When I was asked how I selected a setting for a book, I was relieved because this is a question I can answer pretty easily.

I was raised in an Air Force family, and as most of you military brats know, that means you get to see the world and travel to a new duty station every couple of years. As a part of my education, my father often gave me writing assignments in which I had to describe a new locale or incorporate the history of an area into a story. By the time I was in the 4th or 5th grade, creating a setting was second nature to me.

To this day, when a story pops into my head, I know almost instinctively where I want to set it. But, just in case I don't, my computer is filled with photos separated into different parts of the country, Word files describing the atmosphere, history, or physicality of intriguing areas I don't want to forget, and even real estate for sale (from abandoned buildings to ultra-luxurious mansions) all over the world.

But my ultimate choice for a setting is really dictated by a feeling - if it isn't right, I'll feel it. The words won't come, descriptions will be forced, and characters won't interact with their environment. I know almost immediately that I have to stop writing and search for a new setting. Since I feel that where a story takes place is almost as important as the story itself, I'm grateful when that feeling kicks in and gives me an early warning.

I experienced that phenomenon just recently when I was preparing to write the second book in my WHISPERS THROUGH TIME series. I had a great story, set during the Texas Revolution in San Antonio, but the words wouldn't come. For about a week I sat staring at a blank screen on my computer, then poured over photos, read brochures and articles, played countless games of Spider Solitaire - and then gave up. I went back to my files and my pictures, and suddenly, an all-new story burst into my brain and there was no room for argument. Within a few months my family and I were heading up to north Texas and the Canyon Country, where the book I'm working on now, JOURNEY OF THE HEART, fell into place.

I truly love it when this happens! Do you have an idea for a really great setting? Let me know!