I’ve lived in Michigan all my life, and there’s no shortage
of natural beauty here – rolling hills, endless forests, ridiculous numbers of
inland lakes, and we’re surrounded by the Great Lakes which are huge and
unpredictable with their rip currents and freak weather patterns. They’re
basically freshwater seas and at times, just as dangerous as the oceans –
especially Lake Superior.
It can go from a serene glass-like surface to twenty-three
foot waves in virtually no time at all. Once, while driving around the lake, I
found myself caught in the midst of an autumn storm on my way to see my boyfriend.
The waves were so insane; they were washing over the road and had already
pulled someone’s car into the lake. I had to time it just right to pass through
that stretch of road without getting sucked into the water. Shortly after I
made it through, the road was shut down and declared impassible. Definitely not
my smartest move to keep driving, but I did. Because boyfriend.
I set Eventide on the shores of my favorite lake, in the
nearly-fictional town of Iron Falls, Michigan. I use the term “nearly-fictional”
because it’s based on one of my favorite small towns – Munising, Michigan. I
don’t live there, but I’ve visited there nearly every year since I was a kid.
If you’ve ever been there, you might recognize the high school on the shores of
the lake, or the glass-bottom boat shipwreck tour, or the sudden fogs and
brutal storms.
I did make some changes. For instance, Iron Falls has a
lighthouse where Munising doesn’t. Iron Falls also has a host of soul-sucking
homicidal faeries that haunt the surrounding woods looking for hapless humans,
and, as far as I’m aware, Munising does not.
One of the reasons I decided to set Iron Falls on Superior
is because the lake is almost a character on its own. It can go from calm to
deadly in a matter of minutes and no two days on the shore are ever the same.
Even different parts of the lake on the same day are wildly different. Its erratic nature makes it the perfect
backdrop for Devon as her life spirals out of control.
I’d like to share a few photos of the lake to show you what
I mean about it having it a different personality depending on the day.
Unfortunately, I can’t find my stormy lake pictures, but, amazing nature
photographer, Steve Brimm, agreed to share one of his photos for this blog
tour. I think you’ll see what I mean
about the lake being completely different on any given day.
And I’d like to think you’ll get a feel for the lake within
the pages of Eventide.
.jpg)
