The location of Behind The White Gate mainly takes place on Galveston Island. A place that had been where I would come and spend not only childhood summers but also some stormy childhood winter days, too. And sometimes in Texas comes a warm off season day that seemed like summer.

Galveston Island is where I moved to when I came back to Texas. I lived there for six years.

I did a lot of growing and changing and lived a lot of life in those six years. I came to the island married. I left it long divorced. And much happened in between. There is a book to be written there, too, on all of that. But there was much written out of it.

I have also lived for six years in Southern California, the second and partial location of Bird’s story.

I wrote about places I lived. Loved. Felt growth on. Was happy with at some point. And also left. As for Texas itself, also a place I came back to after leaving long ago.

I wrote about places close in my heart at the time of writing Behind The White Gate. Fully because I felt the connection to those places. A little loss and yearning for what was of California but for what was also forever changed. And somewhat as my approaching goodbye to the island, instead of the stories returned hello.

Location is a big part of a story for me when I write. I feel connection to location very deeply.

My story being on Galveston island was my deepest connection then…and for a long time or forever always will be a very strong connection in my life.

So setting on the island was much of what my feeling went into for this story.

I will keep discussing the island as the living and breathing character she is as I also discuss the story and characters of BTWG.

 

#BTWG #BehindTheWhiteGate #InSearchOfALiteraryAgent