We are in the last weeks of winter up here in CT. March 20 will mark the beginning of spring. People see it as a time of renewal. It gives me an opportunity to be in the warmth. My research goes from indoors to the outdoors. This is what this #BehindTheScenes is about: my love of history.
I will admit that this was 1 of my favorite topics at school. Depending on the year, it was the only. The idea that people in the past had real emotions and motives was exciting. Royal families fought over who was right. Borders were erased and changed. A decision from a peasant, or even the change in the wind, turned history around. It shaped us and should be teaching us lessons.
Again, here I am not debating what is right or wrong with how history shaped us into what we are today. For a moment, think about everything you have. You probably have a phone or tablet. You live in a building, maybe a house with your parents.
Where did it all come from?
Was it a part of the town's heritage?
Is there some sign of the old occupants?
Over the years, friends and family have found pieces of history. Construction work did not always bring headaches of lead paint and mold. We've found letters. Invitations. Pieces of people's lives in the words they wrote decades before. For a moment, you can imagine what kind of life these people had, their emotions, beliefs, anything! Even if you look at the decisions of kings and queens, you'd find personal logic involved.
This is where most of my ideas come from. I make no secret of it. The past is the inspiration of much of what I see, not just behind my stories, but today as well. Margaret Atwood had done the same. In The Handmaid's Tale, she placed together the worst elements of humanity at the time and created a dystopian society, which we face in many corners.
Don't get the past take you down. Learn from it. Study it. You can view it any way you like. Just do not harm anyone and put down your bias.
Namaste!