Bijou Basin

Bijou Basin is a fictional town about 30 miles west of Walt Disney World.

When I first started writing, I knew I wanted to shape my own town. While set in current day America, I wanted it to stand apart, to be different, to have it's own ideals and morals. It's a safe haven against the rest of the world and, with it's relative seclusion, it leads a mostly peaceful existence.

It took a while for me to decide where my fictional town would be. I debated a lot because as someone who endured and hates the Florida heat, I wanted my characters to have four seasons and enjoy the variety of things they can do in each.

When it came down to it though, Florida won out for many reasons and instead of having 4 seasons, I gave my characters a large play space, in the theme parks of the central Florida area.

It didn't take long to realize that the parks played a bigger role and I thought they might at first, being the background of where many of the characters met. Having grown up in central Florida and spending 16 years of my life in and out the the parks, both as a guest and a cast member, gives me a unique perspective onto how these characters could have met and their friendships were formed through Disney.

As for the Basin, it has a deep history, which the first book dips into a bit. As time goes along on this blog, I'll share more of my thought processes of coming up with Bijou Basin as well as some maps (crudely drawn, please forgive me) of the area. Hopefully you'll like seeing my visit of this town.