Writing the [Mostly] Real World

One of the things I always mention about my stories is that they’re set in Baltimore, MD, USA. I was born, raised, and lived a chunk of my life in Baltimore. It’s a vibrant and delightfully weird city, oft-maligned; it definitely has problems but also has some great people and energy. It’s been struggling to find it’s footing for a while and has slowly been shifting in personality – yes, cities have personalities – and growth is rarely easy, which can make the more skeptical folks think everything’s a mess, when really, it’s change happening. All of these things make for a compelling backdrop and character to use in my stories!

Also, even though I know the city well, writing about it has allowed me to learn even more beyond what I’ve known and experienced about Charm City, especially since it has changed a lot in my lifetime. I can’t just count on memories to fill out a scene, I either have to double check myself against what’s the truth now, or make a conscious choice to warp reality a little to fit my vision.

So now that I’ve said that…

If you’re from these parts, you might have guessed or recognized some of the locations I haven’t outright mentioned in the books. I name the neighborhood of Hampden, where Lucee and Cullen have a lovely date and then get into some trouble, and that’s pretty much exactly as it is currently in the non-book world. The Round Falls area also is the same, and that bit is actually based on a true experience I had there. The community garden that Vali does a mural for doesn’t exist outside the books, but that neighborhood around Greenmount Cemetery is pretty accurate otherwise. The thoughts that Vali mentions about changes in the neighborhood, positive and negative, are valid. Wyman Park Dell is more or less the same in both versions of Baltimore. I describe the building known as The Belvedere as characters pass by it, and I talk about Mount Vernon Place in great detail as it’s a big part of the setting in A Third Kind of Madness.

Writing about the farmers market under the JFX was one of my favorite parts in ATKOM, by the way. I’ve had people ask me if that’s a real market, and how could it be held under an expressway? Folks, it’s real, it is awesome, and you should definitely visit it if you’re in town. I actually used to vend there, selling my handspun yarn and handmade products!

And then there are places I invented completely, like the Frisky Bean. The Bean gets it’s believable feel from my deep experience with that kind of coffee house, but sadly there isn’t a place I can point out in the Mount Vernon neighborhood that matches that vibe. House Mirabilis and Tiennan House don’t have specific inspirations, but Baltimore has plenty of old houses that could stand in. The Compound has an address [sort of, I don’t really obscure where it’s located] and if you look it up using online maps, you can get a visual for the outside, at least. The interior layout, I based on judging from the outside and using my experiences from being inside similar buildings, with my own whimsical additions of course.

Some spots what I’d call book-analogues to actual places that exist, but under different names. Club Marcada on Charles Street is an amalgam of a couple of different clubs I’ve known, but it’s absolutely set in the same block as Club Charles and The Depot. [And The Depot certainly gets some quiet references in the description of Marcada, IYKYK] The Maithe also could be put in this category, but I think it needs it’s own, for reasons I’ll explain below.

The Maithe is special [duh]

First off, let’s discuss the one very specific thing I changed about my version of Baltimore: Park Street.

There is no Park Street in Mount Vernon.

There is a Park Avenue, and yes, I know someone from here might read the books and think “Oh, Xi doesn’t know what they’re talking about, they messed that up.” Nope, sorry, that was a deliberate choice that will mean nothing to people not from Baltimore but to locals [and me] it signals that we are stepping outside of the “real” world and into a different version of the city. Basically that entire street, which happens to house the Frisky Bean, Denny’s studio, and The Maithe, is a magical corridor that lies just slightly off from the world we move in. So if you’re in Mount Vernon and you happen to be walking down Park Avenue, you’re just a sidestep away from where so much of the story takes place!

How do you shift over to Park Street instead? Well that is a good question… isn’t it?

Trivia point: my very first apartment, of which I have no end of ridiculous tales, was on Park Ave. in Mount Vernon. Living there and observing a lot of the odd, amusing things that happened regularly was part of the inspiration for setting the story in that area.

That “slightly off” mirror world, the Baltimore that could be if we sidestepped through the veil unexpectedly? That’s where you can walk from the Bean and spy magical graffiti in an alleyway before you come to the end of the street and the great building that dominates it: The Maithe. Yes, The Maithe is inspired by a building I know, The Brexton, now known as a hotel. No, it’s not the same in this world…as far as I know. It doesn’t house a great, seemingly unending forest in its center courtyard. Indeed, there’s no courtyard at all, though in my opinion there should be! But the staircase? That’s there, and the triangular shape, and the towers on each end. I think The Maithe probably deserves its own post, because I have personal anecdotes I could share as well as a lot of background about how I envisioned the layout inside, which is quite different than the building it’s based on. And as time’s gone on, The Maithe has revealed secrets about itself and those are fun to talk about, too.

I keep promising a video tour of the Eleriannan’s version of Baltimore, and I promise it’s coming soon! The weather’s been too hot and unsettled for your pal Christiane, but as soon as I’m feeling up to it, you’ll have it. Part of the joy of writing these stories is sharing my city with you through my eyes and imagination, and can’t wait for you to see the places that inspire me.

More to come, including in-depth details about The Maithe!

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