If you follow any of my social media feeds, you know Paul and I recently returned from vacation. My blog today is a glimpse into how visiting a site leads to scenes in my novels.
For today, I chose a lesser-known historic location in Paris: Chapel Expiatore. It was built to honor the site where Louis XVI was buried after his execution, at a time when the monarchy was resurgent in France. They wanted to make a point about what had happened to Louis and honor him.
When I am visiting, I concentrate on the history, soak in the atmosphere, and learn. I also try to feel a place. At times, without effort on my part, vibes creep into my mind. A flash of vampires assembling there hits me. The sense of a witch using the dark history of a former cemetery for a spell appeals to me. I don’t commit a particular vision to absolutely come to fruition. But I do commit the experience – the visual, the emotion, the aura – to memory.
I don’t know the exact way this monument will work its way into a novel. But the stirrings are there from my visit and will remain until unleashed at a later time!