Day eleven of the ‘advent calendar’ focusing on some of the historical/genealogical sources that I used in the writing of Barefoot on the Cobbles.

Getting the timing correct is important when writing an historical novel. Firstly, I needed to make sure I knew the day of the week when certain events took place. There a number of perpetual calendars online but my favourite is Time and Date. Not only can you create calendars for any year of your choice but you can also check the dates of movable feasts such as Easter. In the early twentieth century, traditional Bank Holidays were not all at the times of year that we now recognise. Particularly as I was writing about a tourist area, it was crucial that I acknowledged this. This site also gives phases of the moon. I was not looking for the chance to re-create romantic walks by the light of a full moon but the moon governs the tides, which was important to my story. Family historians can have fun with this site, working out what day of the week great-granny was born.

More information about Barefoot on the Cobbles can be found here. Copies are available at various events and at all my presentations. You can order from Blue Poppy Publishing or directly from me. Kindle editions are available for those in the UK, USA, Australasia and Canada.