My first published book – Night and Day, by Second Wind Publishing – is set in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota and Copenhagen, Denmark with a brief interlude on Prince Edward Island, Canada. My tagline, “It’s midnight in Minnesota and Daybreak in Denmark”, speaks to the fact that Jensen and Anders connect via the internet, each from their own corner of the world.
My work-in-progress, Wild Rose of Scotland, is set at St. Conan’s Kirk on Loch Awe. The first book in the series, Blue Belle of Scotland, takes place in Tobermory, a picturesque old village whose rainbow-colored storefronts are reflected in the waters off the Isle of Mull.
For a writer / innkeeper / restaurateur / pastor’s wife whose life is too busy and complicated to plan a vacation anytime in the foreseeable future, “traveling” to these exotic locales in my mind is like taking a mini-vacation. Hopefully, my readers will also enjoy visiting the quaint spots that provide a backdrop to the adventures of Jensen and Anders and any other of my characters who are lucky enough to find their homes in such beautiful places.
But we all can’t live in Colorado. Nor can we go on vacation all the time. The trilogy of books I’m currently getting ready for publication – Stormy Weather, Waterlily, and Merry-Go-Round – are all set in Osage, Iowa, just 11 miles from where I live. The stage for these books is set with cornfields, cabbage patches, and contented cows grazing in pastures. The secondary characters are small town… well… characters. And it’s not one bit boring. To the contrary, writing about my hometown has been very enlightening.
Looking at my very ordinary world through the eyes of my characters has shed a whole new light on what was once deemed plain. These people see things in my world that I never would have noticed. With their help, I’ve discovered a whole new meaning to the phrase, Beauty in Your Own Backyard. It’s amazing, the things I see when looking through the rose-colored glasses of the three Jones sisters.
So, wherever it is you find yourself, take a look around. Whether you’re reading – or writing – a book set in Windermere, England, Apple Valley, Minnesota, Moonstone Beach, or Weedpatch, California, there are beautiful sights to behold no matter where you go in the world – a simple wildflower, a spectacular sunset, the moon glinting off a lake (or maybe even a mud puddle).
And next time you’re lucky enough to be able to take a vacation to some lovely new location, by all means, take your camera, your moleskin journal, your steno pad, or your Alphasmart. Take photos, record each memory, soak in every ounce of scenic beauty that you can.
All I’m suggesting is that when you come home, keep your camera out. Try looking at your own, everyday world through the eyes of someone who’s seeing those same, familiar haunts for the very first time. Take notice of the extraordinary, and you’ll discover all kinds of unique beauty – right in your own backyard. Learning to see the Cinderella side of your soot and ashes world, to appreciate the sights you take for granted, will make you a better writer, a better mother, a better lover, a better everything under the sun.
Sherrie Hansen
Night and Day
www.SecondWindPublishing.com
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 29
Well said.
I totally agree!
10
Tim
Thanks, Tim! I think this is the basic philosophy behind both of my Gather groups: most especially at Beauty in Your Own Backyard but also at Rainbow Connections - Colorful Competitions! Gather really has taught me to see beauty in places I never would have noticed before.
Very well, said, Sherrie! Your Rainbow Connections group and others on Gather has done that for me too. Thanks so much for all you do.
Are your books dramas or romances or something else?
Hi Karen - yes, I write full-length romance / women's fiction novels.
Excellent post, Sherrie! You are so right, it's amazing what one can find in their own yard if they just take the time to look......I never paid much attention to my own yard until I joined Gather and was looking for things to photograph and post. I am amazed at the beauty I've found right here at home!
Thanks, Sandra! I think this is the basic philosophy behind both of my Gather groups: most especially at Beauty in Your Own Backyard but also at Rainbow Connections - Colorful Competitions! Gather really has taught me to see beauty in places I never would have noticed before.
Beauty surrounds us no matter where we go. Beautiful photos, Sherrie, and a great reminder to appreciate what's around us. Thank you! =)
Thanks, Marilyn! This is the basic philosophy behind both of my Gather groups: most especially at Beauty in Your Own Backyard but also at Rainbow Connections - Colorful Competitions! Gather really has taught me to see beauty in places I never would have noticed before.
Usually very true. We find what we are looking for under our noses.
Thanks, Gul! Do you belong to my other Gather group, Beauty in Your Own Backyard? Gather really has taught me to see beauty in places I never would have noticed before.
Thanks for sharing! All kinds of cool things in your yard. You just have to look.
It makes life worthy.
Elegy for Heidi
Thanks for your comments! I think this is the basic philosophy behind both of my Gather groups: most especially at Beauty in Your Own Backyard but also at Rainbow Connections - Colorful Competitions. Gather really has taught me to see beauty in places I never would have noticed before.
Sherrie, since finding Gather a couple of years ago, I have gained a whole new appreciation for "simple" beauty. That is due in part to you and your camera and your words. Thank you for making me appreciate what's near to me, as I don't get far, very often.
Thanks, Julie! I appreciate hearing that!
Bravo, Sherrie! A wonderful article. And I couldn't agree more ... my poetry is almost always about the plain and simple things around me ... hanging laundry, a drive through the auto-bank or a visit to Wal-Mart. And it works, because it makes people think about their own ordinary lives in a new, fresh way.
Exactly! And you have such a knack for it!
Nicely said! I always find beauty in my backyard. I've never lost the wonder of seeing it for the first time, and imagining all it could be. I love bringing those dreams to fruition.
People often tell me that I write about the most mundane things, yet I can make them funny. It's all about your perspective. A lot of people wouldn't be able to find humor in a 900 lb. concrete cow with the late wife's ashes under it in their yard, but if you can't learn to laugh at things like that, you're destined to wither.
You truly do have a gift of making the mudane funny. That said... is the part about the cow really truly true?
I thought you were familiar with that. Here's a couple of links if you're interested.
Coming to Terms With the Cow
My Cow Contest
If you're not interested, that's OK, too. :o)
Sherrie, it is true that our backyards are full of nature and wildlife. I only recently discovered your Nature in your own backyard group. I will be posting there often because 75% of my photos are taken in my yard.
Great post!
You must have a very beautiful yard. Welcome to the group!
So true. Your photos are gorgeous.
Very true. I have been trying this year to visit places in CT that I've never been. So for now the state of Connecticut is my backyard.
Is this your backyard, well it's God's little acre.
Perfectly said Sherrie! Through the lens of a camera the world seems to open up in an entirely different light, and through words in a book we are able to make everything come alive as well.
gorgeous!