So often, when I write stories, I stay pretty ambiguous about where the locations are. With Dissolution of Peace, space was a vast enough location that specifics were rarely needed on specific earthly locations. With Volition Agent, I tried to keep the cities generic because I wanted the story to feel like it could have taken place anywhere. But I did touch base on a few cities to give a general location.
With Broken Trust, I picked a specific location that I knew. The world of this story is vast and there are countless cities I could have written in. But instead I picked Lagoon Hills. And where is Lagoon Hills in relation to today’s world? Right outside of Vacaville, California. I took a few liberties with the location, adding a river and more a circular motion of the hills. I also distanced it from the freeway a bit.
Growing up in Vacaville, I’ve been to Lagoon Valley Park many times. I’ve driven past it more times than anyone could count. As a child I would ride my bike out there all the time. And as I got older, driving out there with friends was always something fun to do. The location isn’t really a lagoon in the text book definition. I guess it would be a lake? But it is one of the smallest I’ve seen. California is a drought ridden state right now, so it is even lower than I remember it growing up.
When I was putting together the world of Broken Trust, I realized that I needed a location for the main city. I knew that Liam was going to be a person who was defensive minded. And when you drive by this little lake every day, you can’t help but start to see some of the advantages to establishing a new city there.
Of course, the location is fictitious, and though based on this location they aren’t exactly the same. But that is the joy of fiction,
especially fiction set in the future, you get to take certain liberties on the location.
But this location has more that just a defensive posture I was looking for. It also had a key factor: Being surrounded by population centers, but not right on top of them. Lagoon Valley is about an hour from both Sacramento and San Francisco. One of the things I theorized in creating this world, is that when everything was said and done, and the world as we knew it was over, people would eventually want to band back together. And chances are they’d head for the major population centers. More survivors would be in the major population areas, just by the odds.
It was important, though not completely shown in this novel, that Liam and his friends be the biggest-little guys. I wanted them to be surrounded by other groups of people, or City-States, because it becomes an important part of both Broken Trust, and any possible sequels.
Another reason, I couldn’t resist a chance to give a little shout out to my hometown, where I lived most of my life. So that is the behind the scenes on the location of Lagoon Hills.
Don’t forget, you can preorder Broken Trust now until May 28th. m It released worldwide May 29, 2014.
Would you want to live in Lagoon-Hills? Or are one of the other City-States better for you? Take the quiz to find out. Click the image below to get started.
Flores Factor Blog 
According to the quiz, I should live in Lagoon Hills. Works for me — as long as there’s some body of water nearby, I’m good.
Lagoon HIlls would be a great place to live. Personally, I’d stay away from Summersville. 🙂 The other two City-States referenced in the book are New San Fran and Sacramento Valley. There is also a quick reference to Tahoe, but that isn’t in the quiz.