Using Real Locations as a Backdrop by Angela Wren
It is a great pleasure to welcome my friend and fellow author, Angela Wren back to the blog today. Like me, Angela sets her novels in real places. Her thrillers take place in France while mine are set in Scotland.
Welcome back Angela. Where is your new book set? Hi, Val, thanks very much for inviting me back to your blog. As you know, I spend a lot of time travelling in France and my Jacques Forêt mysteries are all set in the south-central mountainous area called the Cévennes. I thought I’d take your regular readers on a little tour of the real village of Meyrueis. That is also the title of the recently published seventh book.
The real village of Meyrueis has a population of around 800 inhabitants in the département of Lozère. The town overlooks the confluence of three rivers, La Jonte, La Brèze and Le Béthuzon and nestles at one end of the Gorges de la Jonte. It is bordered on the south by the foothills of Mont Aigoual and the Causse Méjean, a vast limestone plateau that towers over the valley, in the north. With an elevation of around 611 metres (2005 feet if you prefer) above sea level and spot heights rising to 1562 metres (or 5125 feet), the town easily outstrips the highest peak here in Britain.
Because of the nature of the geography, a steep river valley, the town is characteristically long and narrow but widens out as you get closer to the centre. It’s a pleasant walk along Quai de la Barrère, with houses on the right and the river on the left. I particularly wanted to explore the Causse as I have some scenes set in that specific landscape and the village in book.
The real Meyrueis has a long and fascinating history. The earliest evidence of life in this gorge dates from prehistory, and excavations undertaken in the 1980s have discovered Gallo-Roman buildings dating from the first century. Prior to that, the area was divided between various Celtic tribes.
Throughout history, the town has grown and prospered, the principal trades being sheep, wool, and the millinery industry. The market here dates from 1033, and despite the various religious wars, the upheaval of changes of barony through conquest or marriage, and the revolution, the town has survived. That tenacity is demonstrated in the mixture of architecture and buildings across the streets. It’s also a quality that I decide I want to instil into my characters, one in particular, Claude Laget.
As I go from the outskirts along the quai to the bridge, I see a four-storey house on the far side of the river. I like the look of the little garden, the steps up to the front door and the fact that there is a narrow stone bridge across the river at that point. A perfect place for my victim's body to be found, I decide. Except there’s just one little issue! In reality, it is still quite a walk to get from here to the town centre. But one of the wonders of fiction is that you can change, or make things up. So that little bridge and the house, in my fictitious version of Meyrueis, are much closer to the centre of town than in real life.
As I meander along the quai, the hustle and bustle of the town becomes more evident – it’s market day today. The restaurant on the right is filling up with mid-day diners; after all, it is after twelve. The location of the eatery is perfect, I think, as the initial scene in the book begins to unfold in my head. My character of Madame Rose-Marie Longchamp was formed some time ago, but I ask myself as I pause to take in the street ahead, why is she leaving her house at that particular time on that day?
As I stroll, I see a hotel on my left, and the road and buildings widen out from the bank of the river. Here, there are market stalls and a plethora of people. Neighbours stop to chat and greet each other as vendors call out prices and weights to their waiting customers. The street becomes Place Sully, another little bridge traverses the river, more shoppers move between the market stalls. More shops, more eateries and then I espy the fully extended dark green canopy of the boulangerie et pâtisserie on my left. And Madame Longchamp’s task at the outset of the story is to fetch the bread and cakes for the weekend!
At the top of Place Sully, there is yet another bridge and the Tourist Office. I dive in and get a town map. As I sit at a café table in the sunshine, it being late September there is a definite chill in the shade, I make a few more decisions. The boulangerie et pâtisserie will have to move, too. It’s too far away from where I’ve put Madame’s house. Then I look at the Tourist Office. Too modern and out of character with the town. It has to go from my fictional version of the town.
With a coffee, a piece of pâtisserie, I spend the next hour imaging the town in my story and making notes. In the background, the market traders begin to pack away their wares and the shoppers make their journeys home...
The Blurb
Whilst conducting a routine security survey at a business in the city of Mende, Jacques comes across some facts that do not add up. Further surveillance work leads to a complicated web of lies and deceit.
The release of an old adversary from prison brings further work for Jacques and danger for his team and his son. The discovery of a body in the quiet town of Meyrueis adds yet another facet to a difficult investigation.
Can Jacques weave the numerous threads together to resolve the case, keep everyone safe, and identify the killer?
The Author
Angela Wren is an actor and director at a small theatre a few miles from where she lives in the county of Yorkshire in the UK. She did work as a project and business change manager – very pressured and very demanding – but managed to escape and now she writes books.
She has always loved stories and story telling so it seemed a natural progression to try her hand at writing and she started with short stories. Her first published story was included in an anthology, which was put together by the magazine ‘Ireland’s Own’ in 2011. She also contributes to the Miss Moonshine anthologies of feel-good stories.
Angela particularly enjoy the challenge of plotting and planning different genres of work. Her short stories vary between contemporary romance, memoir, mystery and historical. She also writes comic flash-fiction and has drafted two one-act plays that have been recorded for local radio.
Her novels are set in France where she likes to spend as much time as possible each year. Currently, she's working on the follow-up stories in my Jacques Forêt series of novels and she continues to write her blog every week where you can find lots of info about France, books, book reviews and author interviews.
The Links
Website : https://www.angelawren.co.uk/
Twitter/X : https://x.com/AngelaWrenAuthr
Threads : https://www.threads.com/@angelawrenauthr
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/angelawrenauthr/
Amazon Author Page : AmazonPage
Buy Link for Meyrueis : Meyrueis
Thanks very much for the opportunity, Val. 😊