Destiny’s Dark Light: Why Charleston, SC?
Sara Dobie Bauer
I moved to Charleston, South Carolina, for a job, never having been there before. I drove straight from Perrysburg, Ohio, to my new city, parked my car, and started walking. I was in love by the first block.
Charleston is a time capsule, a glimpse into the past. It’s like a mini New Orleans: cleaner with less parties but still boasting a gorgeous French Quarter. There are different “areas,” including the famed Battery, Rainbow Row, East Bay Street, and Upper King. Each has its own charms. I was partial to East Bay with its flickering gas lamps, old architecture, and creeping ivy.
Beyond its beauty, Charleston holds another important feature for me. It’s where I met my husband, the love of my life, one steaming hot August eve.
With all the romance, ghost stories, cemeteries, and creepy Angel Oaks, why not set a story about witches here?
Destiny’s Dark Light is a paranormal romance filled with Southern characters and Southern charm. Our heroine, Cyan, grew up in Charleston, and so did many of her family members. They grew up there and died there, where the memories of them haunt like ghosts.
Liam, our love interest, is a newcomer. Like me that first day, he wanders the streets, admiring the majesty of a modern city that harkens to the past.
With Halloween just around the corner, there is something decidedly spooky about Charleston. Although I love the gas lamps, they cast ghostly shadows. Cemeteries are basically on every block. (You’ll trip over a tombstone if you’re not paying attention.) Ghost tours traverse the city streets each night, and you might just confuse a howling drunken tourist with a werewolf or two.
Why choose Charleston as my setting? Where the past and present converge in such beautiful harmony, why not introduce the witch war to end all witch wars?
Destiny’s Dark Light is a book of light and darkness, just like my old hometown, filled with antebellum pastel mansions that turn ghoulish in the nighttime glow. Pay Charleston a visit. Just be sure to duck for cover if you see flashes of colored light or hear the cackle of a dark witch.
