The novel I tried to write when I was 13 was to be the quintessential “great Canadian novel,” so of course it was set in England, a place I’d never been. I’ve learned a lot in the intervening decades. I wouldn’t have any problem with setting a novel in a location I’d never been, but I know a great deal more about research these days.
“Inconstant Moon” is set in Canada. This isn’t especially important to the plot, or events, but it seems a good idea to explain a few things that might be confusing to my readers, Canadian or otherwise. The article about Canadian Education, for instance, would be better here.
I’ll start this special features section off with Canadian Law. Until I began writing crime fiction myself, like most Canadians, I just assumed that Canadian Law was pretty much interchangeable with American Law. Certainly there are many similarities.
But as they say, the devil is in the details.
