Location, Location, Location

Hello Everyone, as always, I hope the world is smiling on you with all your family and friends staying safe and well. I know as the weather changes here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are all getting more and more concerned with just trying to keep warm-especially with the unbelievable cost of heating. It is a strange time we are living in, where such the same stark choices which plagued our Victorian ancestors, are now back- having to choose between staying warm and eating. For an apparently wealthy nation, it strikes me as pretty disgraceful that we are in this situation at all, where the most vulnerable are in such need. But as this has never been an overtly political blog, I won't say anymore other than to express the fervent hope, maybe someone in power will have more compassion for the many, rather than protecting the privileged few.

So anyway, perhaps time to say what this particular post is about, well it was inspired by a recent reader of my latest novel 'Turn Into Stars', who contacted me and asked why I had chosen 'such an awful country' to have as such a key part of the story. The person continued by informing me of all the other 'lovelier' places I could have used instead yet despite their distaste for the location, thankfully they still really enjoyed the book. Now, for those of you who haven't invested in a copy, the country this reader was referencing was Iran and the plot revolves around a group of women who go there, travel to different locations and obviously discover the country while learning even more about themselves. 

Before I go on, I am extremely aware of the many issues with the government of Iran, there is absolutely no denying, the shocking attitude to human rights especially women, the lack of many freedoms for its people - these are just two amongst a host of others. So, asking why I would choose such an obviously divisive country is a completely fair question which is why I'm taking this opportunity to explain. Firstly, I must stress, my novel is NOT advocating -in any way- for the government of Iran. The story is a simple work of fiction and not making even the slightest attempt to be anything else, so no political rhetoric features within the plot and absolutely no agreement with the afore mentioned governing attitudes, is expressed by any character at any stage.

I have to confess to doubting my own sanity throughout the writing process and even with only days before the book's release, I was still contemplating scrapping every reference to Iran and replacing it with somewhere perhaps more 'acceptable', both Greece and Rome were considered. But then, I looked again at all the research I had done and was confronted by the indisputable proof that there are so many extraordinarily beautiful places within the Iranian borders. As the story is about people exploring a nation that is completely unlike their home countries, it would have made absolutely no sense to set it somewhere that is actually a holiday destination for everyone.

The central character, Marilyn, talks about her fascination with Ancient Persia, which began with her mother reading her stories from a much-loved book. There are also references to the works of the Persian poet, Hafez, which as a side note, I thoroughly recommend to you, and so would it have made any sense to have set the story in Greece? I didn't think so, in fact, it would have made the whole plot completely unbelievable.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, it is an area of the world that very few of us will ever be able to visit ourselves. Perhaps the second-best option is therefore to see it through the eyes of the different characters. As there can be no doubt, whoever might be governing the country, the places described do exist, they are stunning and challenging in equal measure.

The Tomb of Hafez

         

Golestan Palace

The city of Yazd

Speaking personally, as someone who loves to travel, there are so many amazing locations in the world, and they aren't diminished by whoever happens to be running the country. I have heard the argument that by visiting such controversial nations, it could be seen as somehow agreeing with those in power, but I don't believe that's entirely accurate because it fails to acknowledge the value of the everyday citizens. I doubt whether there is a nation anywhere on this planet, where the ordinary people want to do anything other than get on with their lives in peace. Of course, there are extremists, but the vast majority are primarily concerned with raising families, caring for each other and just finding some happiness. So, the fact they might be American, British, Iranian, Chinese, Australian, Czech, etc is secondary to the fact, we all pretty much want the same things.

So, hopefully that has answered the original question and you can understand why the choice was made and despite those few who seem to feel I've made a terrible mistake, I stand by my decision. As you'll have seen, within this post I have included some images of the places mentioned in the book and I hope you will be affected as I was when I first saw them. Our world is filled with breath-taking scenery, staggering feats of human engineering and mind-blowing landscapes, I hope we will always be able to separate them from any government and appreciate them for their own sake.

Until next time...

Take care out there xxx