Welcome to another installment of Romance Writers Weekly! Each week, we give you – the dear reader – insights into what makes us tick.

This week’s question comes from Brenda Margriet, author of the delightful Chef d’Amour. She asks “How do you choose the setting for your book? Does where you live inspire you? this can apply even to books set in paranormal worlds – what do you use from real life?” Did you land here after visiting Dani Jace? Her upcoming novel Hot as Blazes is set in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Is it a place that’s close to her heart?

LisbonStory ideas come to me in a myriad of ways. Sometimes I’m inspired by a news article. Other times, I’ll meet an interesting person and the what-ifs start whirling through my brain. And then there are the times when I’m on the road (I travel a lot) in some exotic place and I find myself wondering about the lives of the locals. As let loose my books upon the world, you’ll find them set in anywhere from Lisbon to Los Angeles to Philadelphia.

My first novella, The Calum, was inspired by my love for all things Outlander. Set in the picturesque Scottish Highlands, my heroine falls in love with the landscape even before she falls for my hero. Quite often a setting can become another character in a story. It’s one of the things I love so much about writers like Diana Gabaldon and Anne Rice. Authors like Rhenna Morgan and Hugh Howey, who build their own worlds, set me – the reader – down in the middle of it. Immersion.

Hop on over to see what inspires Ronnie Allen to set her novels in the area where she lives.

See you next week!
Xio