I Like Books Set In…

I love to read books set in exotic places. Always have. I especially love it when the author incorporates real places that I’ve been or could eventually visit. So, my latest release, Pregnant By Morning, takes place in Venice and I did a blog post at Harlequin Junkie talking about setting, and closed with a question along the lines of “What setting would make a great story?”

I got lots of really great answers. But then I got one that threw me. The commenter said, “I don’t care about setting.” I responded that it was a perfectly valid stance—because it is—and went on. Then I started thinking about it.

You know what? I don’t care either!

I bought Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin for the setting because oh my gosh ancient China sounded so intriguing to this historical romance lover. But honestly, I would have bought it anyway because Jeannie’s an amazing woman whom I dearly love.

I’ve bought books set in England because I love the Regency period, books set in Savannah, GA because my husband is from there, books set in space because duh, they’re awesome, and books set on a boat in the middle of the ocean (The Reef, by Nora Roberts—go pick it up!!). But I purchased not ONE of these books solely for the setting.

 

My reading decisions encompass so much more than that. Is it a story I think I’d like, starring interesting characters with unique dilemmas? Does the author’s voice make it a must read? (Tracy Brogan, I’m looking at you, with Crazy Little Thing!) Or maybe the book’s by an auto-buy author like Nora or Julia Quinn.

 

Kind of makes me look at the books I plan to write in the future in a different way.

Talk to me. How important is setting to you?