One of the most exciting things for a writer is when the ideas flood in. I’m thrilled to say that I’ve been having that kind of creative fever with one more story set in ancient Ireland. This one will make a trilogy.

I took the photo above when I had just stepped away from the heart of my trilogy, the Bohonagh Stone Circle in southern Ireland near the small town of Rosscarbery. It’s the sacred Golden Eagle Circle for my fictional clan. I glanced back to see it one more time before I left on my last visit, wondering if I would ever see it again. This image with the powerful clouds nearly took my breath away.

I’ve been living virtually in ancient Ireland for some time now as I set my stories in that enchanting place. Why do I love Ireland so much? Because it’s like home but with cool ancient stuff? I recently posted comparative pictures on Facebook, posing that question.

There’s this, below, one of Ireland’s back roads, a short walk from the wonderful Rosalithir B&B where I stay. The stone circle on the skyline isn’t quite visible in the shot.

And next, below, the hill above my house. Someone mentioned that I simply had to imagine the castles and ruins on my hill.

So maybe there’s some inspiration right outside my door.

I sent book two to my agent last week. She has book one already. Yesterday I wrote the first four pages of the third in the trilogy to see how my new thoughts looked on the page. I’ll stop now and follow my usual process. I’m an outliner, so I’ll outline. I already have the storyline, the list of scenes I use to track it, and I’ve organized my many notes in the order of that storyline. So from that I’ll do the outline, which for book two took three weeks. And from the outline I’ll write the first draft.

Things will shift. New ideas will come. That always happens. But it’s real now. I feel the distress of my protagonist, her hopes, her fears. I’m beginning to know the other players. It’ll be pure delight for me to step back into her world, that enchantment of Ireland. And! Another amazing place–the exotic Greek Isle of Crete–long before it was Greece. But the center is Ireland. I call it Éire, an older name for Ireland, if not as old as my story, which begins in 713 B.C.

Then with the conclusion of the third in the trilogy I’ll turn my focus to the rest of the collection, which will be a saga of prequels about the ancestors of my characters in the trilogy.

In the photo below, it’s their sacred circle close-up, where they come to dance and bring the sky and earth together, or to find quiet and connection. And more.

And below, from the southern stone to the sea. Note how the slant of the stone’s top echoes the slant of the gap to the blue water.

And down to the sea below their village, where my new protagonist was shocked as a child by how cold the water was.