The Pomegranate Tree

Since the release of my first book, The Pomegranate Tree, people have been asking me how I managed to keep all my research together, as well as what sort of program I used for the actual writing. It was quite an interesting process so I thought I’d share it.

Writing Platform

By the time I had worked out the plot lines, my characters and where the story would be set, I realised I required more than just a note pad or a document file. I needed to find some way of keeping everything under one umbrella, so to speak. It was at this point that I was introduced to Scrivener, which I believe to be the most amazing writing platform (no, this is not an endorsement — just my opinion).

The beauty of Scrivener is that everything you write and research is all together, not spread across several files and includes different formats or layouts for different writing styles. For the novelist, in addition to the section for your actual chapters, there are a sub-sections for characters and their biographies, for research notes, for general information – in fact you can have as many sections as necessary.

This meant that I was able to keep tabs of everything very easily. Every time I introduced a new character, I added it to my list along with any pertinent background information. It could be as simple as their name, but could extend to what they looked like, their role in the story, what their jobs were and so on. In the modern world, this often covered both the character’s work as part of the excavation team and what they did in their regular life. In the ancient world it was more related to how the character fitted into the hierarchy of the Zealot enclave. In this way I built up short back stories which not only helped while I was writing The Pomegranate Tree but has also proved very useful for the sequels.

The next step was to correlate as much general information about Masada and its surrounds as I felt necessary. Not only its history, but also the excavations and how the citadel looks today. Names of local towns, even flora and fauna. ‘The Pomegranate Tree’ also mentions a visit to the Dead Sea, so it was important for me to find out what it had to offer; such as the resorts and tourist attractions, as well as its distance from Masada and whether it was a place the archaeologists could travel to with relative ease.

Ancient Cultures

Then there was research into every day life in ancient Judaea. I looked into their traditions and laws, clothing, food and medicine — most especially medicine. Having decided that my Hannah of ancient Masada was going to be a healer, I needed to understand what techniques were used; the treatments that were available and what medicines, ointments and balms could be created, mixed and dispensed.

I discovered that Jewish physicians were not only highly trained, but also extremely well regarded throughout the known civilised world – and have continued to be so throughout history. What amazed me was the number of essential oils, herbs, plant, roots, minerals and mineral extracts that had healing properties, proving to be most efficacious. Many of these were available and accessible to people in ancient Judaea and those that weren’t easily obtained, could be acquired from merchants travelling the trading routes through the desert.

Once I had started down the track of researching, it kept piling up. Archaeological techniques, how any finds might be treated, preserved or conserved in such an isolated environment. Understanding ancient funeral rituals and marriage rituals the list went on. I know my book is a work of fiction, but I wanted to be sure that, as far as possible, anything I wrote about was as close to actuality as possible.

Funnily enough, I enjoyed doing the research as much as I enjoyed the writing. Some things I knew about, others I had a vague awareness of, but much was completely new to me and connected me to my story and characters in ways I did not anticipate.

Being able to have all this information at my fingertips, so to speak, meant that instead of having to keep searching through piles of papers and documents, I could just go to the relevant file within the project. Okay then – my research was neatly organised into one platform; I had my idea, I had my characters and I had gathered a huge amount of background material – now all I had to do was make it work.

Oh & I’m always happy to answer any questions about my writing process – chaotic though it may be!

Ok, I had an idea – that’s great – but how did I turn this into a story? How did I go from jottings in a notebook to The Pomegranate Tree? How did I create characters that I believed in? That others would believe in? My plot line should include all those things I researched – the ambush, the massacre, the Roman army and the woman who lived. Then within that plot line I wanted a romance, no, not just one – two – one in the modern era and one on ancient Masada. I needed to choose names, come up with back-stories for my characters and I had to find a solid reason why someone would suddenly decide to travel to Masada. Even though it is close to the Dead Sea, it’s still quite isolated.

Characters turned out to be quite easy. I based them, loosely, on people I know, but only described them enough for the reader to build up their own picture, preferring to leave something to the imagination.

Now for the story. While researching the history of Masada, I came across an article about some skeletal remains that had been discovered under a pile of debris on the lower tier of the Hanging Palace. Initially assumed to be one of the Zealots, further examination has suggested that it may well have been one of the Roman soldiers killed in the ambush of AD66. This peaked my interest and I started to play with the notion that one or two soldiers might have survived the rebel attack and were discovered some time later, badly wounded. Rather than being summarily killed however, the soldiers were treated and then held as captives to be used as bargaining tools should the need arise. All well and good, but how were they cared for? Who would treat their injuries? These men were an enemy; the Zealots would more likely have preferred to finish them off.

Enter my ancient heroine. Choosing to call her Hannah, meaning favour or grace, I decided that she would not be a typical Hebrew woman. A single woman, brought to Masada by her brother, she had been trained in the art of healing by an indulgent uncle, himself a great physician. Holding a unique status in the burgeoning community at the fortress, she would be central to the survival of the Roman soldiers.

So – now we have settled that problem, another arose – why would my modern heroine, also called Hannah, visit Masada? She receives a ruby clasp, a surprise birthday present from her grandmother, who died long ago, the accompanying letter telling her that it was a gift from a grateful solider at Masada. Hannah decided to try to trace its origins and, by sheer coincidence (hmm) her best friend, male – of course – is already going to the fortress on an archaeological dig.

Once on Masada, Hannah begins to have dreams or visions about the ambush and its aftermath. She realises she is seeing the events as they unfold through the eyes of her ancient counterpart. At the same time, while assisting on the dig, she finds artefacts that link her to the past. Artefacts that she, or rather her ancestor, has discarded or lost.

All well and good, now we needed the magic, something that would connect these two women, merging them into one, without either of them physically travelling through time (I did say I wanted it to be plausible). I also wanted anyone who read this book to believe in the love these two couples shared, hoping that they had a chance of living happily ever after.

So – how about this best friend who has travelled with her, accepts that what Hannah is experiencing is real and not her imagination and, that this same best friend has loved her for a long time. Then maybe allow one of the Roman soldiers to fall in love with the Hebrew woman who is treating him – a forbidden love and one that could have fatal consequences. Finally, I just had to arrange for Hannah to slip through time and then add a dash of rebellion, a jealous would-be suitor, an avenging army and one woman in love with two men across millennia. What on earth could go wrong?