The inspiration for my new novel, LAMBS AMONG WOLVES came while I was on vacation. Several vacations, in fact, over several years.
The first trip was to Paris. Whether you are religious or not, two of the sites on your Parisian must see list are the Sacre Coeur basilica and the Sainte Chapelle church. Sacre Coeur is an enormous white church on a hill overlooking the city. The people of France built it after a disastrous war with Germany as a symbol of their faith in the future.
Sainte Chapelle Cathedral was built in the 17th century by King Louis to house his latest purchase, the purported Crown of Thorns that adorned the head of Jesus at his crucifixion. Sainte Chapelle is the ultimate tribute to stained glass. It covers every wall and soars over a hundred feet in the air. In dim sunlight it is beautiful, in bright sunlight it is breathtaking.
The second trip was to the south of France, stupidly scheduled during winter. I visited the old walled city of Avignon and learned the history of the popes and later antipopes that called it home. I also visited Arles and saw the old churches and great museum that city had to offer.
The third trip was to Rome. Five years of high school Latin and the accompanying history lessons that came with it still didn’t prepare me for the amazing antiquities that seemed to stand at every corner of the city. The Forum, the Coliseum, The Baths of Diocletian, Vatican City. I don’t know how long it takes to see everything, but I can tell you it isn’t one week.
I thought how great it would be to have a story that was set in all these places, some kind of horror/thriller/mystery that had the heroes follow a trail across Europe. The Catholic Church was prominent in all these locations, and would make a great thread to sew the places together.
What evolved was LAMBS AMONG WOLVES, a story where THE EXORCIST meets THE DA VINCI CODE. A rogue exorcist priest and an American teen get caught up in a plot where demons are possessing people and stealing holy relics from churches. As the heroes put the pieces together, the stakes get higher and the danger more intense. All the locations discussed above ended up being setting for chapters in the story
So after you read the book and you find yourself with a lot of money and time on your hands, you can follow Father Jack and Cyndi Fisher’s fictional journey across Europe in the real world. Every location they are in, save the private residences, are actual places you can visit. Churches, graveyards, and even the sewers of Rome if you can hook up with the urban explores who go down there. (A Paris sewer tour is also available, much less dangerous, and will give you the gist of it without donning protective gear.)
Behind the wall tours of Vatican City are available and you can walk where Cardinal Travanti walked between his residence and Casa of Pius IV, but you need to book those tours well in advance.
So if any of the places Father Jack and Cyndi visit intrigue you, book yourself a visit. Will you be beset by the demonically possessed? I hope not, but I make no guarantees.
You can buy LAMBS AMONG WOLVES at Amazon and anywhere else books are sold.
