I'll just pitch in and say "Yes." though in a slightly different way. I'm very much an American writer, which, as you say, is very difficult to do in the fantasy genre, even in the more modern post-tolkein meaning of that word. Let's be honest...at some level, every new weird cityscape interpolation is really just London or NY. NY or London.

I don't really self-identify as from the midwest yet, because I grew up in the south. But I don't really ID as a southerner either. I suppose I'm an american first. Mileage varies.

And yes, I'm also taking a break from revisions, but only because I have to go back to them after dinner and get two more chapters accomplished so I only have the slightly reasonable volume of five chapters to do tomorrow. I'm sure that'll work out.

Headache.