We’ve had some terrific blog posts this last week and, if I hadn’t been in London, I would have commented more because there has been some great advice. Yesterday James made the observation that it takes a great deal of courage to be a writer and I think it’s a particularly difficult brand of (non-lethal…) bravery that is required – because in the world of writing the public and the personal overlap. Publishing means that your work is out for all to see (for better and for worse) and, if criticism of you work feels personal, praise feeds your dreams and ego in a way that no other job ever could.
Being in London the week before Remembrance Day has meant, however, that my own writing has been informed by the courage of those who have served and died in the service of their country. I came to London to celebrate my birthday as well as undertake some research at 
the Imperial War Museum. As it turned out, I have been surrounded by references and material relating to the First World War that has (serendipitously) fed into almost all my books: from my current WIP which is set against the backdrop of the outbreak of war in 1914; to the sequel to Lady Coppers and the fourth Ursula book which are both set in the midst of ‘the Great War’.
the Imperial War Museum. As it turned out, I have been surrounded by references and material relating to the First World War that has (serendipitously) fed into almost all my books: from my current WIP which is set against the backdrop of the outbreak of war in 1914; to the sequel to Lady Coppers and the fourth Ursula book which are both set in the midst of ‘the Great War’.The excitement of undertaking research never fails to inspire me. At the Imperial War Museum, I was reading the diary of a female policewoman stationed at a munitions factory during the First World War and was delighted to find a special pass for her dog ‘Rip’ in the files (along with an official studio portrait of the dog!). Only this kind of hands-on research can reveal the eccentricities of the real people who help me create my characters. It seems strangely appropriate that everywhere I turn at the moment there is a reminder of Edwardian Britain. Indeed, sometimes I have to wonder – did I pick the historical period for my books or did it pick me?
Unlike my fellow bloggers I don’t have any pearls of wisdom to share, but rather a couple of questions: Have you ever felt a period, place or person resonate so acutely that you were drawn to write about it? What real people or real events inform your writing?
For me, it would seem that it is the Great War that is calling me and, especially as Remembrance Day approaches, the ghosts of the past insist that I heed the call…Lest we forget.
