I used this fantastic historically rich dolmen as inspiration when creating my fictional abbey setting with its own dolmen on Sierra del Torcal for the suspense thriller, The Sacred Symbol and Elixa.
At the Newgrange Dolmen in Ireland, once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor.
There is no Abadía del Torcal except in my imagination and in my historical thrillers.
This image of a meteorite inspired the X stone crystals featured in all the books of The Torcal Trilogy. Elixa's story shows how it all started. How does she come across this meteorite stone and where? More importantly, what does it do? And how does it change her life?
When creating my ancient library in Elixa's story, I wanted arched windows where sunlight spills over the monks scribes similar to this library windows. Except my abbey does not have an animal skeleton hanging over it. But why arched windows? Because the original abbey building was built by Moors. When and why did they leave?
When creating my setting, high up on the Sierra del Torcal, with an abbey perched on the cliff's edge, I created a seperate chunk of rock called La Roca. In my mind, this is the passageway that leads to La Roca. What happens here one night? To whom?
I love old buildings and have used them in The Torcal Trilogy in different ways. I featured this Secret Passage in Elixa ...but where? And why? Find out in Elixa.
I found this image of an ancient book on Jabir ibn Hayyan and loved the idea of Elixa finding this book. Where does this happen? And how does she get there? More importantly, what impact does it have on her life?
There is a scene in Elixa where two medieval monks are praying for each other, similar to these monks in this lovely scriptorium. Why are they doing this? And what happens next? Find out in Elixa.
When Elixa goes into the wine cellar underneath the Abadía del Torcal, similar to this lovely yet creepy old cellar, she fears what she sees. Who is in there? And what are they doing? Find out in Elixa.
I featured this Alchemy of Happiness by Kimiya-yi sa'ādat in Elixa. And I describe this ancient book, but how can Elixa come across such a precious book? And where? Find out in Elixa.
I love old books and this image inspired the library of forbidden books my heroine finds. How does she find this ancient library? And where? What will happen if she tells the monks? Find out in Elixa.
Have you heard monks singing? They sound beautiful. Their voices are so serene and peaceful and you could easily sit for hours listening to them. But what happens the night the monks are singing in Abadía del Torcal? Why does it change their lives? Find out in Elixa.
I once worked in an old English mansion which had a wine cellar under the house. I loved it but it was pretty damn spooky! And so when setting the scenes for Elixa I wanted to use a wine cellar under the abbey. This image inspired my wine cellar scenes. What happens down there? Who or what is at the end of this tunnel in that spot of candlelight? And why will this beautiful yet sinister place give my readers the creeps? Find out in Elixa.
I love old libraries and wanted to feature one in Elixa's story. This image inspired one scene where Elixa bursts into the library looking for the abbott with something urgent to tell him. What news does she have? And how does it impact their lives? Find out in Elixa.
This is another medieval monk image that inspired the radical villain who conspires against Elixa. He is bald with a bushy beard. What does he do to Elixa and why? Find out in Elixa.
Most monks are good guys, but in my medieval thriller I wanted one radical monk to cause problems for my heroine. Who is this monk who gives Elixa grief? And what does he do to her? Find out in Elixa.
While looking for images for Elixa's cover, I spotted this lovely image of a medieval girl. As it is Sophia Myles playing Isolde I couldn't use it. What a pity! As she depicts the perfect Elixa. Maybe one day if Elixa becomes a film or telly series, Sophia will play Elixa!
This is my vision of Elixa. In medieval Spain, her blonde hair and blue eyes makes a radical monk accuse her of being like Eve who tempted Adam into sin. What does Elixa tempt the monk into doing?Find out in Elixa.
When I started looking for images of a medieval girl that would inspire the character description of Elixa, I spotted this girl. I love her cape and her mysterious expression, and that she looks brave enough to be out alone at night, but my Elixa would not have a ring in her nose. Also, Elixa is blonde and blue eyed which is why some people are suspicious of her. Why else do they suspect her of heresy? Find out in Elixa.
I really like this image as it creates intrigue and mystery, so when my character Elixa is condemned to burn at the stake, I first have the guard wrap her in ropes and then have a wicked old woman coming to paint her face like 'the devil she is' ... but of course Elixa is the opposite.
While writing Elixa I saw this lovely image of moonlight on water. It has a castle whereas my setting has an old abbey perched high on a mountain cliff, but it also has a lake. At that lake, my character sees a beam of moonlight on water, similar to this one.
This image is wonderfully inspiring to anyone who loves the moon and it's brilliant beams, especially full moon or even a blood moon. For one of my scenes where my character has stones falling from heaven, the moon shines a beam of light onto her. What does she discover at that very moment? And how does it effect the rest of her life? Find out in Elixa.

Grab your Free copy of Elixa - a historical thriller filled with conspiracy, heresy, the might of the medieval church, a mysterious Moor, alchemy, a love struggle and a touch of the supernatural. Try before you buy? If you'd like to see if you'll get your teeth into the story before you pre-order, grab your free sample chapters here

Buy Elixa here: http://getbook.at/elixa

When writing my medieval mystery thriller, Elixa, I was inspired by these images:

  • Sunlight Into Dolmen. Winter solstice at Newgrange would be a spectacular sight! I used this fantastic historically rich Dolmen as inspiration when creating my fictional abbey setting with its own dolmen on Sierra del Torcal for the suspense thriller, The Sacred Symbol, and Elixa. The abbey is the main setting for The Torcal Trilogy. Here is how I imagined the light coming into my dolmen tunnel, but this really is Newgrange in Ireland.
  • After Elixa witnesses an explosion on the moon (based on a real life event in 1178), she finds a secret cave hidden in the mountains where she lives. This image depicts the sun rising and shining into a dolmen at Newgrange in Ireland, but  in my fictional dolmen, I used the full moon. What happens when Elixa finds the Dolmen? And what does she discover hidden inside?
  • At the Newgrange Dolmen in Ireland, once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor. This alignment is too precise to be widely considered to be formed by chance. Professor M. J. O'Kelly was the first person in modern times to observe this event on December 21, 1967. The sun enters the passage through a specially contrived opening, known as a roofbox, directly above the main entrance. Although solar alignments are not uncommon among passage graves, Newgrange is one of few to contain the additional roofbox feature. The alignment is such that although the roofbox is above the passage entrance, the light hits the floor of the inner chamber. Today the first light enters about four minutes after sunrise, but calculations based on the precession of the Earth show that 5,000 years ago first light would have entered exactly at sunrise. Read the full article here: http://history-ireland.blogspot.com/2012/12/newgrange-winter-solstice.html
  • This fictional dolmen is also featured in The Sacred Symbol.
  • There is no Abadía del Torcal except in my imagination and in my historical thrillers. But this is how I imagined it to be sitting high up on top of a cliff of the magnificent mountain in Andalucia, the Sierra del Torcal. Although, my setting features more buildings and animal pens outside the fortress walls. What happens outside the walls? Will the character get away in time?
  • This image of a meteorite inspired the X stone crystals featured in all the books of The Torcal Trilogy. Elixa's story shows how it all started. How does she come across this meteorite stone and where? More importantly, what does it do? And how does it change her life?

  • When creating my ancient library in Elixa's story, I wanted arched windows where sunlight spills over the monk's scribes similar to these library windows. Except my abbey does not have an animal skeleton hanging over it. But why arched windows? Because the original abbey building was built by Moors. When and why did they leave?

  • When creating my setting, high up on the Sierra del Torcal, with an abbey perched on the cliff's edge, I created a separate chunk of rock called La Roca. In my mind, this is the passageway that leads to La Roca. What happens here one night? To whom?

  • When creating my setting, high up on the Sierra del Torcal, with an abbey perched on the cliff's edge, I created a separate chunk of rock called La Roca. In my mind, this is the passageway that leads to La Roca. What happens here one night? To whom?

  • I love old buildings and have used them in The Torcal Trilogy in different ways. I featured this Secret Passage in Elixa ...but where? And why? Find out in Elixa.

  • I found this image of an ancient book on Jabir ibn Hayyan and loved the idea of Elixa finding this book. Where does this happen? And how does she get there? More importantly, what impact does it have on her life?

  • There is a scene in Elixa where two medieval monks are praying for each other, similar to these monks in this lovely scriptorium. Why are they doing this? And what happens next? Find out in Elixa.

  • When Elixa goes into the wine cellar underneath the Abadía del Torcal, similar to this lovely yet creepy old cellar, she fears what she sees. Who is in there? And what are they doing? Find out in Elixa.

  • I featured this Alchemy of Happiness by Kimiya-yi sa'ādat in Elixa. And I describe this ancient book, but how can Elixa come across such a precious book? And where? Find out in Elixa.

  • I love old books and this image inspired the library of forbidden books my heroine finds. How does she find this ancient library? And where? What will happen if she tells the monks? Find out in Elixa.

  • I once worked in an old English mansion which had a wine cellar under the house. I loved it but it was pretty damn spooky! And so when setting the scenes for Elixa I wanted to use a wine cellar under the abbey. This image inspired my wine cellar scenes. What happens down there? Who or what is at the end of this tunnel in that spot of candlelight? And why will this beautiful yet sinister place give my readers the creeps? Find out in Elixa.

  • I love old libraries and wanted to feature one in Elixa's story. This image inspired one scene where Elixa bursts into the library looking for the abbott with something urgent to tell him. What news does she have? And how does it impact their lives? Find out in Elixa.

  • This is another medieval monk image that inspired the radical villain who conspires against Elixa. He is bald with a bushy beard. What does he do to Elixa and why? Find out in Elixa.

  • Most monks are good guys, but in my medieval thriller I wanted one radical monk to cause problems for my heroine. Who is this monk who gives Elixa grief? And what does he do to her? Find out in Elixa.

  • While looking for images for Elixa's cover, I spotted this lovely image of a medieval girl. As it is Sophia Myles playing Isolde I couldn't use it. What a pity! As she depicts the perfect Elixa. Maybe one day if Elixa becomes a film or telly series, Sophia will play Elixa!

  • If I can't have Sophia Myles as Elixa, this is my vision of Elixa. In medieval Spain, her blonde hair and blue eyes makes a radical monk accuse her of being like Eve who tempted Adam into sin. What does Elixa tempt the monk into doing? Find out in Elixa.

  • When I started looking for images of a medieval girl that would inspire the character description of Elixa, I spotted this girl. I love her cape and her mysterious expression, and that she looks brave enough to be out alone at night, but my Elixa would not have a ring in her nose. Also, Elixa is blonde and blue eyed which is why some people are suspicious of her. Why else do they suspect her of heresy? Find out in Elixa.

  • I really like this image as it creates intrigue and mystery, so when my character Elixa is condemned to burn at the stake, I first have the guard wrap her in ropes and then have a wicked old woman coming to paint her face like 'the devil she is' ... but of course Elixa is the opposite.

  • While writing Elixa I saw this lovely image of moonlight on water. It has a castle whereas my setting has an old abbey perched high on a mountain cliff, but it also has a lake. At that lake, my character sees a beam of moonlight on water, similar to this one. At that moment, something happens ... find out in Elixa, the prequel to The Torcal Trilogy.

  • This image is wonderfully inspiring to anyone who loves the moon and it's brilliant beams, especially full moon or even a blood moon. For one of my scenes where my character has stones falling from heaven, the moon shines a beam of light onto her. What does she discover at that very moment? And how does it effect the rest of her life? Find out in Elixa.

Free Chapters

Try before you buy? If you'd like to see if you'll get your teeth into the story before you pre-order, grab your free sample chapters here

The Torcal Trilogy
Elixa
Writing Inspiration