Sloutenville, the main location of 'LS: The Beginning'

 

My paranormal romance series 'LS' is mainly set in a fictional city called 'Sloutenville', pronounced - slow-ten-ville'. This fictional city is located in northern USA, close to cities like Minneapolis, Wisconsin etc. In this post, I'll give a bit detail on Sloutenville as a contemporary city, and explain why I chose to use a fictional city.

Sloutenville

Abbreviation: SV

Capital: Genezel
Population: 301, 427 people
Timezone: CST (UTC-6)
Average temperature: 30.6 F
Language: English - 99.1 %
                   Spanish - 0.9%
Tourist Attraction: Atlantic Towers
Government - Mayor: Francis Lekinston
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So why did I choose a fictional city?
As most of you know, I don't live in the states, yet. I reside in England, UK. Therefore, it seemed a bit hard setting the location of the book in a known US city. Most people would notice the difference in dialogue etc, and I wanted to avoid this, thus creating my own fictional city, Sloutenville. This was because, if a reader complains about a certain dialogue i.e 'People in New York don't talk like this.', I would bring to his/her attention that Sloutenville isn't a real city. Therefore, the way the characters talk might be slightly different to other states.

Where did you get such idea from?
Frankly, I got the idea of creating my own fictional city in a real country from watching 'Smallville' and 'One Tree Hill', two of my favorite TV series.

Are there going to be more fictional cities?
Yes, certainly. Read the book(s) to find out more :)

That's it for today. My question to everyone: do you like the idea of fictional cities? If yes, what's the name of your best fictional city?




Credit: Image: posterize / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Behind the Chapters - LS: The Beginning

LS: The Beginning

This is going to be an unusual blog post, but a very special one. I'm going to list the first two chapters in the first book of my paranormal series, 'LS', and tell you a bit about the writing process behind each chapter. Also, if I'm going to give you insights on each chapter I choose. Beware, if you haven't read this book, you might be forced to read it after reading this blog post. :) Just kidding.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the very-normal title it's given. I may be a very good writer, but naming stuffs isn't part of my talents. Even when I write computer programs, my boss complains I don't name them well. So don't judge a book by it's name. Then again, some people are compelled by the names of books. I promise to learn more about 'naming' stuffs, and hopefully the names of my future projects will be epic, or at least compelling.

Chapter One: The Day I arrived
It would interest you guys to know that I rewrote this particular chapter more than 15 times. Not because I'm a terrible writer, but I needed to make it as real as it could be. During the process of writing this chapter, I made sure I stayed without food or distraction, so i could channel my thoughts to writing. The Male MC, Stephen Wilson arrives at his place of birth, Sloutenville, after a long period of living in Africa. Now, most people want to know 'Why did he move to Sloutenville?' Well, the answer's elaborated in the last book of 'LS', though his main reason for leaving Africa was for a better education. Simple. Then people are annoyed that he is welcomed like a King as he arrives; however, this is so not true. He's just a bit fortunate to have wealthy relatives who love him. Personally, Stephen is a broke dude. One more thing I need to clarify, when Stephen reads his cousin's mind, he's totally not aware. This was the very first symptom he had because he moved into the same city with his soul mate. Nice right? There was a moment when Stephen and I hardly agreed on anything. He wanted to cut his long hair, but I told him NO. He didn't like his dress code, but I told him 'Deal with it'. It took a while for us to get on the same page; even then, he still moaned like a little baby. Meanwhile, Lisa was just an angel. She never complained about anything - and they say girls nag a lot.*laughs*

Chapter Two:  First Day at College
In this Chapter, I had to enter Stephen's head as he goes to college for the first time in Sloutenville. Luckily, his cousin, Stacy Ford,  helps him to settle down in college. Stephen happens to sit beside a girl with long hair, gorgeous body and a taste for skimpy wears, name Lisa Morgan. At that very moment, he began to feel stuffs he'd never felt before. To Stephen, he assumed it was a symptom of LOST(secular LOVE), little does he know he's being reborn into a new man, a man who can create ice from his bare hands. This chapter also introduces a special character in the book, the British young lady, Julie Hitchens. What is a love story without the jealous lover? We see Julie Hitchens as she tries to lure Stephen to become 'more than a friend'. She's certainly an entertaining character to read. I really enjoyed writing her character.


Well, that's it for now. I'm sorry if it's a bit short, I didn't want to give out away too many spoilers.If you've read 'LS: The Beginning', did you enjoy it? Do you have any questions you need answer to, concerning the characters/plot of the book? Just leave a comment below and I'll do my possible best to give you reasonable answers.