An Irish author who used Google Maps to set her novel in Butler -- despite having never stepped foot there -- recently got to see the small town that served as the background for her story, and meet the Alabama community that supported her, for the first time.
Welz Bailey, of Coleraine, Northern Ireland, U.K., spent nine months researching the Alabama town of Butler after choosing it to be the setting for her first novel, a psychological thriller called “The Pawn.” In September, Bailey said she was hopeful she’d get to see Butler for herself someday. Recently, she was able to mark that goal off her list with a two-week visit to the South that included a book signing in the small town.
“It has been surreal, because I’ve been doing it from Google Earth, to actually see it in real life,” said Bailey. “It feels like I’ve been walking into my book. It is different. ... I’ve just loved going to the streets that are named [in the book]. It’s been amazing. I’m just soaking it all in.”
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