by Sharon Dunn
How often have you picked up a book and read the back cover copy where it said the story took place in a small town and that alone made you want to open the book? Small towns have a lot of appeal in books and I think that has a lot to do with the fantasy that people have about small towns. They are presented as a place where you can get away from the hustle and noise of the big city and where everyone is friendly and looks out for each other. Usually there is a neighborhood hangout, a bookstore or a cafe, where everyone is made to feel welcomed. All books to one degree or another attract readers because they play into a fantasy the reader has about life.
Every small town has its own personality and many come close to matching that fantasy. I grew up in a rural state that is mostly small towns. The small town I lived close to was far from the fantasy. There was a lot of poverty, violence and lack of job opportunity. The local hangout was not a bookstore or a cafe, it was the bars. People tended to make outsiders feel unwelcome. Gossip was a common pastime. Many families lived there for generations, grudges between families were passed down like fine china. If you had older siblings, which I did, people made assumptions about you based on how your siblings had acted for better or worse. Most of the jobs went to children of business owners. In high school, unless your interests were connected to sports or agriculture, there was not much to get involved with.
I've visited other small towns and as an outsider picked up on a very different, much warmer personality for that town. I'm sure if I lived there I would see some of the negatives as well. What is your fantasy about small towns? Did you grow up in a small town? What was it like? If you pick up a book and see that it takes place in a small town, does that make you want to read the book?
Leave a comment along with your email address. I'd love to hear your experiences with small towns. I will pick at random three people (USA only) to win a copy of my book Defending the Child where some of the action takes place in a small town. Also if you want to learn more about me and my books or sign up for my newsletter you can go to www.sharondunnbooks.net.
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fun to visit
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
I live in a small town in a rural county. I like that people know and recognize each other and offer help if needed. watts.vickie@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI live in a small town.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Atlanta and would visit my late Father's family in a small town about 2 hours away. I never wanted to live there because I was a city girl. Well fast forward many many decades later I am now living in said small town because I just couldn't take the stress, crap and violence against me in Atlanta anymore.
ReplyDeleteI do go up to visit every few months to visit my kids and grandkids but the closer I get to the city all the weight comes back. I enjoy my time with my family and head back to the quiet of the country.
msredk@aol.com
I have always lived in cities, so stories set in small towns very much appeal to me because they are different from what I am used to. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a small town and couldn't wait to break out 🤣 like you said, if you weren't into sports or agriculture there wasn't much to do. Being a bibliophile since childhood, I was definitely the odd duck. I have come to realize after decades, that some small communities are wonderful - the hard working, caring, down-to-earth people who look out for one another can be priceless. Just depend where it is I guess. Read this book and it was great!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting book
ReplyDeleteI've lived in both. Would prefer a medium. Small Town values with big city amenities.
ReplyDeleteI lived in a small town when I was a little kid. Since it's kinda closeknit community, everybody almost knows everybody, and yes, Sharon, gossip can be heard now and then. However, residents here also help out each other when help is needed, and they always have yummy food everywhere! Yes, it is not perfect, but I still prefer small towns, and yes, I would read books that are set in small towns!
ReplyDeleteSorry, I forgot my email address which is cwkuen(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThank you.
I think small towns are quaint with wonderful little shops; people have the wonderful experience of knowing everyone and knowing they care about you and step up to help when needed. I don’t think you can beat the charm of a small town.
ReplyDeleteI like to read books about small towns because I have lived in several small towns.
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in huge cities and small towns, I'll take the small towns hands down. Agree that each town or city has it's own set of problems and none of them are perfect.
ReplyDeleteWhile we lived in a town of approximately 9,000, it was too big and too full of problems like bootleggers (it was a dry county) and drugs. Due to hubby's job, we didn't have much choice, but we did move our of the city onto a small acreage about 8 miles out. Even with that we didn't have a choice of neighbors and the one we ended up with later on was far from perfect. Upon retirement with nothing holding us down, we decided to sell out, downsize and move to a place we vacationed at often. Since I'm not a big one for change, I had to make sure it was as right as we could figure out without moving there first. We love the area, loved that by it being a tourist town from April to November, that there was lots to do if one choose to also with down months to get back to the very small town feel. We knew we didn't want to live in town, but also wanted to be close to doctors, groceries and such. Fortunately we found 8 acreages with a perfect place to build our forever home just outside the city limits. With the mountains and lay of the land, there's no way to have right next door neighbors, but we were close to everything we wanted. While it's a perfect town for us, and we have been here 8 years so I'm sure of that now, it is a town with its own set of problems. it's a hard town to make a living because it is a tourist town that shuts down several months a year. In fact, we are considered a poverty county in the state. Being retired that doesn't affect us, but it does so many. With all it's problems, we still think we live in the Mayberry town of Arkansas.
With that all said, I do love reading stories about small towns. But then again, I love stories set in the big towns too. I love to armchair travel in books more so than thinking it's a place I'd like to live in.
Thank you for the fabulous chance to win a copy of DEFENDING THE CHILD, which is on my TBR list already. I can't wait to read and review it.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
I live outside of a small town and the stores in the town everybody knows everyone from the town! tWarner419@aol.com
ReplyDeleteI live in a midsize city. I love the country and small towns. Thank you so much for sharing. Your book sounds amazing. dpruss@prodigy.net. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy books about small towns... the fantasy!😉 I have lived in many small towns, and now I live in Las Vegas... and I have lived in places in between sizes. There are pros and cons to every setting. I like the idea of community in small towns, and knowing so many people. But there are a lot of negatives to small towns, as well.
ReplyDeleteHeather Mitchell crhbmitchellfam@duck.com
I Love reading these suspense books they are amazing Sarahbaby601973@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI don't know why it did not post my name before
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