another day, another blog

Well, I've finally finished the Kissing Sin edits. All I have to do now is go for a drive up to Macedon to check that the Macedon Cross actually looks like how I descibed it in the book. Up until now, I've been working from memory, but it's been agood 15 years since I've been up to the cross and the surrounding park, so a check might be prudent. (If you want to see a pic of the cross, click here). There's also a few places in Tempting Evil I have to check, but they're basically just street locations (and they're streets that I know, just haven't been near for the last few years. But changes happen, so I'd better check them out!)

That's the one thing you have to be careful about when you're writing any book set in a real location--you have to make sure you get the local descriptions right. (people sure do let you know when you get them wrong! :D ) Location is something I've been doing a lot of research on for my Loch Ness book, which is primarily set in America (Oregon and Michigan). I haven't been to either place, so I'm relying on the internet to get a feel for both places. Of course, this isn't ideal. Pics do lie--they can often make a place look totally different from the reality--which is why I like looking for travellers blogs, as well. The real identity of a location comes shining though on these blogs--and they often drop interesting little facts that you just can't uncover on regular tourist sites. Of course, I'd love to be able to physically go to both places, to walk around, check out the sights, pick out story locations, etc, but that's just not possible. Especially with the cost of airfares at the moment!