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| Lac de Charpal |
I'm often asked if the places in my books are real or not. The straight and completely accurate answer to this question is both yes and no. My response often prompts a look of confusion on the face of the questioner. I've also noticed a few comments from reviewers too and I thought I would take this opportunity to clarify the matter.
My village of Messandrierre and its inhabitants are entirely fictitious, as is the name. To give the village something of a French feel I derived the name from that of a real village that sits some way north-west of the actual location that I use as the model for my imaginary place. Messandrierre is based on the real village of Laubert in the Cévennes. It's a place that I have visited many times over the years. Using a real village that I know means that I can visualise where my characters are at any one moment as I'm writing the books. It means that I can also call on my real experiences of the weather there - and it can be extreme at times - and recreate it as a backdrop for scenes in the stories. However, the real village of Laubert didn't quite meet all of the needs of my plot for the first book. So, I changed one or two things. For example, I've moved and ruined the chateau. I planted a dead oak at the side of the top road and I felled a few of the surrounding trees. I also built Beth's hunting chalet and placed it in the location that I would have chosen for myself.
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| Notre Dame et St Privat Cathedral, Mende |
The city of Mende features in both Messandrierre and Merle - the second book in the series. Mende is very much a real place as are the streets that I mention. It's a very old city with a colourful history and one that I have written about before and you can read my musings Here. The sister buildings of the Vaux Group... they only exist in my imagination, but I know exactly where on Boulevard Théophile Roussel they sit. Just as I know precisely where Beth's photographic studio and shop is situated. The suburb of Merle is a figment of my imagination but is roughly situated towards the north of the modern town. Of course, the name Merle has some significance in its own right. The word translates as blackbird and Jacques is considering buying an apartment in a newly built block called Hirondelle (Swallow). But Merle is also used as a girl's Christian name and was the surname of a Huguenot soldier called Capitaine Matthieu Merle. Living in the 16th century, he was something of a tyrant!
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| Decorated house, Le Puy-en-Velay |
In Merle, Jacques follows one suspect to the city of Le Puy-en-Velay. A real place that I love to visit whenever I am in the area and there are a couple of detailed posts about the times I've spent there. Again, it is a place with an amazing history, a fabulous city centre and an imposing geography. You can read my thoughts Here.
The third book in the series, Montbel, is due for release on November 13th. It is a real and small village about 8 kilometres from Laubert. The description of Jacques' route to Montbel is exactly the same journey I've taken many times. It is a typical mountain village surrounded by high pastures and the description in the book is recalling the scenery as it was the last time I was there. Although the location is real, the crime comes entirely from my own imagination. The property that Jacques visits is imaginary and, as with Laubert, I've had to make some changes to the village to support the plot. But telling you now what those changes are, would be giving the game away!
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