Three years after
everyone important to Connor Maitland was murdered by a fanatical cult
he is still attempting to put his life back together. Accompanied by his
ex-girlfriend and business partner, Alison Herne, he is making a living
as a jack-of-all-trades running a security company, sailing charters,
and even photographing weddings out of Dolliber Cove, Massachusetts.
Connor’s world is finally coming back together until they find one of
Alison’s ghost hunter friends murdered.
When a childhood love he thought was dead, appears on his doorstep during their investigation, Connor is forced to confront memories he convinced himself were the delusions of a man deep into grief. They are being stalked by a mysterious man who appears to know far too many of their secrets. After Alison is almost killed confronting her occult past, it is impossible for Connor to deny the connection between the cases. Someone is attempting to end Connor’s life and the lives of all those who surround him.
The crazed rantings of the murderous cult may be the key to his survival.
When a childhood love he thought was dead, appears on his doorstep during their investigation, Connor is forced to confront memories he convinced himself were the delusions of a man deep into grief. They are being stalked by a mysterious man who appears to know far too many of their secrets. After Alison is almost killed confronting her occult past, it is impossible for Connor to deny the connection between the cases. Someone is attempting to end Connor’s life and the lives of all those who surround him.
The crazed rantings of the murderous cult may be the key to his survival.
Setting
Nightfall
When I
first came up with the story of Nightfall it began with the characters. I
envisioned their style, attitudes and relationships long before I could think
of where I wanted the story to take place. As the story came together the
scenes just sort of fell into place.
Each
scene required a certain tone and I envisioned a specific setting for the scene
to take place but I still didn’t have an overall setting for the entirety of
Nightfall. I only had pieces that I needed to assemble. I had Connor’s home, an
old forgotten building, a house under renovation, a pizzeria and a closed down
jail. All of these settings I had visited or experienced at some point. The
most notable was certainly the closed down jail. In Windsor, Vermont there is
an old former jail-prison that was closed in the 70’s that was subsequently
renovated and turned into low-income housing. The structure remains fairly well
intact including the old death row. This was one setting that I really wanted
to feature in the story.
On the
whole, there were a multitude of scenes but I still couldn’t decide on the
definitive setting for the entire story. It wasn’t until I took a trip to
Salem, Massachusetts that I found the elements Nightfall was missing.
Now,
there have been countless stories that have used Salem as a setting, and it
carries a certain cliché in the paranormal genre yet the reality of the Salem
gave me a different inspiration.
Modern
Salem is a bustling metropolis with the original founding buildings hidden at
the center. It’s an interesting mix of historic sites and modern urban
development. Through exploring Salem you could wander from historic sites to
psychic and witchcraft shops, from pizzerias to True Blood-esque Witch/Vampire
bars like Strega. In all, visiting Salem gave me a new perspective.
The
classic idea of Salem is no longer valid, but all of the surrounding towns like
Marblehead and Beverly carry that original New England Township feeling that
most still associate with Salem. If I had not actually visited Salem, Nightfall
would not be set in Doliber Cove. I would still be under the same impression as
most about Salem and elements like sailing on the Massachusetts coast, quirky
book shops, and mysterious bars would be absent.
Author Biography
Youtube Trailer
Giveaway
One lucky person is going to be the recipient of an autographed paperback version of Nightfall as well as a copy of Connor's pendant.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for having me over today. Real life is always present in every novel and every story. The more you experience, the more detailed and personal the story becomes. If you'd like to see photos of these locations just check out the setting album on the PW Creighton Facebook page.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, PW! It's curious how we find inspiration in real places like this.
ReplyDelete