Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
Two famous examples are Stephen King and John Irving*, whose settings are usually places with which both authors are very familiar.
|
And of course Dick Francis, who for many many years stuck to the hitherto under-appreciated horse-racing-related-crime-fiction category. When he did eventually branch out into e.g. wine-retailing-related-crime-fiction he made a point of researching things thoroughly enough to avoid embarrassing himself.
And he still generally worked in some peripheral horses, and usually had the primary location in a town with a racecourse. Partly because that was the kind of place/lifestyle/people he knew best, and partly because his core readership obviously appreciated a bit of horsyness with their crime.
Which also brings up the point that if you know a lot about something people find interesting, and you can write well about it, it's an excellent way of connecting with an audience.