Hello everyone!
I am super excited to report that in a mere 12 days, I will be going on my dream trip: a personalized tour of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales! I am fully planning to post the tales each day of my intrigues and escapades in all of our exciting destinations, and I'm thrilled to be able to share all of my adventures!
Of course, I made sure that there were plenty of bookstores, teashops, and historical and writer-y things in the itinerary to revel in, so for anyone who's as big a history and book nut as I am, this will be glorious.
We will also be visiting some of my family history sites, and I can tell you that there is nothing cooler than to stand where your ancestors stood– one man in particular about whom I hope to find more information happened to have been a merchant navy seaman, and is actually the inspiration for one of the characters in my current novel. In the same spirit of all things naval, I will also hopefully get that chance while we pass through Portsmouth to tour the Admiral Horatio Nelson's H.M.S. Victory, the original flagship that won the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and which is sitting now in dry dock for tours. And of course, while we are in London, I will try to squeeze in a visit to the Charles Dickens Museum & Teashop. As anyone who knows me knows, I absolutely love Charles Dickens, and there's just something about seeing the old-fashioned writing desk of one of the greats that just makes me squeal a little with excitement. :) The Welsh town Hay-on-Wye, famous for it's literary festivals (which I'm sad to say is not during the time I am going) and it's castle bookshop, is also on the list, along with Cardiff, Bath, Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Stirling (which may or may not have been the inspiration for the name of another character ;) ).
Until then, happy writing!
