Introduction
Hello! I will be updating this blog periodically with information on what inspired me to write the books you see on my website, and how I came across some of the themes and imagery that I explored in them. I will also be adding links to some other material that inspired me, as well as some contributions from other people whose thoughts I respect and admire.
For starters, I’d like to discuss the image attached to this post. I took this photo in 1980 of a wall in Loltún Cave, on the Yucatán Peninsula. This is the cave I was visiting when I bought the sculpture of Ix Chel that I use on the cover of Seduction of a Wanton Dreamer. (I discuss this incident on the Backstories page of the main website).The wall is quite large, perhaps eight by ten feet, and multi-colored because of the many different minerals that are present in it. I have not touched up the photo in any way.
This wall is significant for two reasons:
1) if you look closely, you will see handprints on the lighter areas in the center of the wall. According to the guide, these are prehistoric handprints planted there by people who used the cave as a shelter. (See Detail image.)
2) The cave was also used in the 1840s by Mayan rebels in their struggle against the central and provincial governments of Mexico. There is a complete and fascinating history of this struggle recounted in this Wikipedia article.
The cave and its history percolated a long time in my conscious and unconscious memories, and elements of that visit in 1980 have made their appearance in the novel, not only the cover but also in several places in the book itself.
Happy hunting!