Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #27!!!!

Welcome to stop #27 of the 2016 Fall Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! I'm Ruth Logan Herne and I'm thrilled to be hosting my friend and fellow bestselling author Melanie Dickerson! I love Mel and her books! Now here's the thing... there are lots of stops on this hunt. If you get lost... if you take a wrong turn through and enchanted fairytale-type wood... Go back to the start right here: Lisa Bergren's Site, Stop #1!

Don't rush... The hunt goes on all weekend, and we're delighted you came by! Enjoy yourself, check out the extra embedded contests and above all... have fun!

From the amazing Melanie Dickerson, author of "The Silent Songbird"... and so many other wonderful books!

Research: How I Included a Real Medieval Castle, a King and Church Graffiti in My Book

The Silent Songbird is set in England in the late 1300s. Part of the plot is that the heroine, Evangeline, is the ward of King Richard II, who was only about 18 or 19 during the time of my story. My plot dictates that the story begins at one of the king’s residences. So I had to do some research on King Richard II’s castles and palaces, and I ended up choosing Berkhamsted Castle as the setting for the story.

The only problem—or is it a good thing?—is that the real Berkhamsted Castle is just a ruin, and little is known about what it actually looked like in the late 1300s.

About all that’s left of Berkhamsted Castle today.

One of two moats that once surrounded Berkhamsted Castle.

I found a wonderful site on the internet by The Berkhamsted Local History and Museum Society, https://berkhamsted-castle.org.uk which answered many of my questions, but since I did not want to violate any known facts about the castle, I ended up emailing the Society Chairman, Mrs. Jenny Sherwood. She was a delightful correspondent and kindly answered all my questions. I was so grateful for her help, and it lent an element of excitement for me to use an actual English castle.

And since I was using King Richard II as a character in my novel, I wanted to get everything right about him, from his hair color to his personality. I hope I managed to come close to the real person.

Richard II, a very young king whose life ended tragically.

It was exciting to put a real face to an English king who has not been treated very kindly by historians, though the opinion of him has swung back toward favorability in the last few decades. I found him both likeable and his history fascinating.

These were people and places I already knew I wanted to use, but I also found something I wasn’t looking for: Medieval church graffiti.

While sitting in the library waiting for my daughter, I picked up an Archeology magazine and read an article about how Medieval people used to carve their prayers into the walls of the church or on the baptismal font. If your loved one was setting sail on a ship, you might carve a picture of that ship on the wall along with the date they left, asking God to keep them safe.

Or if your family was sick with the plague, you might carve their initials into the wall along with the date, a way of getting God to “see” your prayer.

I was so touched by this that I incorporated it into a couple of scenes in my book when my heroine is sad and desperate and searching for answers.

Thanks for reading this post about the research for The Silent Songbird, and thanks to Ruthy for hosting me! Enjoy the Scavenger Hunt!

Buy The Silent Songbird on:

AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
CHRISTIAN BOOK dot COM

Information you need to complete the hunt, darlings!

Here's your clue:  "in the"....  And your next stop is Melanie Dickerson's site RIGHT HERE!!!!  But first, jump in on the extra contest below!

 I'm so glad you've come by for the hunt, and I'm loving meeting all these folks! I'm running a separate contest for TWO copies of "Back in the Saddle" my first Double S Ranch western romance... 

Leave me a comment below, and if you sign up for my newsletter, I'll double your chances for the book.... And huge thanks for coming by today, for taking part in our scavenger hunt! Wishing you lots of luck, my friends... 

To be added to my newsletter list, you can either leave your e-mail below or send it to me at loganherne@gmail.com and I'll add you in... with the extra chance for Back in the Saddle!

Thanks so much for coming by.... for being part of the hunt and mostly for your appreciation and love for great Christian fiction! Have fun and best of luck to you!

Ruthy