Digging…
I get inspired by the oddest things – I’ve said before that it can be as simple as an ancient dye, a splinter of wood, a fragment of cloth and so on.
I say to myself, ‘There’s a story in that…’
The inspiration for my latest book, Reliquary, originally came from the research I carried out for the previous trilogy called The Triptych Chronicle. In the process of seeking facts on rare and valuable merchandise that may have been traded in the twelfth century, I came across mention of a silk called byssus and which is still harvested in the Mediterranean from a species of shellfish.
Writing this latest historical fiction (A Small Thread of Silk – working title only) is filled with serendipitous and exciting discoveries which is making the writing something special. Those of you who know me from Facebook will know about the strange revelations that have occurred, odd discoveries which mean that this book has just been waiting quietly in the wings to be written.
Or more specifically, the rough road of research.
What an adventure my journey with Guillaume has been to this date!
Especially with the twelfth century history of Lyon, France…
Two years ago, I discovered English Historical fiction Authors on Facebook. Subsequently, I began to follow their wonderful blog and being a medieval aficionado (for that, read writer) as well as a Georgian and Regency fan, there were many blogposts which I bookmarked for future reference.