How I Make A Castle Setting Be Like A Character. by Dora Bramden

When creating a mood for a scene in my story, I like a setting with energy that the characters can connect to. It affects their choices and happiness making them want to stay or go. Where a character lives is of particular use too, in revealing who they are. Like a family member, the setting of their home will impact on the main characters in the story.

When thinking about this month’s topic, it occurred to me that so far all my books contain scenes in a palace of some kind. A Palazzo is the family home of Alessandro in ‘The Italian Billionaire’s Secret Baby’ and  a castle-like family estate is the setting for Angus McLaren’s home in ‘The Scottish Billionaire’s Secret Lover’.  What all castles have in common are their history and weightiness. For good or bad they are symbolic of great responsibility.  The palace character is dominating and demanding, like the Netflix series ‘The Crown.’ Buckingham Palace is a looming presence that the royals must live in, against their inclination as captives of the system.

The settings in my books are inspired by actual places.  I visited Sir Walter Scotts home, Abbotsford during a bus tour around England, Wales and Scotland. At the time, it impressed me as having a distinct character. It was traditional, very old with a rich history, luxurious and charming. There I found, Sir Walter Scott had a two-story library with first editions of Jane Austen’s books. The grand house and estate influence Angus in ‘The Scottish Billionaire’s Secret Lover’ as a character might because it’s history and solidness are a weight on his shoulders. The house is a constant reminder of what his aristocratic responsibilities are.

 It also has a significant impact on Natalie, who is staying there to create a successful charity ball. The setting puts her in a fish out of water predicament. Wanting to be a part of Angus’s life but believing she can’t win in a competition with his responsibilities to the estate.

View of the shoreline, Lake Como.

Summer Palazzo in Ferrara. The ornate ceiling in the palace coffee shop.

In ‘The Italian Billionaire’s Secret Baby,’ Alessandro’s estranged wife and son arrive at his ancestral palazzo on Lake Como. (I was inspired to create this palazzo when on a cruise on Lake Como). Katrina is impacted from the moment she drives through the grand gates. The formality of the garden and the view of the palazzo are impressive and beautiful but they represent a significant a part of Alessandro’s like that she’s been excluded from.

While their son bonds with his grandmother Katrina attempts to feel at home, baking on the cooks day off and practicing for her next ballet in the unused ballroom. The ornate the palazzo suits her, a prima ballerina she’s at home in lavish settings and we can see that she would fit into this life so well. But the power of the palace is subliminally threatening to a woman who values her independence above everything. shores.

Even in my next to be published novel there is a maharaja’s palace that is an exclusive hotel in Jaipur, India. The grand energy of this place emboldens the hero and heroine to make a last stand in their fight to be together. 

And in the book I’m currently editing, there is a massive night club that has a façade like a castle, which used to be a ballroom. For the heroine who was a child when she lived there, it was her fairytale castle. She's grown up but has never stopped longing to return to the place where all her happiest memories reside. The heiress to a music empire returns home to claim her castle but finds it already has an occupant who wants to call it home as badly as she does. Each has a love of this place and that gives it life, like  a character in the story

Dora Bramden writes heart-melting, passionate romance.

The Scottish Billionaire’s Secret Lover

The Italian Billionaire’s Secret Baby

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