Happy Friday! Don’t forget to visit me at the Scribes – Tattoo You.

Well, it’s finally happened.

I’m officially a published author!

MYSTIC INK is on sale now from Soul Mate Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Paper copies should be coming in late 2012. I appreciate all the help, encouragement, and support from everyone. Please drop me a line and let me know if you enjoyed the book!

Today, I thought I’d take you on a tour of the book’s setting, real world Mystic, CT.  Mystic is not an official town, but rather a historic district sandwiched between Groton and Stonington. Even though Mystic doesn’t exist as a political entity, it’s a real, vibrant community.

Mystic’s two main tourist attractions are Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium (where an important scene takes place in the book).

Throughout the novel, many of the places in the book are real: Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream Shop, Elm Grove Cemetery, S & P Oyster House, and the famous Mystic drawbridge.

Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream. Nix and Cal get help here from an unlikely source.

Some places are based on a real buildings that I modified for my own purposes. Fawn’s Pawn’s, Devlin Ward’s pawn shop, is modeled after an old factory site that is really a restaurant complex. Toro’s Pizza is my take on the famous Mystic Pizza.

The building that inspired Nix’s tattoo shop, Mystic Ink.

In reality, if you visit Mystic, you’ll find out that there is no tattoo shop in this building.

Anyone recognize this owl? He’s not in MYSTIC INK but he was in a storefront window in a shop called Whyevernot.

I hope you enjoyed the tour and the pictures. And, if you are ever in the area, be sure to visit Mystic, CT!

What books have you enjoyed based on the location? And do enjoy books where the location is as much a part of the story as the characters?