I just love reading stories set in other countries and I love reading suspense. Author Louise Mangos has combined both of these elements in her two thrillers, Strangers on a Bridge and Her Husbands's Secrets, which is why I was delighted when she offered to write a piece for Wendy's Writing Now on the importance of setting in a novel.
Over to you, Louise.
I believe it was Mark Twain who
initially coined the phrase “Write what you know.” Like me, he was a voracious
traveller, and often spent weeks at a time in the settings of his stories.
Both my suspense novels are set in
different areas of Switzerland, and I am lucky enough to have spent several
years in two of the locations. My debut, Strangers
on a Bridge, is set in and around the valley where I currently live.
My second novel, Her Husband’s Secrets (previously titled
The Art of Deception) has a dual
timeline in two settings. The backstory is set in the area I lived for more
than 16 years when I first arrived in Switzerland many years ago, a ski resort
in the French-speaking part of the country. Although never once mentioned by
name in the novel, the resort of Leysin is the setting for artist Lucie’s
torrid love affair with ski teacher and womaniser, Matt. Their union
deteriorates into a shaky relationship of increasing mistrust, coercion and deception.
But Lucie cannot leave because they have a son together. And then one afternoon
something terrible happens.
The present-day part of the story
is set in Switzerland’s only all-female prison, Hindelbank, situated north of
Bern. The prison required a significant amount of research as I hadn’t been
there before, but became fascinated with its history as I began researching
where the convicts in my story might be imprisoned. Hindelbank prison is built within
the grounds of a magnificent castle, and was originally a work house for
disreputable young women. It has a tainted past, and I was able to weave some
of these facts into the novel’s narrative. I visited the prison several times, conducted
interviews with the prison staff, and was given a tour of the communal and work
spaces. For the remaining information about the day-to-day life, routines,
philosophy, and the sleeping quarters for the prisoners, I was able to ask the
prison director and she willingly shared the information I required. I even
bought crafted objects made by the prisoners for their annual Christmas market
– the Schlossmärit – an event I also
managed to include in the story.
Although I know my settings
intimately, I work hard to bring them to life for the reader. There are some
amazing locations in Switzerland for the settings of stories. I like to portray
them with a complexity I might award to any of my characters. The geography and
climate are as moody as the people I write about.
So I do agree with Mr Twain: Write
what you know. But I also believe writers should research what they don’t know
to make their novels better.
Louise is a compulsive writer and
drinker of Prosecco. Her novels, short stories and flash fiction have won
prizes, have been placed on several shortlists and read out on BBC radio. Apart
from the two novels mentioned above, her short fiction has appeared in Mslexia
and Firewords, and in the Hammond House, Brighton Prize, Nivalis, Ellipsis
Zine, Bath Flash Fiction, Hysteria, and Reflex Press anthologies. She lives in
central Switzerland with her Kiwi husband and two sons.
You can find Louise here:
@LouiseMangos
