Where do Ideas Come From?

This summer I was visiting the UK with my family. We went with my brother in law to visit Llanthony prior and walk up on the Offa's dyke path. (Hatterrall hill).

As you can see from the pictures below, it is just the sort of romantic environment that is crying out for a novel. I can just imagine the heroine striding over the hills with the omnipresent wind in her hair. So I began to sketch out plots and characters. Then I had one of those gifts that reality sometimes gives you. In 1807 (or so)  Walter Savage Landor bought the ruins. He was a respected poet, a man with a temper and a willingness to speak without thinking about the consequences. In 1811 he went to a ball in Bath, saw a very pretty woman, announced he would marry her and did. They lived in a tempestuous but stable marriage, and had several children. His poetry ranged from doggerel to erudite Latin, and was well regarded at the time.

What a gift for a minor character! He and his doings can be used to move the plot along or carry weak sections without end. Even better, many of the outrageous things he really did can be used to justify whatever I need him to do.

So given that, I just had to find the rest of the story!

Llanthony prior

Stone barn and sheep