Details That Bring the Village to Life
Choosing a name for the small mountain village took me several days of thought.
I wanted something special, something unique.
I went through countless English place names, but I refused to use one that already existed in the real world.
Then, like a sudden flash of lightning, the idea came: Nick’s Valley.
And just like that, the village was named.
But another question followed — what kind of place should it be?
How many people should live there?
These thoughts echoed in my mind for quite some time, until I decided to stop overthinking and let the story shape the village itself.
I began writing simply at first, but with each page the image grew clearer.
When Gabriel, injured and weary, trudges through deep snow towards the last house in which the old storyteller Gretha lives, he is intercepted by locals who have been following him.
The village then reveals itself as a typical mountain settlement — self-reliant, cut off from the cities, yet full of life in its heart.
Especially at Christmas.
The Square of Nick’s Valley | Author’s visual concept for Wolf’s Tale
Gabriel and his best friend Casper soon find themselves in the main square, where festive lights and decorations fill the air with joy.
At the centre stands a grand fir tree, proudly announcing the most magical time of year.
The boys make their way to the tavern At the Little Deer, which matches the rest of the village in its ornate cheer.
The square also holds another tavern and several smaller houses.
I deliberately chose not to place a shop in the centre, and there are no cars — they are parked well away from the square, so as not to disturb the peace the villagers treasure.
The school appears only in the third chapter.
It stands near the valley’s exit, a simple single-storey building stretched across a modest plot.
It soon becomes one of the story’s key locations.
Nearby is a small medical centre, meant only for basic care — no surgeries, no major procedures.
The village houses are small, modelled after traditional Austrian mountain homes, though with gentler roof slopes.
All are family dwellings without upper floors, only tidy attic rooms.
A dense forest surrounds the village, shielding it from the outside world.
To the north lies a vast glacial lake of special significance to the locals.
And no less important is King’s Hill — the mound where a great fortress once stood, now reduced to mysterious ruins.
What do you think of such small, secluded mountain villages in literature?