Importance of Setting in a Story with Susan Carlisle

We have author Susan Carlisle talking about the importance of setting in a story.

Susan May’s love affair with books began when she made a bad grade in math in the sixth grade. Not allowed to watch TV until she brought the grade up, Susan filled her time with books. She turned her love of reading into a love of writing. Writing as Susan Carlisle she has completed more than 30 books for HarperCollins’s Harlequin imprint medical line. Her heroes are strong, vibrant man and the woman that challenge them.                                                          
She also writes nonfiction. Her book Nick’s New Heart 30 Years and Counting…is about her son’s heart transplant experience. Her second nonfiction is a historical biography called A WWII Flight Surgeon’s Story released under the author name S. Carlisle May. 
She lives in Georgia with her husband of over 40 years. They have four children and eight grandchildren. Susan loves castles, traveling, cross-stitching and reads voraciously.
You can learn more about her at www.SusanCarlisle.com
 
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I write character driven stories but start from the setting. I say, “What could happen here? Who would live here or visit here?” From there I develop a story. The setting becomes a minor character but often dictating what can happen while at the same time providing material for what can occur. For example, a book that takes place in the Grand Canyon National Park isn’t going to have the same opportunities for events as a book set at the beach. They will be vastly different. Therefore, the setting will add a special flavor to the book.


In my latest book, Falling for the Trauma Doc the book takes place in Kentucky during the weeks leading up to the Derby and the week of it. Horseracing is front and center. Now, other places have horseracing but in Louisville, Kentucky during the first weekend in May it is like no other place. Through the setting the feel and excitement of the story shows and make a book special.


Susan Carlisle's new book out this month...

Falling for the Trauma Doc (Kentucky Derby Medics Book 1)

It’s off to the races with Susan Carlisle’s latest Harlequin Medical Romance as a physician’s assistant and trauma doc treat patients at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby…while trying to resist each other!
THE MAN SHE SHOULDN’T FALL FOR!  

Callee needs to move on from a huge loss, and the way to do that is to armor plate her heart. So when trauma doc Langston arrives at her clinic to temporarily conduct research, she knows she’s in trouble. Not only is he helpful with patients, but their chemistry is electric! Is Langston the guy to take a leap with, when he isn’t planning to stick around?
From Harlequin Medical: Life and love in the world of modern medicine.
Kentucky Derby Medics
 Book 1: 
Falling for the Trauma Doc
Book 2: 
An Irish Vet in Kentucky

Buy on:
Amazon Aus.                 Amazon UK 


15 comments:

  1. The book sounds good -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com

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  2. Sounds like a book I would enjoy reading.
    The setting is interesting.

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    1. I thought the Derby might be something people would like to learn about.

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  3. Thank you for this interesting review! Aloha

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    1. I was glad I could be here. Thanks for reading it.

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  4. Genial y mucha suerte Te mando un beso.

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  5. Nice to have fallen in love with books because of -ugh- math. Who needs math when you can read and write and keep doing both?!

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    1. Susan Carlisle1 May 2024 at 15:01

      Books are better than math!

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  6. Settings are important. ~nods~ Happy Writing! And best wishes to you and yours.

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  7. I think that the setting is particularly important, especially in romance novels - which usually all lead to the same thing ;-) -.
    Thank you for your comment on my Australia travel report - tomorrow I will continue with Melbourne. You wrote to me that Tasmania was on the cold side for you, but for us it was the other way around... (and that was also February...) Tasmania travel report will probably follow at the end of next week...
    All the best, Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/05/rostrosen-alltag-nach-der-reise.html

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  8. Great to have become an author because of bad grades in Maths. I will be looking up some of her books. Her son's heart transplant sounds particularly interesting. Cheers Diane

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  9. The setting of the story is really important for me. If they don't really describe it vividly it feels lacking.

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  10. I liked hearing about Susan's writing process. I bet going to the Kentucky Derby was helpful in writing the setting/scene for this book. Wishing Susan the best of luck!

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