An acquaintance of mine didn’t understand why I didn’t have my current novels located in San Francisco or some other major city in the United States. The short answer was I live in Northern California and I wanted to place my stories here. Even though I’ve traveled around the United States and there are some truly beautiful cities to locate my stories in. The long answer is more in-depth.
Much like writing about the characters I do, I wanted to set my stories some place that I felt was highly underrated and often ignored. San Jose, California is the tenth largest city in the United States and is quite possibly the least known and recognized. Often over looked because of our neighbor to the north - San Francisco. However, San Jose has a lot to offer.
The San Jose Electric Light Tower
San Jose has always been the home of technology innovations starting with JJ Owen who proposed the idea of a 237-foot tower that was to light up downtown San Jose, turning night into day. He proposed the San Jose Electric Light Tower in May 1881 and the tower was constructed and operational by December 1881. It is believed that the designer of the Paris’ Eiffel Tower visited San Jose to view the Tower seeking ideas. The tower is long gone, but a replica can still be found in San Jose’s Kelly Park.
Today, San Jose is home to the highest concentration of High-Tech companies in the country and is known the world over as the Capital of Silicon Valley.
San Jose was also the first state capital of California from 1849 to 1851.
Culturally, San Jose has a diverse mix of people. It houses one of the three remaining historical Japantowns in the United States. San Jose has a large Mexican American Community grounded by the Mexican Heritage Plaza and the National Hispanic University, which was the first four-year Latino University in the United States. Not to be forgotten is the strong Vietnamese community who brought about a thriving Little Saigon in San Jose.
Christmas in the Park
San Jose hosts cultural events throughout the year, but one of the largest is ‘Christmas in the Park’ which, attracts close to half a million people each year. There is also a Film Festival and Jazz Festival and a host of other local and town events in the surrounding communities.
When it comes to sports San Jose hosts the San Jose Sharks (Hockey) and the San Jose Earthquakes (Soccer) and the 49ers (Football) although technically the 49ers are now housed in Santa Clara, which is next door to San Jose.
Downtown San Jose
So, for me, I find that my characters fit perfectly in the backdrop of San Jose. Everything that my stories need can be found in San Jose. If I need a five-star restaurant, it’s here. If I need a luxury high-rise condo with amazing views of the mountains or the valley, I have it. If I need my characters to be in the mountains with snow, that is a four-hour drive and if I need them at a beach house, that is a quick 45-minute drive to the ocean. If I want them to be in a location that has a small town vibe, I can accomplish that by using one of the small surrounding towns dotting the valley.
Downtown San Jose
So, for me San Jose provided the perfect culturally diverse background for my stories. Of course my characters aren’t chained to San Jose, they only need to go to the international airport and they can go to any other location.
However, all this said, I go back to my short answer. I place my stories in and around San Jose because it’s my home and I get to show it off to people in my writing