The most-often-asked question

The most com­mon­ly asked ques­tion of writ­ers is, “Where do you get your ideas?”

Here are some of my  answers: 

Sophia’s War:  Read­ing Dick­ens’ Great Expec­ta­tions and learn­ing about prison ships.

City of Orphans:  Brows­ing through a 19th cen­tu­ry news­pa­per and com­ing across a sen­sa­tion­al headline.

Crispin: Lis­ten­ing to a lec­ture about the mid­dle ages.

Seer of Shad­ows:  Hav­ing once been an ama­teur pho­tog­ra­ph­er with my own darkroom.

The Book with No Words:  When read­ing a book about alche­my, I learned about a “Book with No Words.”

Nev­er Mind:  Hav­ing a chat with my fel­low writer, Rachel Vail.

Some­times I Think I Hear My Name:  Lis­ten­ing to one of my son’s friends talk about his spring break.

Noth­ing but the Truth:  Hear­ing a news report on radio.

The Fight­ing Ground:  Notic­ing a his­tor­i­cal road marker.

Wolf Rid­er: Get­ting an odd phone call.

Pop­py: Read­ing a book about owls. 

Where do you get your ideas?  The answer: Everywhere.