The establishment of people, places and things by authors is undoubtedly a unique experience for each. Authors, I'd like to hear from you.
characters and/or fictional locales?
To give you a little background on HOW I came to write Natural Exposure in the first place, read this blog post. I haven't been writing all my life or always have stories in my head. My journey here was unique (at least I think, what do you think?)
That said, I want to tell you how my fictional town of Bijou Basin came to be.
First, a little snippet about Bijou Basin (herein refereed to as "BB" or simply "the Basin") from Natural Exposure.
Bijou Basin's Beginning:
Founded in 1969 by the LGBTQ+ employees of Walt Disney World, Bijou Basin is a small town with an even smaller ambiance.
By pooling resources, several hundred employees purchased just over 6000 acres thirty miles west of the Magic Kingdom. The land was barren, most of it marshy swamps, but they worked together to build a small neighborhood. Since many of the employees were builders and engineers who constructed the Magic Kingdom, the town grew swiftly.
Five years after its founding, the land surrounding Bijou Basin was purchased for preservation, creating the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve. The town, nestled in its own little pocket, now had protected land on three sides, only the east side providing its sole egress.
As workers and lovers of Walt Disney, many of the employees coming from California, they wanted the town to reflect, but not copy, their love of the two parks: Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. Roads downtown manifest this in their names: Backwater Boulevard, Independence Trail, Expedition Avenue, Illusion Drive, and Morrow Lane.
The core foundation of BB has its roots firmly wrapped around Disney. There's more about that in the book and will be more here at the blog about that.
But before BB came to be - I had to figure out what I wanted. Once I decided on Florida for my town (I waffled between there, where I lived most of my life, and where I live now, NC) it was on to names and locations.
All things Bijou Basin REFLECT but don't completely copy all things Disney. For example, the 5 lands of the Magic Kingdom are: Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, so the residents of Bijou Basin created 5 main roads in their town, each nearly a quarter mile in length and gave them the names listed above.
But, I've gotten ahead of myself, again. First, naming Bijou Basin.
I likewise wanted to reflect Disney, and this refection is more subtle than the ones above. I started with "Bay Lake" and the "Seven Seas Lagoon" both of which are connected and outside the Magic Kingdom. But just those names without their context weren't enough, so I looked up synonyms of Bay, and got both Basin and Bayou, keeping them in mind. But what before or after that? My search lead me to the Trains, and specifically the "Lilly Belle" named after Walt's wife, Lillian.
Belle lead me onto Jewels, being the Belle of the Ball and such, so I went around with gems and jewels until I stumbled over Bijou. Initially I thought Bijou Swamp, since the land surrounding it is the Green Wilderness Swamp Preservation, but I didn't think it flowed well, plus I was liking the Bayou and Basin synonyms. Bijou Basin was born! :D
In the coming weeks/months, I'll talk a lot more about the history and backgrounds of my town, characters and other locales. If you haven't read Natural Exposure, you're missing out on some unique people, places, and things. No fear, I'll bring some of that here, but hopefully you'll still try out Natural Exposure (on sale at Smashwords through 5/31).
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords - on $$SALE$$ for $2.40
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
A Bijou Beginning on Wattpad - FREE short story
A Bijou Beginning on Goodreads
A Discovery of BDSM on Amazon
A Discovery of BDSM on Goodreads
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