A Sacred Site

I entered a contest after I wrote Knight of Runes, not with hopes of winning, which would have been awesome, but rather for feedback. More than anything, I wanted feedback.

I did very well in the contest actually. Well, according to two of the three judges anyway. The swing in the third set of scores was, well that's a blog for another day. Suffice it to say, I placed well but didn’t win. But I did get the feedback. Awesome!

My story is a time travel. Our heroine says the right words, carries the correct talisman, and is standing in the right spot. The constellation of events transports her back in time 400 years. I set the magic place at Stonehenge.  I know I took some ‘poetic’ license. The great stones now stand protected behind a fence. No longer can visitors walk around them.  

One judge noted that she lived near some great stones that were about as old as Stonehenge and had no barriers. The stones stand proudly amidst the village of Avebury, Wiltshire County in southern England.

Avebury is impressive. The henge is made up of sets of standing stones in set patterns surrounded by a ditch and bank. While erosion and vandalism, to say nothing of religious persecution (even for a stone), has reduced the henge, it remains breathtaking. Construction at Avebury started about 3000 B.C., when the central part of the henge, the Cove, was built. Archeologists estimate this to be about the same time that the first stones at Stonehenge were set in place. Construction of the Avebury henge moved outward and lasted for several centuries finishing with the a great circles that define its border. Within the larger circle, sitting side by side are two smaller circles. The outermost circle covers almost 29 acres with a circumference of almost 1 mile. It is the largest stone circle in Europe and the best known prehistoric site in Britain. 

These circles are much larger than the more famous Stonehenge. As a matter of fact, Stonehenge would fit into the outer stone circle at Avebury around 130 times.

 In the early Saxon period, about 600 A.D., a small settlement was built that was went inside and outside the henge. It is surmised that the settlers thought it a semi-fortified area. A Benedictine church and priory were built in 1114 A.D. Later in the 12th century, the church suppressed pagan rituals. The more prominent stones were given names associated with the devil. Many of the stones were toppled and buried. Today, a large portion of village still resides inside the Avebury circle. 

The Cove is the area of the henge where Rebeka, my heroine, is drawn into the time portal.  Like the rest of the henge, it’s been a long held belief that the stones represent male and female characteristics. A male scientist must have done this designation as male stones are long and thin while the female is short and square. The two surviving primary stones at the Cove are perfect examples.  I thought the Cove the perfect place for Rebeka’s adventure to begin. 

Where does your favorite adventure begin? 

Old Town ~ Where San Diego really began!

The book I'm currently working on takes place in 1888. Although much of it takes place in New San Diego, there are still parts that take place in Old Town.

Here, the San Diego River coursed by on its way to empty into the harbor where tall sails from sailing ships pierced the sky. Here, one main plaza and street bisected the small town of low red-tiled roofs and adobe buildings. A few stunted trees fought to survive in the dusty yards. A newspaper office, cantina, school house, Wells Fargo & Company, a Catholic church—built with wood transported down from the mountains or brought by boat from northern California.

It always helps me to visit the place that I'm writing about--catching the scent of the ocean breeze and the sagebrush, the warmth of the February sun against the cool shade, and the cry of the gulls--helps to infuse my writing with authenticity.



Old Town is one of my favorite places to go in San Diego. The scent of spicy Mexican food hovers in the air at meal-times which makes it nearly impossible not to purchase a churro or burritos. I can just hear the stomp of a bored burro as it waits for its owner tied outside the Colorado House, or hear a busy mother taking a moment to yell down the street after her children "Cuidado!" (Be Careful!)

It's difficult to imagine such an inauspicious beginning to a city that now sparkles like a jewel with its skyscrapers, pristine beaches, and miles of highway.

Do you live near a historic district? One that sparks your imagination of what it must have been like hundreds of years ago? If you could, would you want to time travel back to that time?