LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
by Chris Goff
We're talking about settings. Important in books, and important in life.
In the past three years, my husband and I have moved four times. Crazy, right?!
The first move was temporary. My husband's company assigned him to a three year project in Pueblo, Colorado. Or so we thought.
Before that we were living in Evergreen, the small mountain town where I grew up. Back then there were approximately 2,600 residents in the area, living in houses tucked into the hillsides or on ranches sprawled across acres of land. Summers were filled with Saturday night street dances in town, the annual rodeo, hiking, tennis, horseback riding, swimming and canoeing on the lake. Winters were filled with school, Saturday ski bus and ice skating on the lake. Idyllic.
Pueblo was different. Situated in the southern part of the state and at lower elevation, it was an old steel town—but the mills had shut down and the economy suffered. By then was best known for it's annual chili festival, the Pueblo Reservoir, the State Fair, and as the home of the Colorado State Mental Hospital, where all the state's criminally insane were housed.
We loved it. We moved from 4,000 square feet into 1,600 square feet, bringing only what we needed and/or wanted with us and leaving the rest safely locked up at home. It was freeing.
With a couple years left on Wes' contract, we decided it was time to sell the big house. With the kids grown and gone, we didn't need the space and there was a lot of maintenance headed our way—new paint, new decks, new windows...plus we liked our new carefree lifestyle. Then, two weeks after signing a contract on Evergreen, Wes was called back to the Denver Tech Center office and we needed a new place to live! We managed to find a nice place to rent close to Wes' office, and went about the business of moving two houses totaling 5,600 square feet into a 2,600 square foot home. The house had some issues, but came with a giant backyard that offset the seventies décor. Picture the main floor powder room with its flowered wallpaper and sea foam green toilet and sink.
We stayed exactly one year! We discovered we are home owner-types, not renters, so three or four months prior to our lease expiring, we started looking for a place to buy. We looked, and we looked, and we looked. I must have traipsed through over 50 houses in person, and another 150 houses online, before we gave up on the idea of a house and started looking at townhomes and condominiums—which is where we landed.
Our new home is beautiful, recently remodeled, but only 1,727 square feet. It has two bedrooms, a dedicated office (every writer needs an office!) and most importantly, it has a view of the Front Range from Pikes Peak to Longs Peak.
Like I said, location, location, location....
Downsizing has been the biggest challenge. We have way too much stuff. And my blog is late, mostly because I couldn't find my computer. Mea Culpa.
So what's next?
Research. On settings. I'm working on a new standalone set in southern Colorado. I've spent a lot of time there, so I think I've got that. But the third Raisa Jordan thriller picks up in Prague, a place I've been. I want to get it right, which means I definitely have to visit, right?
What is your home like? If you could read a book set anywhere, where would it be?
We're talking about settings. Important in books, and important in life. In the past three years, my husband and I have moved four times. Crazy, right?!
The first move was temporary. My husband's company assigned him to a three year project in Pueblo, Colorado. Or so we thought.
Before that we were living in Evergreen, the small mountain town where I grew up. Back then there were approximately 2,600 residents in the area, living in houses tucked into the hillsides or on ranches sprawled across acres of land. Summers were filled with Saturday night street dances in town, the annual rodeo, hiking, tennis, horseback riding, swimming and canoeing on the lake. Winters were filled with school, Saturday ski bus and ice skating on the lake. Idyllic.
Pueblo was different. Situated in the southern part of the state and at lower elevation, it was an old steel town—but the mills had shut down and the economy suffered. By then was best known for it's annual chili festival, the Pueblo Reservoir, the State Fair, and as the home of the Colorado State Mental Hospital, where all the state's criminally insane were housed. We loved it. We moved from 4,000 square feet into 1,600 square feet, bringing only what we needed and/or wanted with us and leaving the rest safely locked up at home. It was freeing.
With a couple years left on Wes' contract, we decided it was time to sell the big house. With the kids grown and gone, we didn't need the space and there was a lot of maintenance headed our way—new paint, new decks, new windows...plus we liked our new carefree lifestyle. Then, two weeks after signing a contract on Evergreen, Wes was called back to the Denver Tech Center office and we needed a new place to live! We managed to find a nice place to rent close to Wes' office, and went about the business of moving two houses totaling 5,600 square feet into a 2,600 square foot home. The house had some issues, but came with a giant backyard that offset the seventies décor. Picture the main floor powder room with its flowered wallpaper and sea foam green toilet and sink.We stayed exactly one year! We discovered we are home owner-types, not renters, so three or four months prior to our lease expiring, we started looking for a place to buy. We looked, and we looked, and we looked. I must have traipsed through over 50 houses in person, and another 150 houses online, before we gave up on the idea of a house and started looking at townhomes and condominiums—which is where we landed.
Our new home is beautiful, recently remodeled, but only 1,727 square feet. It has two bedrooms, a dedicated office (every writer needs an office!) and most importantly, it has a view of the Front Range from Pikes Peak to Longs Peak.Like I said, location, location, location....
Downsizing has been the biggest challenge. We have way too much stuff. And my blog is late, mostly because I couldn't find my computer. Mea Culpa.
So what's next?
Research. On settings. I'm working on a new standalone set in southern Colorado. I've spent a lot of time there, so I think I've got that. But the third Raisa Jordan thriller picks up in Prague, a place I've been. I want to get it right, which means I definitely have to visit, right?
What is your home like? If you could read a book set anywhere, where would it be?
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