Writers' Nook

The Infinite Appeal of Small Towns

mall towns have always held a special appeal for Americans. They form the very heart and soul of the country in everyday life and in fiction. Why? Probably because many of us live that small town life and even those who don't recognize that at it's core, small towns represents simplicity and escape from the pressures and hectic pace of big cities and everyday living.

This appeal was underscored by the popularity of American illustrator Rockwell, Norman (1894-1978), especially with his 322 covers for Saturday Evening Post . His paintings of everyday, usually small-town people almost always tell stories, often humorous ones. His use of careful observation and technical skill portray homey incidents, well-defined character, and a wealth of supporting detail. As an author, that is what I aspire to accomplish with the written word.

Most of my books deal with families but with the Chandler brothers and Yorkshire Falls, I undertook small towns at their best -- the ideal of home and hearth, of being able to go back to where you started and begin again, even if you were born and bred in the city. Small towns represent a space where everyman can escape the pressures and grind of everyday life. They are a place where life proceeds at a slower pace and where the things we take for granted mean more—such as the glow of a fading sunset or the whispered conversation with a loved one on the proverbial porch. At its heart, small towns are a place where honesty shines through. Since practically everyone is supposed to know everyone else's business in a small town, little remains under covers and what does, runs deep.

Yorkshire Falls began as just another small, upper New York town in my imagination, but it developed into far more. For the Chandler brothers trilogy it became a theme that threads the brothers together beyond just family ties.

For youngest brother and globe-trotting journalist, Roman, in The Bachelor (7-02), Yorkshire Falls represents the small-mindedness and boring existence he wants to escape in his early years, only to discover later that having roots makes him stronger. That which he ran from at a young age, represents hearth and home later on.

Middle brother and town cop, Rick, in The Playboy (1-03), sees the town as a place he loves and protects, but can't truly be a part of until an outsider shows him how to overcome his past.

Chase, the eldest and editor/owner of the town newspaper, in The Heartbreaker (8-03), has dedicated his life to the newspaper his father owned, making him the heartbeat of the town, but discovers that he can't continue to live for everyone else. Yet no matter what, the brothers live and love in their small hometown.

Then of course there are the unusual characters we come to know and love as part of the fabric of Yorkshire Falls. They are the unique pattern woven into the tapestry of a small town that make home, unlike any place on earth. There are Pearl and Eldin, an elderly couple who've lived together for so long, that no one can remember them apart, and yet they've never married. There is also Samson, the town eccentric, whose heart of gold makes him richer in friends than anyone else—as much to his surprise as everyone else's. You'll also find Raina Chandler, the meddling mother whose busy-body antics are the root of the Chandler brother's adventures and whose style is the epitome of every small town mother who has made a career out of arranging the lives of the people around her.

In different ways these characters all represent the dynamics that push away and yet draw us back time and again to small towns. Readers will continue to gravitate to small town settings because of the wealth of feeling and dimension that they offer. For good or bad, the American psyche is wrapped around the idea of small towns. I hope you'll come and visit my small town of Yorkshire Falls in the Chandler brother's books and discover the appeal for yourself.

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