Episode #135: Writing the Pacific Northwest: Place, Weather, and Community with Susanne Bacon

Winter in the Pacific Northwest carries its own storytelling language—salt air and tide lines, ferry crossings, evergreen rain, storm winds, and the cozy glow of small-town community. In this episode of The Truth About Storytelling, host Tyrean Martinson talks with Susanne Bacon, author of the Wycliffe novels, about writing sense of place so vividly readers feel like they can visit tomorrow.

Susanne shares how she builds her fictional Puget Sound town of Wycliffe (between Olympia and Seattle) using real regional textures—Olympic Mountain views, island silhouettes, waterfront parks, ferry terminals, and the changing smell of high tide vs. low tide. We also dig into how her journalism background shaped her as an observer of people and community, and how listening to real stories helps her craft believable characters without writing one-to-one from life.

This episode also arrives in the tender beauty of Christmas—Tyrean reflects on Christmas Eve worship, carols, and singing “Silent Night” by candlelight, remembering that Jesus is the Light of the World—our Emmanuel—God’s light shining in the darkness.

Find Susanne Bacon HERE

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