article_snippet: There's the island I've called home for the past 11 years, the island I write about in my novels, and somewhere in between, perhaps, a deeper truth about this beautiful rock in the middle of the Irish Sea.
article_snippet: The harbour at Ramsey, Isle of Man second biggest town .
article_snippet: The weather might be mixed but the landscape is dramatic, whether seen from the Irish Sea, walking the coast path, or taking the electric railway to the top of the island's solitary mountain, Snaefell (from where, on a clear day, you can see the distant humped blurs of Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales).
article_snippet: The rich variety of locations is something I've grown to appreciate in my books, and something the Isle of Man film industry has thrived on during the past decade.
article_snippet: the island has plenty.
article_snippet: But the island provides more than great backdrops.
article_snippet: the island's compact, with a population in the region of 85,000, and while that makes it ideally manageable for a weekend visit, it also fosters something all writers rely on - rumours and hearsay.
article_snippet: the Isle of Man also the Isle of Man own very distinct identity.
article_snippet: It's a short step from rumours and hearsay to myths and legends, and the Isle of Man has some of the most interesting I've ever heard: from the sea god, Manannan, who cloaks the Isle of Man in a veil of mist to protect the Isle of Man from outside threats, to the Moddey Dhoo, a big black hound that haunts Peel Castle.
highlights_snippet: Isle of Man film industry is booming, with rich variety of locations on offer .
  