What does an author do when she's between stories? Most often she keeps writing! But those are the moments when I find my best sources of inspiration, when I venture out into the world to discover new things.
I'm getting into the mind frame of my next character, who works with plants and trees and such, so what better place to visit than an arboretum? Actually, there is another place that serves as inspiration for my new setting, and I'm also planning a return trip there, but they don't have trolls.
Yes, trolls.
On a very warm day in the middle of the summer, my dear husband agreed to accompany me on a troll hunt. The arboretum covers 1,700 acres of land filled with trails and activities. To complete the troll hunt, we would have had to find six trolls and cover approximately six miles of trails. Some people abbreviate the miles by driving to parking lots that are close by, but as someone who enjoys hiking through dells and glens and meadows and trails, I opted to hoof it. We didn't cover six miles, and we only unearthed four of the trolls. Guess that means I have to make a return trip!
We found an aggressive troll who threw boulders at cars, a sneaky troll who lays in wait for unsuspecting prey to stumble into his trap, and a troll hiding behind a tree. Our fourth troll was actually the troll hideout, complete with giant toothbrush, cooking pot, basket and a wood-frame teepee. Everything in their camp was oversized.
 |
| Troll Trap! |
Did I find the inspiration I was looking for? Yes! The hedge maze promises to figure prominently in Epitaph 7. The trolls? Not so much inspiration, but what a fun idea. I loved coming around the corner on a trail and finding a troll hiding in the trees.
 |
| Troll stew? |
.jpg)