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| Hannah Fielding, Author BURNING EMBERS |
European
romance novelist Hannah Fielding brings us a novel that truly “transports
you to another place," as described by one reviewer. Her novel BURNING EMBERS is
set in 1970s Kenya and incorporates the backdrop of the newly independent country. In the following article, she highlights the relevance of setting and shares some tips on how to use setting to enhance a story.
Prior to becoming a full-time author, Hannah reared two children and ran her own business renovating rundown cottages. Today she and her husband spend half their time in Kent and the rest in their home in the South of France.
Prior to becoming a full-time author, Hannah reared two children and ran her own business renovating rundown cottages. Today she and her husband spend half their time in Kent and the rest in their home in the South of France.
Rooting a Story Firmly in the ‘Where’
By Hannah Fielding
I have always been a writer who pays keen attention to
setting; to describing carefully sights and sounds and smells and tastes and
textures. Since childhood I’ve loved writers who really paint a scene in your
mind, and I knew when I started writing romance that I wanted to transport my
readers to the time and place in which I situate the story. Place holds such
power to colour a story, and I believe any story must be firmly rooted in the
‘where.'
I have written several novels now, and vivid setting
is a common factor across each. From Andalucía, Spain to Venice and Tuscany,
Italy to Alexandria, Egypt – these are books born of my travels; of poking
around in back streets and cafes; of meeting locals and exploring landscapes –
and, of course, of reading extensively on cultures.
For my debut novel, BURNING EMBERS, a passionate tale of the love between a young
photographer coming to Kenya from England and an entrepreneurial plantation
owner, I chose newly independent Kenya, Africa, as the setting. I had travelled
to Africa as a young woman, and fallen in love with the people and the wild
landscapes. I knew this would be the perfect colourful backdrop to a vivid and
sultry love story with an undercurrent of danger and superstition. I chose to
situate the action in 1970, because this was a pivotal time in Kenyan history,
with new crashing up against old and a good deal of insecurity, and this
offsets the development of the main character, Coral, from naïve girl to mature
woman.
Here’s an extract from Coral’s first impression of the
port of Mombasa:
Coral
turned her attention to the gigantic cranes swiveling in the air. They reminded
her of steel-fanged dragons on the lookout for their next victim as they lifted
and lowered their strange cargoes bound for new shores. It was clear that the
port was flourishing these days. Coral had kept up with the news in Kenya and
knew that while the president, Jomo Kenyatta, was criticized by some for his
increasingly autocratic governing of the country, Kenya was at least reaping
the economic benefits of increased exports and aid from the West. A vision of a
new Kenya seemed to be constructing itself in front of her eyes. And then,
farther away to the right, where the marshy green belt of grassland sloped down
gently toward the ocean, she saw an age-old scene. Magnificent, half-naked,
ebony athletes went to and fro, some carrying on their shoulders and others on
their heads, heavy loads brought in by rowing boats from larger vessels
anchored off shore.
Such description is typical of my writing, and it
seems to appeal to readers, for many of the reviews of the book mention the exotic setting and the sense that the book offers an escape in
transporting the reader to another world and another time.
Tips on Setting
If you’re a writer looking to develop the setting of
your novel, you may find the following tips helpful:
·
Think carefully about what setting
best matches the themes of your story. Don’t be afraid to be different – an
unusual, exotic setting is appealing to the reader.
·
If at all possible, visit the key
locations in the book. Second best is to talk to others who have been there and
to read extensively on the place – both books and online. Don’t forget to look
up images too; a Google Image search can be very useful.
·
Write to appeal to all the readers’
senses, so they can really imagine scenes.
·
As well as broad brush strokes that
convey a scene – green grass, a blue sky – look for small, interesting details.
What unusual colours stand out, for example?
·
Don’t just describe the permanent
aspects of a setting; also think about transitional details, such as weather
and the angle of sunlight.
·
People are interested in people, so
make people part of your setting descriptions.
·
Connect characters to settings. So
instead of describing a place and then a person, weave the two together by
considering how the person affects the place, and vice versa.
·
Go for walks often, in both urban
and natural settings, and practise being mindful: aware of small details in the
setting. Use walks as inspiration for writing practice, and soon you’ll find
that you instinctively describe well.
More About Me
I grew up in a rambling house overlooking the
Mediterranean. My half-French half-Italian governess Zula used to tell the most
beautiful fairy stories. When I was seven we came to an agreement: for each
story she told me, I would invent and tell her one of my own. That is how my
love of writing began.
Later, at a convent school where French nuns
endeavoured to teach us grammar, literature and maths, during lessons which
bored me to tears I took to daydreaming and wrote short romantic stories to
satisfy the needs of a fertile imagination. Having no inhibitions, I circulated
them around the class, which made me very popular among my peers.
After I graduated with a BA in French literature from
university, my international nomadic years started. I lived mainly in
Switzerland, France and England, and holidayed in other Mediterranean countries
like Italy, Greece and Spain. Once I met my husband, Nicholas, I settled in
Kent and subsequently had little time for writing while bringing up two
children and running my own business renovating rundown cottages.
Then, when my children few the nest, I created room in
my life for writing once more. Now, my husband and I spend half our time in our
Georgian rectory in Kent and the rest in our home in the South of France,
where I write overlooking breathtaking views of the ocean.
My first novel, Burning Embers, has been a work in
progress for many years. It is set in Africa - my homeland - and is inspired by
travels to Kenya. I am currently working on books set in Spain, Italy and Egypt,
which is a wonderful excuse to travel often and drink in passionate cultures
and beautiful landscapes.
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Coral Sinclair is a beautiful but naive
twenty-five-year-old photographer who has just lost her father. She's leaving
the life she's known and traveling to Kenya to take ownership of her inheritance
– the plantation that was her childhood home – Mpingo. On the voyage from
England, Coral meets an enigmatic stranger to whom she has a mystifying
attraction. She sees him again days later on the beach near Mpingo, but Coral's
childhood nanny tells her the man is not to be trusted. It is rumored that Rafe
de Monfort, owner of a neighboring plantation and a nightclub, is a notorious
womanizer having an affair with her stepmother, which may have contributed to
her father's death. Circumstance confirms Coral's worst suspicions, but when
Rafe's life is in danger she is driven to make peace. A tentative romance
blossoms amidst a meddling ex-fianc, a jealous stepmother, a car accident, and
the dangerous wilderness of Africa. Is Rafe just toying with a young woman's
affections? Is the notorious womanizer only after Coral's inheritance? Or does
Rafe's troubled past color his every move, making him more vulnerable than
Coral could ever imagine? Set in 1970, this contemporary historical romance
sends the seemingly doomed lovers down a destructive path wrought with greed,
betrayal, revenge, passion, and love.
Links
Twitter @FieldingHannah
