History, Places and Inspiration!
People often ask me where I get my ideas from. The exciting truth is that much of what I write isn’t made up…but inspired by real history and real places.
When I was a little girl, I lived in Brighton and I was fascinated by the beautiful Royal Pavilion in the centre of the city. A palace fit for a king…right beside the sea. It is beautiful! Every room is filled with fabulous objects and pictures…and behind the scenes there are secret tunnels, hidden rooms and underground passages. It’s the sort of building that is bursting at the seams with stories.
On the coronation weekend I couldn’t help thinking about one story I really like. It’s that one of the beautiful chandeliers hanging in the Royal Pavilion was taken on the orders of Queen Victoria to hang in Buckingham Palace. And if the British royal family are ever pictured on the balcony of Buckingham Palace I can’t help looking for that light. It is usually just in the edge of the shot behind them. It’s details like this that give life to stories…little things on fabulous (or ordinary) days that spark an idea and get you wondering.
So I thought I would share today some photos of the beautiful Royal Pavilion. There’s some showing the wonderful time I met some very special readers of Secret Breakers. They had flown in from Texas to visit family but were keen to meet up with me and my daughter Meggie and visit the pavilion. Why the pavilion you might ask. Well because I was so inspired by the beautiful palace by the sea that it plays a very important role in the story of Secret Breakers The Power of Three and the readers were keen to check it out and hunt for stories of their own.
And that is why the final photo shows me in the stunning music room of the palace looking up at the chandeliers. (I’m talking to a group of booksellers all about those lights and how one was whisked away to Buckingham Palace!)
So who really knows where ideas come from. But I am certain they are most likely to arrive if you keep looking for the light behind the scenes! That is probably where secrets hide waiting to be broken!
Happy Secret Breaking everyone!
