Many of his early books are set in Ottawa, while others (1990–2009) have centered around his fictional North American city of Newford, inspired by de Lint's favourite aspects of various North American cities. A regular cast of characters make reappearances in many different books. More recently, de Lint published an adult novel, "The Mystery of Grace" (Tor 2009), set in his fictional Southwestern US town, Santa de Vado Viejo, as was his most recent young adult novel, "The Painted Boy" (Viking 2010).