Chateau de Puymartin, Dordogne, France photo by Manfred Heyde |
Novelist, Take Me Away
Does setting matter? As a writer and reader I enjoy the
“take-me-away” aspect of new and different places in fiction. Off to a foreign
land without all the inconveniences of travel. I’ve used settings as far away
as Moldova but my two novels set in France are close to my heart.
The books feature Americans, but they rely as much on their
setting as almost anything else. Far from the stylish boulevards of Paris and
the sunny beaches of the Côte d’Azur, their setting is the Dordogne province,
originally called the Perigord. This southwestern region is a fertile land
known for its wine, foie gras, duck confit, and black truffles. Its back
roads wind through deep canyons, with villages clinging to cliffs. Here the
Hundred Years War was fought and Nazis laid waste to the land. Remnants of war
and violence remain.
Dordogne River photo by Luc Viatour/www.Lucnix.be |
History really comes alive in these old places where the ‘bastide’ walls are still solid after 800
years. But the delicacies of this area are the real delights. Black Perigord
truffles are famous around the world. Difficult to harvest, they are becoming
scarcer as climate change alters their natural habitat in these sunny hills and
valleys.
Dogs are often trained today to hunt truffles. A highly trained
truffle dog is very valuable to any truffle hunter. In The Girl in the Empty Dress the
women come across an injured dog in a ditch. This dog, they soon find out, is
famous for its truffling exploits. How it got to be injured and out on its own
sets off the mystery.
Truffles photo by Poppy |
I went on a French walking tour myself. Six women, a love of
wine and cheese, and winding trails through the vineyards made for a fabulous
time. Later I saw a “Sixty Minutes” story on truffles. They interviewed a dog
owner who had his prized truffle dog stolen. He searched for years in vain for
her. I decided to write about a stolen truffle dog. In trying to plot the story,
the walking tour came back to me. The dynamics of a small group are always
interesting. The sixth wheel, the woman who is secretive and annoying, sets up
the conflict. As a writer, once you come up with the central conflict you’re
off to the races.
A delicious setting doesn’t hurt of course.
The Girl in the Empty
Dress
Merle Bennett is
spending another summer in France, vacationing with her four sisters, tramping
around the back roads of the Dordogne. The sixth member of the tour is a law
colleague, Gillian Sargent. When Gillian finds an injured dog along the
roadside and wants to keep it for her own, the idyllic summer trip of sisterly
bonding and wine drinking turns dark and dangerous. In this corner of southwest
France of dark, oaky wine, rocky hills, and earthy truffles, Merle must juggle
sibling bickering, her teenage son, two boyfriends, and the law. All she wants
is to unwind in the golden light of France. But France has a few tricks up its
sleeves again. Thanks to a sad little dog and a woman with too many secrets.
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7 comments:
This book sounds like just my cup of tea, Lise! I'm off to check it out.
Thanks for having me here, ladies!
Awesome pictures! Thanks for the post.
I love reading books that take place in France. Your photos are lovely so I'm off to check them out right now.
Charmant!
I'm a sucker for mysteries set in France. I'll check it out.
I'm re-reading BLACKBIRD FLY before I buy your new book! I've also requested it at our public library so others can enjoy the series! Thanks for taking me on a mini vacation in France!
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