This is one of the many photographs I took on my trip to the Holy Land in May of 1988. Spending time at the Western Wall is a memory I will always cherish.
When I reflect on the stories I've been inspired to write, they all have at least one element in common: A sublime setting. (Jerusalem is the setting for the seventh book in my proposed Livvi Biddle series.)
I think the reason setting is so important to me as a writer is due to the fact that my writing is an extension of my years as a reader. As a child, books would whisk me away to mysterious places I could only dream of at that age. Even now, I'm sometimes inspired to write a story about a place I've not yet visited, as in the case of The Scandinavian Santa. (I've never been to any of the Nordic countries, but I hope to travel to a few next year.) Having a sublime setting in a novel also gives the writer a great source from which to create character traits for her protagonist, since certain subcultures are innate to certain locations. This all requires a good bit of research, and possibly even some travel, but that's one of the things I so enjoy about being an author. Novels have the opportunity to introduce our readers, and ourselves, to interesting and exotic countries with different peoples, customs, and history.
We writers can promote peace by including other cultures in our books.
Happy Easter! ~~ Happy Passover!
