IS EMBERVALE BASED ON A REAL PLACE?
The village of Embervale is very much a fictional construct, its locations pilfered from several villages and small towns. There’s no single feature of Embervale that I can put my finger on and say where it comes from. The pub, the shop and so on are all amalgams of real places. It’s true that I live in a village on the edge of Dartmoor, but there are only sixty houses in my village, and I wanted to create somewhere larger for these stories. I did take the liberty of using the fact that our house was once the village shop. I imagine Dan’s house to be older than mine, and again, his house and the other properties, are probably based on the many old cottages I’ve visited. These little details help me to imagine the fictional setting in a way that I hope is authentic.
I have sketched out a map of Embervale to help me plan the routes that everyone takes. The map is not to scale, and it’s rather rough and ready, but perhaps I’ll be able to make it good enough to share with you all at a later date. I definitely want to create a digital version as I’m worried I might lose the paper version!
You may be interested to know that Fore Street is a common street name in Devon, so that was an easy choice for the street that takes Dan and Alan to the pub (and back).
OKAY, HOW ABOUT THE LOCALE?
To help me to ground Embervale in reality, I’ve located it quite near to the small village where I live, which is in the Teign Valley. There is something peculiar to living in a valley, and I say that in the nicest possible way. The sides of the valley and the course of the river define the landscape and affect our lives. There’s one main road along the valley, and we rely on it to do our shopping, get to our jobs, go to school and so on. We have been snowed in from time to time, and we have to be prepared for power cuts.
As Alan claims, the valley seems to create a microclimate with a mind of its own. When the mist rises, it’s quite spectacular to travel up the slope and look down to see the valley cloaked in a shroud of white. I once had a fantastic geography teacher who told us that on such days, it’s possible to imagine the time when glaciers and great lakes were forming the landscape. I know exactly what he meant, and I think he’d be pleased that his lesson has lasted for so many years.
I use real places to surround Embervale, so as Alan says, there is a bridge near the village of Trusham where you can park while you walk along the river Teign (pronounced ‘teen’). Exeter and Topsham are real, and sadly, there is a notorious trouble spot on the A38 at a place known locally as the Splatford Split. The road splits into two as it climbs a steep hill, and sometimes people veer from one side to the other with predictable results.
The town of Newton Abbot does have a B&Q (which is a DIY store), but I invented the Paradise Cafe, which is a shame as I’d quite like to visit it.
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS MAD HONEY?
Yes, this topic was all based on research. The rhododendrons that can lead to toxic honey are not common in the UK, but, as Dan and Alan figured out, Marjorie’s honey wasn’t toxic, she only thought it was.
WHAT ABOUT THE SPOIL HEAPS?
Like the neighbouring county of Cornwall, Devon was once mined for all kinds of metals and compounds, some of them toxic (or with toxic substances in the waste material). There are several spoil heaps in the area where I live, and it’s up to the landowner to deal with them. I suppose they’re expensive to remove, because these eyesores have been around for a long time. When the heaps contain heavy metals or other contaminants that are toxic to plants, the grey slopes are bare and forbidding.
I’m not claiming that there is a specific spoil heap in Devon that’s contaminating the groundwater with arsenic, but I pieced together research from a number of studies to create a fictional scenario that could happen.
A MEAT RAFFLE? SERIOUSLY?
In many pubs, people really buy tickets to win meat. If the meat is from a local farm, it will almost certainly be vacuum-packed in clear plastic. Personally, I think people would rather win something more glamorous than groceries, but some traditions seem to persist beyond their best before date (much like the meat).
ARE YOU LIKE DAN/ALAN IN REAL LIFE?
Like Alan, I used to be a teacher, and like him, I’m a writer, but I see Alan as an entirely independent individual. He’s a solid character, and the kind of person we’d all like to have as a friend. If your car broke down, Alan would stop and help you. He’d have all the right tools, and he’d get you back on the road. He’s a gentleman.
Alan has always shared the billing. I wanted to make Alan an intelligent character in his own right, rather than a bumbling sidekick. From the beginning, it seemed important to have someone to act as a foil to Dan. At first glance, Dan isn’t immediately likeable, but that’s what makes their relationship interesting.
Similarly, I’m not Dan. Like him, I have worked in corporate finance, so I can identify with those parts of his life that have brought him to Embervale. But although I enjoy problem-solving, I’ve never lived in London, and I’ve never had Dan’s restless energy nor his courage. I like to think that I’d get on with Dan – eventually. In his first outing, in A Study in Stone, Dan was a little irascible, but he’d just lost everything that had ever been important to him. He was a man who’d had everything and then discovered that it meant nothing. Since arriving in Embervale, he’s gradually learning to live in a different way. At first, the rural pace of life drove him mad, but he’s ready to reconstruct himself, and I think we have to give him credit for that.
I spend time dreaming up characters, and then I let them loose. Quite quickly, they become very real to me. I borrow some aspects of my life so that I can maintain authenticity. These little snippets of experience make the characters live and breathe, but these things are salt and pepper: added in little pinches to enhance a taste that’s already there.
All the characters I write have sprung from my imagination. I can’t really say where they come from, but those of us who identify as born writers tend to be inveterate hoarders of experience. I listen to people in shops and cafes, I find myself watching people I meet, and it all gets stored away. Later, details emerge in new and unexpected combinations. It’s a strange alchemy, but it’s an interesting and rewarding form of creativity.
ARE THE POLICE PROCEDURES AUTHENTIC?
I felt very strongly that I wanted to write a murder mystery rather than a police procedural. I enjoy all kinds of crime fiction, but when you’re setting out to write several novels, it pays to decide where your passions lie. I kept the police details down to the minimum, but I did research the procedures. In some mysteries, we see the police behaving in ways that would get them kicked off the force, and I wanted to avoid that trap. My aim was to make the police involvement realistic without letting it get in the way. There was some doubt over whether a murder had been committed, and since the police are generally overworked, their response seemed reasonable. I hope I got the balance right.
THERE’S A LOT OF BEER BEING GULPED DOWN – DID YOU INVENT THE BRAND NAMES?
All the beers mentioned are real. I thought it would be nice to lend a little support to local breweries. Part of visiting a place is to sample the local food and beverages, and when yomping around Dartmoor, you need to pop into a few pubs and try an ale or two.
I was introduced to Powderkeg Speak Easy by a nice chap at the vegan food market in Exeter. I knew Dan would like the vegan beer, but to add a twist, it’s Alan who drinks it. Is he being influenced by his neighbour? He doesn’t think so, but then, we’re often reluctant to admit such things.
Kristen drinks gin distilled on Dartmoor, and this is quite a trend at the moment. Gin, vodka and even whisky are being made all over Devon. I hope everyone understands that Alan was joking when he claimed the stuff was made in Her Majesty’s Prison Dartmoor.
Jail Ale, Gun Dog, Dartmoor Best – all real and all good stuff, but as with all intoxicating beverages, best drunk in moderation.
I’ve received nothing in return for mentioning these products and breweries, but if anyone wants to send me a free pint, let me know!
WILL THERE BE ANOTHER DEVONSHIRE MYSTERY?
Yes! The next mystery for Dan and Alan will be released in Summer 2020, and will be called Murder Between the Tides.
If you’d like to encourage me to write more mysteries, please tell your friends about these books. Also, online reviews can be very helpful, and I really appreciate them.
WILL YOU TALK TO MY BOOK GROUP?
Yes. It may even be possible for us to have a live video chat, although bear in mind that I’m on UK time. As a workaround, I can record a video and post it online so that you can all watch it.
Send your book club’s questions and comments to mikey@michaelcampling.com
CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOUR SOURCES OF INFORMATION?
If you’d like to see some of the sources I used as part of my research, you can see a list of links on a page on my website. It’s not an exhaustive list, but I hope it covers the basics:
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
If you’ve read this far, I admire your tenacity. I hope that these notes add something to the experience of reading the book. I really do appreciate your support. If you’d like to keep in touch, the best place is via my readers’ group, The Awkward Squad, which you can find at: michaelcampling.com/freebooks
Thank you for sharing this imaginary world that we’ve conjured up between us, and I hope we’ll visit it again very soon.
Happy reading and best wishes,
Mikey C.
The Old Shop
Devon
February 2020