Setting Sarai’s Fortune in NYC

One of the elements I enjoy when writing a book is the virtual visit to wherever I’m setting it. In both Hannah’s Fate and Andromeda’s Fall, the ALL of the settings were in the mountains – sometimes in a large community house, sometimes in a cabin, but all mountains. This makes total sense because while this society blends in with humans, they still need to operate separately when in groups, which means secluded areas. However, like I said, they still blend in with human society. As the second book in the series, I wanted to dig more into the world of the Shadowcat Nation. So I set a good portion of the book in New York City.

I’ve been to NYC a few times, and loved it! It’s been a while, though, so I spent a good deal of time doing some research. I thought it might be fun to share some of the research and how it ended up in the book…

Location – Hotel Elysee

I based their location and apartment set up on The Hotel Elysee. I selected this hotel for a few reasons. I needed it close to Grand Central Station. I needed it in the heart of the city. I wanted a space that showed exactly how much money/property Zac’s Timik has while being quietly elegant. I modeled the apartment(s) they stay in off of the Presidential suites in the hotel.

I was particularly inspired by the piano in one of the suites, and decided Sarai would be an excellent pianist. It fit so well with her personality which is closed and solitary (by force) but also creative, expressive, and logical. Piano totally made sense for her. That, of course, led to researching which pieces I would have her play. Here’s one of them – La Campanella by Franz Liszt, played by Yundi Li:

An Escape – Grand Central Station

Grand Central Station is a famous landmark in New York. I needed it as an escape plan for my main character. What I didn’t realize before researching it is that it serves multiple transportation methods – trains, subway, and buses. I choose to go with the train system. By the way, their website is quite detailed with the maps and times. It was fun to explore the different lines and figure out what path my character would choose for her escape.

Exploring the City

I had fun exploring the city in terms of finding a few things for my character to do (let’s just say she has some down time). We get glimpses of Time Square, Macy’s NYC, Central Park, and the Museum of Modern Art.

I hope you enjoyed a peek at the setting and research from Sarai’s Fortune. I tend to pin a lot of my research as I write the books. So you can already see where I might be taking Tieryn’s Fury next. 🙂