Favourite spooky setting for a book?

Taken from google images: http://www.shadowmillproductions.com/haunted_house.htm

Today's question from Dianna: Favourite spooky setting for a book? And have you used it in your own book?

I think my favourite spooky place for a story would be a mansion, a castle, or a forest. I know, it seems a little cliche to choose those three particular backdrops, but what can I say, my mother has brought me up watching horrors, Ghost stories, fairytales and Gothic period dramas etc

These particular places don't frighten me, but I feel the vastness and size of any of the above are wonderfully atmospheric no matter what hour of the day or night the story would take place. I suppose it's the idea of the history behind such places, mixed with the isolation. 

Don't get me wrong, in a book the castle or mansion might be flooded with people living in these places, but there is always a room, a crook somewhere that seems to be shrounded in secrecy. The hairs stand up on the back of your neck at the slightest noise. They're just built for spook-filled fun.

And a forest, snow white anyone? Who the hell knows what lurks in the deep death of never ending nature. Getting lost in a forest is definitely not something I would want to go through.

Moors would be another place, which I have used in The Blood Series, along with a forest actually. But you aren't really afraid or freaked out by these desolate places when you have Werewolves running around filling the night with their howls. Still, the moors is not somewhere I would want to be on my own even during the day.

One spooky setting I did recently use for a book was a Motel in the middle of nowhere - yet again the middle of nowhere  wide open space. Is anyone getting the feeling I'm not a fan of isolation? Well, if it is chosen isolation, but still, I don't think I would be cut off in such a way from society. I don't think I would cope.

I have never stayed in a Motel, but I have to say I wouldn't want to. I understand the convenience of them, but the idea that anyone can walk past your from door, or the back window . . .  stop their car right outside your room . . . the walls are paper thin . . . no, gives me creeps. There feels like their is no privacy.

Naturally it doesn't help that I have seen films such as Road Kill, Psycho, and No Vacancy. . . Oh, and Wolf Creek, talk about being isolated. Holy hell. Anyway, those films don't really restore my faith in such establishments or adventures, but hey, that's just me.

I suppose anywhere could be spooky, it is all dependant on the atmosphere that is set up, the history behind it, and the character(s) finding themselves there. A dark alleyway, basement, attic, hospital, school, a street at night . . .

What about you; what's one of your favourite spooky settings for/from a book?

What would I be if I were not a writer?

What would I be if I were not a writer?

Dream girl copyright © @Doug88888 (Creative Commons Licence)

This was this week's question to me from Elizabeth Morgan, and I had to really think about it, because I think I've always been a writer. I wrote my first short story (Little Miss Rainbow) at the age of eight, drew pictures on the A4 pages along with the story, folded them and stapled it all together to make a book. Then I think I sold it to my mum for 20p (haha - don't worry, she gets my books for free nowadays :p)

But hey, whaddaya know - I was self-publishing by eight years old!

I went on to write another short story at ten (on an old 1950s typewriter that belonged to my dad), started to keep a diary at twelve, wrote more short stories and poetry (lots of poetry) from the ages of fourteen right up 'til now, really, although they were intermittent. Of course, I was also a complete bookworm. When my friends went out partying, I would prefer to stay at home curled up with a good book. I would get through seven books a week - a book a day.

Throughout childhood, I also wanted to be a singer, a lawyer, an actress, and an astronaut. I ended up going to Drama School to try and fulfil one of those dreams and act out the others, but I didn't stick with the acting, because, with hindsight, I just had too many interests to really push myself into that industry. If you want to succeed in something, I think you have to be a little obsessed with it, to the extent where it becomes so ingrained into your life it's like an extra limb, or an organ. I didn't get that way with acting. I got that way with my 'metaphysical work' later on in life, but that's a whole different story...

And then, after giving birth to my daughter in 2009, I rediscovered self-publishing, and it was no longer this thing that cost £2,500 to do. With the invention and accessibility of the internet and companies like Lulu and CreateSpace, it became virtually free as long as you were prepared to put some hard work into it. Well, I'm all about the hard work when I am passionate about something. With writing, I had my passion back again, and it quickly turned into an obsession that remains.

So, I am a writer. Whatever else I choose to do, now or in the future, I will also write about it in some way or another - probably through fiction. Looking back, I can say that when I wasn't a writer, I was a little lost. I don't know if I could solely be anything else - perhaps a film director, or a photographer. I love telling stories through images and I have an amateur photo site here where I am very slowly uploading my photos. But I would still be a storyteller, even as a photographer. Writing is just my most natural medium :)

Dianna x

Why Scotland?

Love Dianna’s question for me today: What made you want to set your werewolf series in Scotland?

It’s been so long since I have talked about My Blood Series. There is a reason for that, and one I can’t go into just yet, but until the day of that post I’m just going to go ahead and say that the reason is . . . Wide open spaces.

Yup, I set a big part of the series in Scotland because of the glens, moors, hills/mountains, forest and fields.

When I decided I wanted to write about werewolves I automatically knew that my Werewolves were going to be old school; monster wolves. I’m talking similar to The Wolf Man (in both the titled movie and Van Helsing), the guys out of Underworld. Yeah, my werewolves can walk around and fight like men in wolf form. These guys are big. I’m talking “monster! Grab your pitchforks and torches” scary big. So, they needed space. They needed freedom to run wild, and it just made sense to me. I mean what better place to set my Pack then in Farr, Scotland. Right up top.

I couldn’t see these big bulky wolves running wild in cities. Don’t get me wrong, some of my Weres live in the city, and other Packs outside the country have to. I just wanted my main pack to be in Scotland. It felt right. Scotland just made sense to me. Plus, Scottish men? Yes please. Scottish Werewolves? Hell yes. How could I not have Scottish Weres? Owen MacLaren in a kilt? That's a bone melting, mouth watering, heart stopping image, right there. ;-D

Plus, Scotland is beautiful, and full of history and myths. It’s magical and a place where it is very easy to imagine such creatures roaming, don’t you think?

Although it is mainly UK based, and my main characters are from the UK, the series does move around a little.

The Blood Series Prequel: She-Wolf – is set in Scotland.
Book One: Cranberry Blood – is set in London and Scotland.
Book Two: Untitled – is going to be set in Rome, Venice . . . and I’m still kinda figuring the rest out.

Big jump in scenery, not to mention weather. Why you ask, well, you’re just going to have to wait and find out. ;-P

If you could be any character . . .

Today's question: If you could be any character from a book or movie - or both - who would you be and why?

Difficult question, because I think in the case of a lot of the books I have read I wanted to be any of the character or at least be a part of their world. Same goes for movies.

You see, I originally wanted to be an actress and the reason for that is because it allows you to be anyone or anything you want to be; you can be someone else. You can have a thousand different experiences; have a hundred jobs all inside that one career.

Since childhood I have wanted to be almost every super-heroine and villain I came across. I've wanted to be Christine Dae from The Phantom or the Opera; Cinderella, although mainly in The Slipper and the Rose version of the story. I've wanted to be a vampire, and a shifter; a pirate and a kick-ass heroine like on of Angelin Jolie's characters, or Kate Beckinsale in Underworld or Van Helsing. I wanted to be Jane Eyre. I wanted to be in Star Wars, or be an alien in Doctor Who (or one of his companions. I just love the show.)

Sci-fi, period drama, chick-lit, horror, musicals, steampunk, paranormal . . . The truth is I wanted to act because I wanted to be characters. There was no thrill like standing in front of an audience and knowing your the one causing them to laugh or cry. I liked not having to be me. There are so many traits I wish I had. So many things I wish I could be, but I'm not. When you're someone else you get to give yourself a makeover; be big-headed, cruel, soppy, funny, anything you want.

I'd be any of the above characters because I'd love to go on their adventures. See what they see, and do what they do. It certainly helps that there is love and action in most of the above - danger and passion, who wouldn't want that in their life - and that the male leads, no matter hoe imperfect they are, still manage to be swoon worthy.

It's a sad answer I suppose and I guess if I'd have believed in myself a little more I would pursued an acting career, because I have to say, I do miss the stay. You get such a buzz. There's nothing quite like it, but that's not the point. If I could be any character in the world I wouldn't be able to pick just one. I would have to pick all of them, because I would have an adventure no matter whose shoes I was in. Characters lives, after all, seem so much more interesting, intense and fuller, but then I guess they have to be otherwise no one would take interest in their stories.

What about you? Do you have a particular character you would love to step into the shoes of? Or are you greedy like me and want to be every amazing character you have ever come across?

One month to finish the book!

Instead of answering the weekly question today, I thought I would take a moment to FREAK OUT! Because The Last Dragon needs to be finished in one month for editing to properly take place. I've got about 30,000 words left to write. Easy? Maybe ... but for some reason this book has not been the easiest to write, so churning out the chapters has certainly been a challenge. In light of that, I have actually managed to write 57,000 words so far, so I guess I like challenges ;)

If you haven't read The Witching Pen trilogy yet, please do before you read The Last Dragon (if you actually want to understand most things). Book one of The Witching Pen is FREE - http://www.thewitchingpen.co.uk/the-witching-pen.html

Things to expect from me in AUGUST:
1. An issue of my eNewsletter (sign up here - http://mad.ly/signups/68569/join)
2. My getting rather grumpy and crotchety as I near the end of the book and start to panic (apologies in advance)
3. Three blog appearances (one of them will have a giveaway)
4. Me procrastinating, then getting angry with myself because I should be working

Aren't you so looking forward to my August? Yeah you are...

Brace yourself, because September might be even worse - you have all now been warned about my grumpy, angry self just prior to finishing a story ;)

Have a great weekend, folks :D

Dianna. xxx