Hi! My
friend Jamie has invited me onto her blog to talk about how the city of St.
Louis influenced my first YA contemporary novel, THE ART OF LAINEY.
Let me start
with a confession—I did not adhere strictly to the geography and layout of the
city when writing the book. Many of the places Lainey and her friends go are
fictionalized, though several are based on real places. Why did I do this?
First, setting
your book in a real place is very limiting. I wanted scenes at the airport,
scenes at a concert hall, scenes at a coffee shop, scenes at a dance club, etc.
To make all of these real places might have meant accounting for a lot of driving
between current real locations. Driving (or even taking MetroLink) makes for
some boring reading. Instead, I created a fictional suburb, Hazelton, based
loosely off Hazelwood and Bridgeton, where I grew up.
Second,
adhering strictly to reality can quickly date your book. The rock club where
Lainey and Micah go to see some of his favorite bands (also made up) play is
based off Mississippi Nights, a club where I used to go to shows. That club is
now closed. Even if I used a current club, like The Pageant, there’s nothing to
say five years from now it won’t be closed or moved or renamed or redesigned to
look completely different. I didn’t want readers a couple of years from now to
read and go “but wait, that’s not what the Pageant looks like” so I made the decision
to create fictional places for my fictional suburb.
Third,
sometimes reality just isn’t as fun as make-believe. Mizz Creants House of
Torture doesn’t exist, but I had a blast designing my own super-creepy
restaurant for Micah to take Lainey to. There’s just no real life place that
would have substituted in for that.
But other
than the restaurant, I tried to keep it real when Micah and Lainey actually go
to St. Louis. For example:
They take
the MetroLink to a Cardinals game at new Busch Stadium. Not just a Cards game,
a Cards-Cubs game…and of course we win :-)
They go to
the sports fields at Forest Park, passing Art Hill and Washington University
(my alma mater!) in the process. Barnes-Jewish, my former place of employment,
is referenced without being named.
They see the
Arch while they’re driving on Market Street, passing Union Station and cutting
across town on one-way streets. Micah invites Lainey to a free concert at Fair
St. Louis.
Denali, the
coffee shop where the main characters work, is based off Kayaks on Skinker and
Forest Park Parkway. This is actually where I wrote most of the book. (No
worries, the coffee shop employees are all fictionalized. There is no crazy guy
named C-4 making your food, I promise).
There was a
scene at the City Museum that I unfortunately had to cut because it wasn’t
advancing the story, but I did include part of that scene in my Canada blog
tour so I could share it with readers. I LOVE the City Museum. (If you’ve never
been there, quit wrinkling up your nose. It’s not your ordinary museum!)
And finally,
St. Louis is much more than its places. I worked hard to capture the FEEL of
the area, incorporating urban sprawl and traffic and humidity, etc. This book
takes place in June and July and you’ll find lots and lots of hot weather and
frizzing hair and rainstorms that blow up out of nowhere.
So although
part of The Art of Lainey is
fictionalized, I hope St. Louis readers feel like I did a good job of capturing
the essence of the city. I spent over thirty years in the STL area, and even
though I don’t live there anymore, growing up in “the Lou” was fabulous and
will continue to impact the person I am for the rest of my life. Part of the
dedication is actually to the city itself, and the book is absolutely a love
story to the place that did such a good job of raising me.
Are you in
the St. Louis area? Come see Paula with TEN of her author friends at the Mighty
Mississippi Book Blast on
July 17 at 7pm. Sponsored by Left Bank Books. Event to be held at The
Ethical Society. More info here.
Can’t make the event? Paula’s got you
covered with a giveaway of THE ART OF LAINEY in honor of the #MMBB tour. This
one is U.S. only. Just fill out the rafflecopter below.
Soccer-star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer
with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no
reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed,
but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it
takes to get Jason back.
And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of
War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use
the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her
inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker
Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few
"dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her
relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.
What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with, if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?
What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with, if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?
Paula Stokes is half writer, half RN, and totally thrilled
to be part of the world of YA literature. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri
where she graduated from Washington University and the Goldfarb School of
Nursing. When she's not writing, she's kayaking, hiking, reading, or seeking
out new adventures in faraway lands. Paula loves interacting with readers! Find
her online at www.authorpaulastokes.com or on twitter as @pstokesbooks.
Links you
might need:
http://twitter.com/pstokesbooks
