Today I found a tiny feather on the deck table where I had breakfast. Suddenly a cover image for my next historical novel (a sequel to: At the Concord of the Rivers|10084482]) surfaced from my subconscious: a quill pen. I had been puzzling to identify the over-arching theme. Clips from journals of two characters have always been at the beginning of chapters, but now I know that the contain the kernel of the plot: the mystical power of the written word to connect the characters. Lesson re-learned: remember to give my subconscious time and space.