Locations in The Dubrovnik Book Club – with Eva Glyn
Locations in The Dubrovnik Book Club – with Eva Glyn
Think of a wonderful location and a club that bookworms would love to join and you have the ideal mix for a novel! . Just take a look at this cover:
Map of locations in The Dubrovnik Book club
Dubrovnik is one of my favourite cities in the world so it’s no surprise I chose to set my book club novel there. It’s my fourth Croatian book and unlike some destination fiction, I seek to take my readers into the homes and hearts of local people.
shop front (c) Eva Glyn
Map of locations in The Dubrovnik Book club
Nothing beats visiting a place to research it. Much of the action is set in a fictional bookshop (apologies to readers who want to visit it), so visiting as many shops as I could in the city was important to study the layout, size and architectural details. You see, these shops are very special, retaining the frontages where they’ve traded since medieval times. Along the main street of Stradun and the secondary one which runs parallel, Ulica od Puca, the vast majority of the retail outlets look the same; a single arch, which is window and door combined.
Jazz cafe door (c) Eva Glyn
Map of locations in The Dubrovnik Book club
One wet Saturday in March I tramped up and down the streets, universally welcomed by the slightly bemused shopkeepers when I told them I was interested in their beamed ceilings and corbels. Not all the shops have preserved them, many have been boarded over, but enough remained for me to work out how important this particular aspect of the setting would be to the story.
Eva Glyn above Dubrovnik (c) Eva Glyn
Map of locations in The Dubrovnik Book club
The book has four main characters. First, we have the bookshop’s new manager, Claire, who has become a virtual hermit through fear of catching Covid and now must leave her shell. Then there’s her assistant Luna who loves a book club – and a good mystery. However, she has secrets and dreams of her own. The mystery is unwittingly provided by Claire’s Croatian cousin Vedran. Now she is still reeling from the loss of his girlfriend and the social media storm which followed. And finally there’s Karmela, a very reserved university professor who only comes to the book club to admire the architecture of the shop.
Harbour wide view (c) Eva Glyn
Map of locations in The Dubrovnik Book club
I’ve always wanted to write a book about unlikely friendships. To set it in such a wonderful city was a dream come true. I hope, if you read the book, you enjoy your visit there.
Many thanks Eva!
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Dubrovnik Book club
Twitter: @JaneCable
