by Bernadette Calonego

Never underestimate the impact of an inhospitable, isolated landscape on readers! Find your own rugged neck of the woods, and you will be unleashed. When I first traveled to Newfoundland, it was immediately clear to me that my new crime series had to be set here on this rocky island in eastern Canada. I am an author who is inspired by wild, extreme, and menacing locations. Cold and icy to boot. Fortunately, there is a devoted readership for this. They want a landscape as a protagonist that moves the plot just as much as the main characters.

In Newfoundland and the neighboring region of Labrador, I unexpectedly found my home—not just in my writing, but in real life as well. I moved from the West coast to a tiny fishing village to write my crime novels there. Life in this barren place constantly provides me with material for the series featuring detective Calista Gates. Dangers lurk everywhere: steep cliffs, a stormy sea, the endless tundra, blinding snowstorms, treacherous drift ice, polar bears migrating north through the villages, people lost in the wilderness, fatal snowmobile accidents, sinking boats, the deadly cold, and icebergs that suddenly capsize. The more foreign this world is to readers, the more it captivates them.

There is a group of crime novel fans who travel in the footsteps of the main protagonists and want to find everything exactly as it is portrayed in the book. That is why I strive to describe all locations as realistically as possible. Only in rare cases do I invent place names or alter the surroundings. It seems like a paradox: although it is fiction, readers want authenticity that actually exists. Even if some of them can no longer travel, they look at photos or videos of the locations online, they verify details, or consult travel guides. That is why I always specify in the afterword where I have taken the liberty of deviating from reality.

Some very successful authors have set crime novels in charming locations or touristy regions. However, there is also a lot of competition for these well-known crime scenes. I opted for a still-exotic corner at the end of the world, with few people, plenty of nature, and even more ice and snow. To this day, I don’t regret it; on the contrary, for me it is the gift that keeps on giving.
 

About Bernadette:

Bernadette Calonego, a former international newspaper correspondent, lives in a fishing community in northern Newfoundland and writes mystery thrillers. She emigrated from Switzerland to Vancouver, Canada, more than 25 years ago. In her free time, she hikes along the rugged coast, or photographs whales and icebergs from a boat.

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