Settings, real and imagined…

Today it’s difficult to determine whether authors have visited any of the settings used in their novels. While I obviously haven’t been to Luna, Mars, or any planet in the 82 Eridani star system (all settings in my sci-fi stories), I’ve traveled a bit on our home planet and observed a lot in situ. But authors can also personalize other settings they’ve never been to by using Google Maps and Google Earth for generalities and then embellishing with their imaginations. There’s nothing wrong with that...