Against the backdrop of a pure blue sky, two angels battle each other along the stooped and weather-beaten cliffs along the Great Ocean Road. One of them lashes out with her blade. The other tries to pull herself out of its way but the sea winds, already batting them like toys against the rockface, knocks her forward.  The edge of the blade slices along her skin. The smell of coppery blood hits her nose before it is overpowered by the salt in the air.

But no one else can see it but me…

I had this idea for the setting for a scene, an illegal night race that occurs in Angelstone, book 2 of the Dark Angel series which I am currently writing. At my request, my brother drove his girlfriend and I along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia.

(Shout out to Ben, my bro, for taking these wicked pics with his new camera. They turned out so much better than the pics I took with my crappy phone camera)

We stopped along the cliffs around the Split Point lighthouse and explored and soaked in the place, the weather conspiring to create a flawless day for us.

When creating a scene set in a real place, I usually have to recreate the backdrop using photos to help pull the details into focus. But photos can never get you the smell, the sounds, and the ‘feel’ of a location. So, to stand, to actually stand before a place where the scene is taking place… yeh. that was cool.

The characters that I brought along with me felt the energy of the place too. I felt almost like a parent at times, clambering along the thin strip of shore at the base of the cliffs coaxed along by their excitable calls (“look at me… look at this!) and displays of how this chapter could play out (“…and what about doing this here, and this, and this..!”).

Even my brother got excited about it. (“What if you had one of them taking of here and the other ‘running’ sideways off this cliff face here…”)

Can you see it when you look at these photos? Isn’t this a perfect spot for an illegal race? I think so.

After taking it all in I sat for a bit and wrote. Man, I can’t tell you how cool that was 🙂

I am so excited to for you to read this scene, nay, the whole of Angelstone! Soon, I promise.