I love history! That’s one of the reasons I love living in New Orleans so much. My most recent book is set here. The first one I wrote was a Biblical fiction set in 49AD. I had to imagine what the ancient cities of Athens and Ephesus looked like two thousand years ago. Imagine the joy of walking the streets of this story just fifteen minutes from home.
Mical caught this great pic of original cobblestones the other day. I can almost hear the clickety-clack of carriages rolling over them. The curbing in the 1800’s was gray granite. In some places, the new ones are worn away exposing the old ones.
I write at a coffee shop in the mornings. One of my favorites is in the French Quarter where pigeons beg for breadcrumbs. Their purple and Verdi-green plumage shimmers in the sun look like gorgeous velvet. I could study pictures and do my best to describe these details to my readers, but to actually see it is entirely different.
Another amazing thing is the people. We have a diverse culture, from the happy-go-lucky Cajuns, descendants of the Acadians deported from Canada in the 1700’s, to the reserved Creoles, native-born descendants of French, Spanish and African-descended slaves, to the fair-skinned, freckle-faced Irish. And so many others! Each group has distinctive personalities and traits. It’s a little like being on Noah’s ark. How cool is that!
Blessings,
