Inspiration for the settings in Shadows

31 January 2013 | 0 Comments

I’ve loved that so many reviewers have enjoyed the Australian settings in Shadows, so I thought I’d share some of the locations that inspired them.

First up, the track where Gaby is running in the opening chapter. When I wrote this scene, I was picturing one of my favourite places in south-east Queensland, a rainforest track on Mount Tamborine (not far from where I live) in the Joalah section of the Tamborine National Park.

The fictitious Pandanus Beach of course features a beach (this shot is from North Stradbroke Island, also not far from me):

(I think the next shot is at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast – I didn’t record the website where I found it…apologies to the photographer. The rest of the shots here are mine, except where noted below)

I picture Pandanus Beach as a bit of a Noosa/Byron Bay/Port Douglas hybrid. This image (from www.businesseventscairns.org.au) captures the feel of the town nicely. Just picture a beach right across the road.

Here’s a poinciana (a tree that features on the esplanade in Pandanus Beach):

And a Moreton Bay fig tree, which also gets a mention in the opening chapter (I love these trees):

The falls, where Tommo’s farewell is held (these images are also from Tamborine National Park):

And finally, this is the sort of cabin I pictured when I wrote the scene at The Retreat on the mountain (imagine rainforest around it):

A frame cabin

Now, picture some sword-wielding Rephaim…

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