When I began plotting my middle grade light fantasy/historical fiction series over a decade ago, I knew it would require research, and lots of it.
When you set a story in a famous place (or any place unfamiliar to you) you need to visit that location, in addition to your reading, etc. So I thought I'd share with you a bit of my travels from 2014 when I was first researching the locations featured in my series. Below are just a few:
After we left our week-long visit in Italy (including our initial destination in Rome), we took the train to France. We spent time in Provence and Paris, but our ultimate goal was Normandy. We visited Rouen, Omaha Beach, and finally Giverny - home of Claude Monet. The second book in The Time Travel Tales of Livvi Biddle includes France as one of the settings. Nimbus Over Normandy will release later this year.
Here I'm pictured at Stonehenge in England. This is the first setting that launched my fantasy series. Sometimes you get lucky when you're researching: I had chosen to feature Winston Churchill in my novel long ago; while researching, I discovered that the former Prime Minister of the U.K. (1940-1945, 1951-1955) loved to visit Stonehenge! Obviously, I used that tidbit in the plot for the first book in my series: The Sibylline Scroll.
These photos focus on just four of the countries that will be featured in my seven-book series. I previously visited Israel years ago but have very few photos remaining from that trip. There's also at least one more country I need to visit very soon, but I won't tell you which one!
Since each of my novels features an historic figure, there's been tons of reading over the years on Winston Church, Claude Monet, Antonio Vivaldi, and others. There will be female icons featured too, I promise!
