So, the vacation comes to an end – well, soon. After a month in Europe it is a relief to be heading home with many new experiences to build into my next book. The main goal on this trip was not to produce another novel, but a photo book entitled “Faces of Europe.” I have accumulated a large number of “people photos” to add to the book, but the time away has also given me space to think about “Faces of Europe” is more depth. In fact, people watching is really observing a reflection of life. Europe is not just about Europeans; it is about the melting pot of Asians, Africans, Chinese, Indian, and Western and Eastern Europeans; it is about war and power struggles – D-Day celebrations and the war in Ukraine; it is about a cold war and a hot summer; of high prices and low wages; Olympic celebrations and the struggle to survive; it’s about Palestinian protests and threats of terrorism. “Faces of Europe” has become more complex than I imagined. There is nothing simple about Europe and it will be a challenge to assemble my photographs to reflect the joy, struggles and diversity I noticed through my lens. During my short stay in Europe I did manage a little minor editing on my new thriller, and even visited Menton – a place on the French Riviera that features in my first thriller, 3 WISE MEN. However, I didn’t feel that any changes needed to be made to the Menton details.
Menton
And those other names?
3 WISE MEN features real locations, real cafes, and real hotels , etc. in order to give authenticity to the novel. The plot is also plausible and based on a genuine ancient document.
The sense of place – places that reader have heard about or visited – was essential for me as a writer. In fact, one idea for the story was dropped – simply because it was a far-fetched possibility that our protagonist would be able to circumvent the security in place. I had checked it out carefully and realized that there was a slim chance of getting past the guards, but this was highly unlikely.
I hope the exotic locations and real places give 3 WISE MEN that touch of reality that I was looking for. Even the airline and train schedules needed to be correct. Some research took a while!
Finally, I was grateful to Galimard in Grasse for allowing me the rights to use their company name in 3 WISE MEN.
