Have you ever thought about what a writer will do to research a story? I've done things like having someone tie my hands behind my back and leave so I could see how my heroine would get out of her predicament. It wasn't easy, but I managed to get loose.
My next series is set in Natchez, a town I'd never visited, so off I went for a few days to scope it out. What a lovely town. And oh, the old houses are so beautiful. And the Natchez Trace, which begins in Natchez (or ends depending on which direction you're coming) is absolutely gorgeous!
Then there was the Sunday after Thanksgiving when I boarded a plane and flew over seventeen hours to Israel. It was an opportunity to research a book I want to set there about an archeologist who finds a rare book and is accused of stealing it when the book disappears.
Israel is a beautiful place and I thought I'd share a few photos with you.
The first photo is taken from En Gedi with the Dead Sea and Jordon in the distance. I floated in the Dead Sea...and took a salt bath. It was wonderful!
This is the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptized. I always thought it was bigger than this. :-)
When we left the baptismal site, I caught this photo of a camel.
This was taken from Mount Tabor. The drive up was winding and narrow, but it was an amazing sight.
This photo was taken from the top of Megiddo. That's Mount Tabor in the distance.
Megiddo was a very interesting place that is under excavation. So far, archeologists believe they've found Solomon's stables at the site.
From Megiddo, we drove to Poriya, where we had a wonderful dinner.
And then we saw this beautiful sunset.
We stayed at a hostel in Jaffa, a kibbutz near Qumram, an apartment in Tiberias where we walked up four flights of stairs, and then an apartment in Jerusalem close enough that we walked to the Old City every day.
It was a great trip and I would go back in a heartbeat! If you're an author, what place would you like to set a book? And if you're a reader, where would you like an author to set a book?
Oh my! Those photos are gorgeous! The Holy Land is on my bucket list to see! Now I want to go there more than ever.
ReplyDeleteGo, Mary! It is the trip of a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. My sister and her husband are going in May. I would love to go. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the photos. And I also enjoyed hearing about you've had to do to put yourself in the same position as your characters!
ReplyDeleteI would like to see more historical fiction about Armenia and the Hamid Massacres in the 1890's. My great-grandparents were victims of those. (They were before the Armenian Genocide.)In fact, there is very little information on those massacres.
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