Then, lo and behold, this magical ingredient returned and I
had a thought for a sequel to my American historical, Pavane for Miss Marcher.
Inspiration struck just as I was having a conversation about
a mug that my son sent me as a birthday present which reads “Please do not annoy
the writer, she may put you in a book and kill you.” The conversation happened
to be about a distant cousin-in-law and I commented that, many years after this
CIL had annoyed other members of my family with her “I’m so far superior to you”
attitude, I had taken a tiny bit of revenge by casting her attitude as the
reason the parents of my character, North (in Pavane for Miss Marcher), refused to attend his wedding.
What has that to do with Inspiration, you may wonder.
North is a veteran of the American Civil War. He and his
brother-in-law, Aurelius, have been on my mind since, as secondary characters, they
made their presence known — in the proverbial ‘pantser’ form of writing — by
appearing as the story unfolded.
Following this conversation, I sat quietly for a moment. A
progression of images appeared as the tissue of an idea for North’s story
unfolded. Except that his tale will have a happy ending, where it goes from
this inspired moment is a mystery.
And I like it that way.
