Thursday, March 21, 2013

Places

Laie Falls.

It's a waterfall--small and secluded at the end of a trail a few miles from my childhood home. I grew up loving this place. It was a half-day's hike through orchard and forest, then rock and dense bush, quite a feat for a small child. I would imagine myself living there with wild animals as my friends. As I got older, it morphed into fantasies of meeting some handsome boy that would fall in love with me. And later, a cherished destination that I wanted to share with my own children.

laie falls

Not surprisingly, it became the setting of the very first scene of the very first book I ever wrote. There is no doubt my favorite places have influenced my writing. They appear, in one form or another, in all of my stories, and I'm sure they always will.

The waterways in Venice. Neuschwanstein castle at sunset. Lanikai beach early in the morning. The Wasatch mountains at the peak of autumn. These are a few of my favorite places. What are some of your favorites?

This video is a prime example of how powerful setting can be.
It's really something to see.

20 comments:

Sheena-kay Graham said...

I want to visit key sites in Japan. In Jamaica my favourite places include Devon House and our local libraries. What can I say? I love books and Devon House has lots of great buildings to site see and they sell such wonderful ice-cream among other things.

I love the pictures you shared. I can see you like this place.

Francene Stanley said...

My favorite place is the little Yacht Beach at Robe, South Australia. Perfection in a small sandy bay that you could walk in twenty steps. My first book began there too. Powerful images make the best settings for emotions.

jaybird said...

What an awesome place to hide-a-way from the world!! The Husband and I have been missing Hawaii bad these past few weeks. It doesn't help one of my besties and her hubs are there right now- so we're feeling just a bit jealous.

When I was a kid my fav place in the whole world to go was the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. It's so incredibly beautiful, and like no where else in the city. I used to imagine myself being surrounded by all kinds of fairies and magic there. Of course, pretended all this while drinking the tea and eating the yummy almond cookies, was always an added bonus. :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I would've hung out at that spot a lot!

Al Diaz said...

God, what a beautiful spot that is! I am sure you can breathe peace in there. I would love to visit.

I've never been in Venice but I dream I will one day.

Emily R. King said...

I'll be there in 3 days! YAY! I'm SO excited.

Beautiful!

Tonja Drecker said...

What a lovely spot! I really believe it's one of your favorites.

ilima said...

Sheena-kay-I'd love to visit Japan and Jamaica! And I'm a sucker for good ice cream. :)

Francene-I love that your first book began there.

Jaybird-The Japanese Tea Garden sounds amazing. I want to go there now!

Alex-Yes, I love that place so much.

Al-Venice is my favorite city in the world. I want to go back so bad.

Emily-You're gonna have a great time!

Tonja-No doubt.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful waterfall!

One of my favorite places is a waterfall too, in Shenandoah National Park. In winter it's especially tough to get to but beautiful to see, all the sparkling ice on top and flowing water underneath...

Suzanne Furness said...

It looks beautiful, I can almost hear the water cascading into the pool.

Donna K. Weaver said...

The world's a pretty amazing place, isn't it? I've been fortunate to have visited or lived in a lot of different places. Seeing outside of our own narrow experience is such a great experience. The world is such a bigger place than we truly realize.

Kathryn Purdie said...

So gorgeous. I've had my waterfall fantasies growing up as well. ;-)

My favorite places involve mountains and lakes together: Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho (my grandpa had a cabin there, and we'd visit every summer); Camp Mia Shalom where I went to girls' camp; and many others.

Pine trees + water...that's where it's at for me.

Robin said...

Dang it, now I want to go to Alberta!

I remember that waterfall meeting the boy scene:D

The high school in LOVESENSE is loosely based on my high school-Go Demons!

favorite places are not only beautiful to me, but I've had strong positive experiences there-Island Park, ID Laketown, UT Palmyra, NY, Outer Banks, NC, the woods back East, are some of my favorite places.

As always, I LOVE reading your posts and seeing your pictures:D

ilima said...

Connie-There is something magical about waterfalls.

Suzanne-I love that sound.

Donna-There are so many beautiful places in this world.

Katie-Mmm. Yes. That sounds nice.

Robin-Wasn't that video gorgeous?

Michelle D. Argyle said...

So pretty! One of my favorite places is the Oregon and Washington coast. I miss the beach! Even if it's cold. :)

Bas. said...

Dit is een droom.

David P. King said...

That looks like the kind of place you would film a guy and a girl taking a swim, or something. Not that I've watched too many movies with scenarios like that. :)

ilima said...

Michelle-That sounds so romantic!

Nic-It IS a dream :)

David-You need to. I can make you a list. :)

Unknown said...

That's exactly how I imagined the first scene of the book.

Kelley Lynn said...

LOVE the new blog look! (Embarrassingly, it might not be that new. I haven't been around as much as I should...)

Is this the one in the 'feather' book??? You know how much I love that one. :)