Guest Post with Meredith Allard & Ebook Giveaway!
Going Back to Salem for the First Time
By: Meredith Allard (Author of Her Dear & Loving Husband)
After seeing visions of a vampire
mourning his long-dead wife, I finally decided one morning to see if
there was anything to these insistent daydreams. I sat down at the
computer without any specifics about the story in mind. All I had was
a thought about a vampire so in love with his wife that he couldn’t
move on.
I decided to set the story in Salem,
Massachusetts by a process of elimination. As I was thinking about
the setting, I realized I didn’t want to set the story in the
Northwestern U.S. because that’s where Stephenie Meyer’s vampires
hang out. I didn’t want to set the story down South because that’s
where Charlaine Harris’ vampires roam. I live in the western part
of the U.S., previously in L.A. and currently in Las Vegas, but those
didn’t feel right for a vampire story. Then I thought that if I
wasn’t going northwest, how about northeast? I looked at a map of
the northeastern U.S., saw Massachusetts, saw Salem, and that was
that.
I have been asked if I was born in
Salem or if I ever lived in Salem. The answer is no to both
questions. I was able to describe Salem, Massachusetts in detail in
Her Dear & Loving Husband using the Internet—website,
photographs, maps, travel sites, and Google Earth. Then, as I sat
down to write the second book in the series, Her Loving Husband’s
Curse, I went back onto the Internet to reacquaint myself with
the town that is itself a character in the story. Looking again at
pictures and maps, I realized I had gone as far as I could describing
the town from 3000 miles away. I decided I wanted a better look at
the place where I had lived in my imagination for over two years, so
this past July I finally visited Salem.
My main concern when I arrived was that
I would get there and see I had gotten it all wrong and nothing was
the way I described it. Thank goodness that didn’t happen. I was
pleasantly surprised to find everything where I expected it to be. My
only surprise was the tiny size of Lappin Park—with its statue of
Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha on Bewitched—which occupies
the corner of a busy intersection. For a history buff like myself,
Salem is a great find, bursting with everything from Nathaniel
Hawthorne’s birthplace to memorials to the madness of the witch
trials to a recreation of a pioneer village from the 1630s. And
there’s the beauty and the serenity of the seaside to take in.
Most importantly, I was able to absorb
the energy of the town while I was there. I could see the sea kissing
the shore with my own eyes, and I saw the boats bobbing in the
harbor. I walked the same streets my characters James and Sarah walk
every night. I stood outside the Peabody-Essex Museum and I visited
the House of the Seven Gables. Now I have a depth, a personal well of
knowledge to draw from as I add more light and shadows to this
ever-deepening story between the vampire and his eternal love.
Although it was my first time in Salem,
I felt as if I were visiting it all over again. And I enjoyed every
minute of my stay.
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This really looks like a real interesting read. I enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteJudy
magnolias_1[at]msn[dot]com
I love how much you researched Salem, Mass, and the witch trials before writing about them! That's the kind of detail I like reading when I'm immersed in a book! Great guest post, Meredith :)
ReplyDeletejwitt33 at live dot com
Thank you Judy and Julie! I love writing about history, and the Salem Witch Trials are a a fascinating (but sad) time. I agree, Julie...I love the historical details too!
ReplyDeleteWOW...You really put a lot of effort into getting the Salem Witch Trial details just right! You can tell you have a real passion for this time.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maria. The funny thing is, I actually didn't know much about the witch trials before I started writing the book. I had a lot of research to do!
ReplyDeleteMeredith: I thought you did an amazing job of putting James into the established history of the trials. I loved seeing him tell stories of his interactions with real people from the time period.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you Andrea! That really is my favorite part of writing historical fiction--figuring out how my fictional characters will interact with the real-life people. And often I get ideas for my fictional characters from the historical research I do.
ReplyDelete