Where in the world am I?

Where in the world am I?

I’m traveling the world this week- -Israel; Jordan; Italy. My friend David Bernstein, the young hero of Small-g City, is taking me there. The year is 2025 and David is on a quest, searching for the identity of his father. David is immortal but his father wasn’t. How do you find a guy who’s been dead for 2,000 years?

Beyond Big-G City is the working title for the third book in the Small-g City series (book two due from WolfSinger Publications late this summer!). I finished the first draft last Friday. This summer I’ll work through several more drafts, refining plot, characters and setting.

Setting, for me, is the tricky part. I’ve never been to Europe or the Middle East. My nose has been buried in books and pressed to the laptop screen, searching for information. Photos, though static, are helpful and the Internet has video footage of many of the world’s wonders, but there is some information images can’t supply.

How does the air smell in the Capuchin Crypts of Rome? Is it cold or stuffy? How high are the ceilings as you pass down the galleries, looking into rooms decorated with human skulls and bones? How heavy does the late August sun feel at mid-day in Petra, Jordon? Can you hear the echoes of ghosts in ancient tombs carved from rosy sandstone hills? When you pass down the high-walled gorge called The Siq, do you feel as if it will close in on you? How does the sand feel under your feet? How many tourists do you compete with? Where do they come from? Is it best to hire a donkey for part of the trek?

David Bernstein has unlimited funds; I have a library card. We soldier on as best we can.

How about you? Have you visited Tiberias or Masada in Israel? Ever walked among the carved rock tombs in Petra, Jordan? Have you toured the Vatican Museums or the catacombs in Rome? If you’ve had the fortune to do any of these things, I hope you’ll go to the contact page at this website and tell me about it. This is one way people get mentioned in the “acknowledgement” section of books.

If you’re traveling this summer (physically, mentally or virtually) I wish you a safe journey and hope the change of scenery brings you joy.

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