Sunday, May 3, 2020

Novel Story Locations

Need a good idea for a story location in your novel? Thanks to fellow author, Clive Gill, for sharing these oddly named U.S. cities:


 1.  Toad Suck, Arkansas
 2.  Climax, Georgia
 3.  Boring, Oregon
 4.  Hooker, Oklahoma
 5.  Assawoman, Maryland
 6.  Belchertown, Massachusetts
 7.  Roachtown, Illinois
 8.  Loveladies, New Jersey
 9.  Squabbletown, California
10. Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky

    The resort beach community of Loveladies on the East coast has a fluctuating population. In summer, it soars to over 200,000, but in winter, only 10,000 locals stay in town. It was a 10-acre area founded in the late 1800s by Thomas Lovelady located next to a U.S. government agency established to save shipwrecked victims. The whole area was called "Lovelady's," then the spelling changed to "Loveladies."

    The Toad Suck Festival is an annual event in Central Arkansas with live music, food, games and much more to see. The festival was moved in the 1990s to Conway, Arkansas because Toad Suck floods out quite often. The beautiful community of Toad Suck is included in the Perry County census because it's too small to count as its own city.

    Hooker, Oklahoma was named after the settler, John "Hooker" Threlkeld in 1873. He was a cattle rancher, extremely talented at "hooking" calves out of a herd for branding purposes. This town has a population of about 2,500 people. The locals are good-natured and make light of its name. You can buy a T-shirt saying, "Once a Hooker, Always a Hooker." Their city motto is, "It's a location, not a vocation."

    What do you think would make a good suggestion for a story location?