On History and Life
Story Inspiration: Food, glorious food!
Chocolate and strawberries. (Image from Canva.com) Author Joanne Harris spent her earliest years living above her grandparents’ sweet shop in Yorkshire. She spent her girlhood summers with her French grandparents in Brittany. Small wonder that she contrived a magical...
Story Inspiration: Castles, Cottages, Cathedrals…
Castel del Monte, Apulia, Italy My inspiration Frederick II, Emperor and King in the thirteenth century, held a level of power and an attitude toward the church that earned him the title of Antichrist from Pope Gregory IX. Among his many gifts and accomplishments,...
Encouragement on the road to publication
Writing and publishing a book can be a long road, a road scattered with doubts and fears, and rutted with the bumps of life going on as you write. I worked steadily for about three years to write the story of The Drive in '65, and a few months ago I entered a contest...
1965 lives on!
I've been immersed in the world of 1965, writing about a 22,000 mile road trip and journey of discovery from May to late August of that year. In the course of research (yes, writers do research their own experiences!) the cultural icons and events of that year have...