My trip last month to Scotland included a side journey to Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. I never know where I might find inspiration for my fiction, but I certainly did not expect it to be a Medieval castle. That’s not a historical period that I have ever used for my stories. However, I went with Marc Stiegler, who writes science fiction and thrillers. He set a good portion of one of his futuristic novels in Bamburgh Castle. My friends, he opened my eyes to possibilities.
Castles like Bamburgh may have been constructed centuries ago, but many survive into the present day, almost always with some parts destroyed, rebuilt, etc. Being an archaeologist who lives in the United States, it is always a treat for me to see how buildings have been repurposed over the centuries. Bamburgh Castle got me thinking about what might transpire in an ancient fortification a few generations from now. Hence, it wasn’t hard to repurpose certain characters I’ve written about before, ones who are eager for future adventures in an ancient fortress. To put it another way, any place that has an actual dungeon and armaments on stone walls has a host of possibilities. Now I just need to carve out some time to write this story. Stay tuned!