The constant rain in fog in England is actually a myth, at least where I live. The weather here is fairly mild, no real extremes of hot or cold, and that suits me just fine.
Since I spent the majority of my life in the USA, I find that it’s a much stronger pull to set my books there, usually in Pennsylvania or in Florida. The cemetery that I was inspired to set A Season In Avalon in is actually a cemetery in Baldwin Boro, a suburb of Pittsburgh. It’s a Russian Orthodox cemetery where my mother’s sister, who died very young, is buried at, as well as a variety of other relations. This particular cemetery doesn’t have a caretaker’s house, but others in the area do. I was always fascinated how natural it was for the caretaker to live in the middle of the cemetery and raise a family there.
In A Season In Avalon, Posey feels the push-pull of living in one country, while still having family and connections in another. I have personally experienced this myself. Although I have lived in England for nearly six years and I have a British husband, I still have family in the USA. Both countries have their advantages. I desperately miss the big malls and Wal-Mart. I miss restaurants open around the clock. But in England, I have had the opportunity to travel. In two or three hours, I can be topless on a beach in Spain, or skiing in Austria, or maybe shopping in a boutique in Paris.
In A Season In Avalon, Posey is a dreamer and somewhat of a misfit. She was determined as a child to get out of the cemetery and see all the places she had read about in the Bronte sister’s books. But the pull of family brought her back to her home, even though she only planned on it being temporary. When she meets Zee Zemenak, a fellow misfit, she senses a kindred spirit, but kicks back against the possibility of finding love and happiness, because she fears being once again caught in the clutches of the boring and mundane. To her, being stranded for any length of time in Avalon is equivalent to a death sentence. But that is the least of her problems whenever her sister, Violet comes around. Not to mention her stalker wannabe beau, Andy Stark.
Leave a Comment