The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard
What comes to mind when you think of Kansas? Flat grass as far as the eye can see? Dust bowl? Church-going prairie folk? The Scent of Rain and Lightening brings you to a different Kansas, a Kansas with an unexpected landscape of towering chalk cliffs. And that’s not the only surprising thing about The Scent of Rain and Lightening.
It’s a creepy cold case told from the point of view of the victims’ daughter. As a child, Jody’s father was murdered and her mother disappeared. The man convicted is set free 23 years later when his son grows up to be a lawyer and proves his innocence. But he’s not a nice guy at all. He’s a real nasty fellow guilty of many things, just not the murder of Jody’s parents. Now imagine this piece of work returning to the small town that railroaded him into prison for 23 years. Let’s just say he’s not feeling very generous of spirit.
I loved this book. The quiet sophistication of small-town social politics plays against the western roughneck stereotype. The small town of Rose, Kansas rings true. The wholesome family dynamics of the Linders contrast with the dysfunction of the Crosbys. The characters have the kind of depth you don’t see in your usual murder mystery. The setting is more rich. The truth unfolds instead of shocks but it’s no less surprising. There is even a subtle love story.
Two years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Antioch Writers’ Workshop, a week long event held yearly in Yellow Springs, Ohio. There I met Nancy Pickard. She taught the daily fiction class and participated generously in the “lunch with faculty” program. She taught this method to give a setting that kind of authenticity.
If you are describing a place that is not native to you, it’s easier. Just look around. What do you see that stands out or dominates pulls your focus? What do you see that you did not expect or anticipate? She gave an example by sharing what she noticed in Yellow Springs. She was surprised how flat it was. She had imagined green, rolling hills in Ohio but found wide flat farms. She noticed the large numbers of bicycles and bicycle trails and services for riders. She noticed the abundant use of gravel in driveways and the shoulders of roads.
Being from Ohio, I don’t even notice the use of gravel in road construction. I am from a rolling part of the state, so I did notice how flat Yellow Springs was. Since I knew all about the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail, I was anticipating the bicycles. Mentioning them would have seemed cliché to me unless a character was a rider. Seeing the town through a “foreigner’s” eyes opened mine to what is worth mentioning.
The reader is usually not a local. The reader is usually being introduced to the landscape for the first time reading your story. You are the readers’ eyes. Include those details that a stranger notices.
Now when I write about a place. I pay attention to what I notice and include that in my description. It does make the difference between a contrived, obvious description and a sincere, memorable one.
Try it!
Tell me what you notice about where in the comments!
Read ~ Write ~ Wander
~Angie
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(Cover art displayed under fair use)