in Wollombi,
the time-warp village she now calls home – was accepted by Lyrical
Press and will be published in May 2013. The Protea Boys an
Australian rural romance has just been accepted for publication and
she has recently completed her second Australian historical
novel Matilda’s
Madness - inspired by some of the fascinating characters
haunting the local museum.
ABOUT
TÉA COOPER…
Téa
Cooper is an Australian contemporary and historical romance author.
Originally
from England Téa came to Australia via India and a few other places
in between. She has lived in Sydney, on the NSW Central Coast and now
lives in the time-warp village of Wollombi near Cessnock.
BIOGRAPHY:
Lurking
in the back of Téa’s brain somewhere was the knowledge that one
day she would write a novel. It probably started with a rather risqué
story in the back of an exercise book at boarding school featuring
the long suffering school gardener - not really the stuff romantic
heroes were made of but it was before she knew any better.
Life
and few heroes of her own showed her the error of her ways and with a
baby under one arm, a husband and a half built house she entered a
Mills and Boon competition. To her absolute earth shattering
amazement she won second place – the prize was a bottle of perfume!
Next time she determined she would do better.
But
it was still the stuff of fantasy and her family, a herd of alpacas,
a protea farm and teaching intervened until one day she decided it
was time to do or die. No more procrastination. The characters and
plots that had lived in her head for so long were clamoring to
escape.
In
August 2011 she got serious and joined Romance Writers Australia,
entered the Harlequin Mills & Boon New Voices competition and to
her horror discovered she hadn’t been – discovered that is. Not
even a bottle of perfume this time. But in reality she had won.
Procrastination was conquered and determination set in. It was time
to get serious.
Tree
Change,
her first contemporary romance novel was published on 30th
November 2012 and her second, a historical novel Lily’s
Leap - set in Wollombi,
the time-warp village she now calls home – will be published in May
2013. She has recently signed a contract for her rural romance The
Protea Boys and has completed her second Australian historical
novel Matilda’s
Madness - inspired by some of the fascinating characters
haunting the local museum.
Contemporary
Australian Romance
Release
date: 30 November 2012
Publisher:
Breathless Press
Word
count: 40,000
BLURB:
Despite
her success in the Sydney art world Cassia yearns for the idyllic
life she once lead with Jake in their shack over looking the Pacific
Ocean. Seeking closure she falls, like a recovering addict, straight
back into his arms, and out again equally quickly. Not only has
he his taken up with his brother's wife but it seems they have a
child.
Truth
is Jake is living a lie, sworn to secrecy and hamstrung by a
promise. Cassia’s fey, artistic character and magical body
possess his imagination and his heart. Can he convince her to trust
him long enough to save the crumbling remains of their relationship?
SHORT
EXCERPT:
She
dismissed his words with a wave of her hand, but her eyes betrayed
her. He knew her too well. The burn of hurt behind their velvety
depths had nothing to do with the here and now, but everything to do
with the past. His fault? Lyle's fault? No one's fault? Just
circumstance.
"I
need answers, and I need them now. I can't go on like this. Either we
are together or we are not. You have to make a choice: Madeleine or
me. I can't be a convenience you can pick up and put down as the mood
takes you."
"My
feelings for you, Cass, are a million things but convenience isn't
one of them." He shook his head in sorrowful disbelief. How
could she not recognize the bond they had?
"Madeleine?"
Her raised eyebrows challenged him.
"Right
now I can't explain what happened with Madeleine, but her safety is
paramount."
Her
body shuddered as if she was trying to lift a great weight. What was
he doing to her? Madeleine, Madeleine, always Madeleine. "I
can't do this again, Jake. I need to go home." Jake slipped
her cardigan over her frail shoulders and then stepped back to allow
her to lead the way past the bar and up the narrow stairs to street
level.
He
unlocked the car door and held it open. Her skirt caught on the
ribbons of her espadrille. As he leaned down to untangle them, she
flinched. Closing her door with exaggerated care he walked around to
the driver's door and let himself in. He clicked his seat belt into
its clasp before he twisted the key in the ignition. The engine
sprang to life, and he pulled out into the darkened street.
"You
have to trust me, Cass. I know it is difficult, but you just have to
trust me and wait. Everything will be sorted out soon."
Her
sigh filled the car. "Jake, I can't. How can I? I've tried and
look where we've ended up. Me in Sydney, and you living with your
brother's girlfriend."
"Wife,"
he corrected, regretting the word the moment it left his lips.
Buy
Links:
ABOUT
LILY’S LEAP
Historical
Australian Romance
Release
date: May 2013
Publisher:
Lyrical Press
Word
count: 45,000
BLURB:
Born
into the privileged society of the squattocracy, Lilibeth Dungarven
finds herself married, widowed and back under her father’s thumb
all before her 21st birthday - a position this feisty and independent
young woman fiercely resents. When she finally persuades her father
to let her accompany a shipment of horses to Sydney, with the added
promise of her stallion winning at the Windsor races she believes
that her life is finally on the right track. That is until she is
bailed up by a band of bushrangers who are intent on stealing her
horses and holding her to ransom - a ransom her father is not
prepared to pay.
SHORT
EXCERPT:
Lily
could see the pale ribbon of road below cutting through the trees and
the bright blue expanse of sky wide-open in front of her.
“Nero.
You can do it,” she whispered into his sleek, shiny neck and he
snorted in response. Her thigh muscles burned as she tightened her
grasp on his flanks. His muscles tensed in response, attuned to her
body. She gritted her teeth and willed her shaking hands to steady.
“We can do this, Nero. We have to.” Her heart hammered so hard in
her chest she thought it might leap right over the culvert and down
the hill ahead of them.
With
barely a moment’s hesitation she dug her heels into the stallion’s
flanks and urged him down the hill. The last trees cleared and the
sudden heat of the sun stung her face, then she crouched low over
Nero’s neck. The clatter of his hooves on the sandstone surface
told her they had reached the road. The blood raced through her
veins, pulsing in her ears, a violent and excruciating pounding raged
through her body.
“Stop.”
Tom’s command echoed around her as the blocks of the convict hewn,
sandstone walls reared ahead of her. Surely it wasn’t such a huge
jump for a horse like Nero?
She
leaned forward in the saddle and her cheek brushed the dampness of
his neck. Time slowed. With her eyes squeezed tightly shut she sucked
in a great gulp of air and clenched her teeth tightly together. Nero
lifted into the air. His muscles bunched beneath her and he flew over
the chiseled blocks and down the slope. Her knees gripped the saddle
and she dragged the reins almost vertical as they plunged down. Tufts
of wiry grass and small rocks littered the route. She flinched as
Nero’s hooves crashed across them. Gasping in a quick breath, she
prayed for the terrain to level off.
Her
lungs contracted like bellows and what little air remained, whistled
out through her pursed lips. Nero tensed and she shuddered as he
stumbled and then regained his balance. Her heart leapt to her throat
and her wrists twisted as she wrenched on the reins to slow him. He
quivered to a halt. Silver spots danced in front of her eyes and she
gulped in a breath to feed her starving lungs. Nero’s muscled body
trembled and quaked beneath her and white froth flecked his muzzle.
“We
did it, darling Nero. We did it.” The salty tang of his body filled
her nostrils as she leaned over his neck murmuring endearments. She
swayed with exertion and forced her rubbery muscles to respond as she
squinted into the sunlight. Figures on horseback towered above her,
stalled on the road. She had an overwhelming urge to wave her hand
and shriek in triumph.
But
she resisted; this was her opportunity and she had no time to waste.
She cut away to the right praying her memory of the maps was correct
as she searched for the track leading her to Laguna.
“Lil-eee.
Lil-eee.” Tom’s call bounced off the sandstone walls. Shading her
eyes with her hand she stared back toward the culvert wall. It was
empty.
“Lil-eee.
Lil-eee.” The sorrowful echo reached her, resounding somewhere deep
in her gut. Her sweat-soaked curls clung to her face as she shook her
head, raging at her ridiculous foolishness. After such an
exhilarating and successful leap for freedom why did she suddenly
feel so melancholy? Her heels bruised Nero’s flanks and she urged
him away in a fast canter.
-------------------------------------------------
Wow, I can really see how setting can change a character's mood, feelings, actions, and disposition. This drums up all sorts of interesting ideas in my head. Plopping a character down in their element, out of their element, can be a driving force in a story. A character on vacation versus the their daily life?
Thank you so much for stopping by Téa, and thank you for this wonderful insight on the setting of a story.
