***
Location is an important feature in any
novel. It can set the atmosphere, add mystery, even have shock value.
Not many stories
can succeed without a sense of location. But what happens when the story is a
fantasy – set in an imaginary landscape? How much is invented, and how much is
borrowed from reality?
In my novel Isle of Larus the landscape
takes on a major role in the story – almost a character in its own right. It
was inspired by the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, where I live, and the Isle of
Portland in particular. The isle in the story is by no means a portrait of
Portland, but I did borrow freely from its appearance and atmosphere, from its
seeming isolation, uncompromising ruggedness, and robust weather. Especially
that robust weather!
I have observed Portland from all points up
and down the Dorset coast, and I lived there, too, in one of its stone
cottages, for some years. It looks remarkably remote, from a distance,
considering it’s pretty firmly anchored to the mainland by the Chesil Beach. A
proper little lost world. And that’s just what appealed to me as a writer: the
contrast between this apparent far-off other world and the rather gritty
reality of the isle when you are standing on it. It has a delicate magical
resonance for such a dour place, and it was this I was trying to capture in my
story.
The characters simply grew out of this
strange landscape, the main ones began as personifications of places or
buildings on Portland, so the connection is intimate, but not in any way
factual. The ruinous Norman edifice Rufus Castle on the east cliff became Rufus
the Hermit, ancient, crumbling, yet dignified; the Tudor Portland castle, in
much better repair, became the very strait-laced Captain Castello, head of
island security. St George’s church, like a tiny St Paul’s, became the Reverend
Pontius, and the lighthouse at Portland Bill became Rissa the Ship Warden in
her scarlet gown. I made these four characters the guardians of the isle, and
sat back to see what they would do.
Sea
and sky, stone houses, old castles, churches and lighthouses were the raw
materials of the tale. I simply let my imagination do the rest, and the Isle of
Larus just shimmered into being – ‘mythical yet familiar’, as a kind friend put
it. This is one story that wouldn’t exist at all without the landscape.
***
Growing up by the sea in Kent, back in the 1960s, it was Kathy’s ambition to become a writer. Time passed.She married, moved to westLondon, and had a daughter. She continued to write, and had a small book or two on countryside and nature subjects published. She worked for many years as a desktop publisher for Surrey County Council, and as a tutor in adult education.
And then, one day, she visited a friend who had just moved to the Isle of Portland, Dorset, and fell in love with the place. She has now lived in the Weymouth and Portland area for eight years, and still loves it. The wonderful Jurassic Coast, and Portland in particular, were the inspiration for her first novel, Isle of Larus.
Kathy also sings with, and writes lyrics for, the Island Voices Choir on Portland, and is a keen member of local writing groups, as well as enjoying studying the local flora.
"Isle of Larus" is published by Crooked Cat Publishing and is available in paperback or e-book format at Amazon
You can also read Kathy’s regular Monday blog on Goodreads
Or find her on Facebook
ISLE OF LARUS
The four guardians of the Isle of Larus have been enjoying quiet and comfortable lives, with nothing more than the occasional shipwreck to trouble them – but all that is about to change.
The Spirit of the Sea decides to send a series of alarming events to test and teach them, as well as providing himself with hours of entertainment at their expense.
For the first test, how will the guardians cope with the arrival of a fleet of completely impossible ships? Not too well at all, it would seem.
And that is just the beginning...
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