"An Inspiring Adventure" by Megan O'Russell
Our author Megan O'Russell recently toured Europe and she is sharing her experiences with us. Enjoy reading her travel blog.
AN INSPIRING ADVENTURE
I have terrible wanderlust. I can’t quite remember when it started, but it’s been going strong for my entire adult life. From the murderous mountains of Alaska to the serene seascapes of Thailand, I always want to see what’s around the corner, start planning the next adventure, start scraping pennies for another plane ticket.
My most recent adventure: Greece and Italy.
It was absolutely amazing!
From visiting the Monasteries of Meteora to hiking the Samaria Gorge, every day brought a new breathtaking experience.
And you know the coolest part about traveling when you’re an author? Getting to decide which parts of your journey should weave its way into your writing.
Like the graffiti in Athens. Beautiful art or a telltale sign of a generation on the brink of breaking?
The walls in Athens are covered in graffiti. Houses, business, garage doors, no wall seems safe from spray paint. Some of it is nothing more than squiggles from a spray can. Some of it is absolutely beautiful art, worthy of display in a gallery.
We even stumbled across one marriage proposal.
And the hidden monastery in Meteora… the amount of beauty and grace in the simple structure is astounding.
How many different ways could you work that beautiful building into a story?
Is it a training ground for young wizards? A stronghold in the zombie apocalypse? The hideout of a millionaire murderer?
I spent two nights on the beautiful island of Santorini. The middle of the island sank after a terrible volcano eruption, leaving a caldera in its place.
What secrets are hidden deep under the water? What happened to the people who lived on the island when the volcano erupted? What would it be like to have your entire island swallowed today?
Those are the sorts of questions that swim through my mind with each outstanding new experience. Who knows which moments will work their way into my writing? It could be years before the sunset over the caldera makes an appearance, and one of my characters is going to have to ride a donkey up a mountain at some point in my writing career. But my files of beauty grow with every new adventure, and my wanderlust is never satisfied. The number of amazing things to see and stories to write compare in their infinity.
So I’m already looking forward. Where will the next adventure lead me? What will the next story be?
Megan O’Russell is the author of the young adult fantasy series The Tethering, and Nuttycracker Sweet, a Christmas novella. Megan’s short stories can also be found in several anthologies, including Athena’s Daughters 2, featuring women in speculative fiction. Megan is a professional performer who has spent time on stages across the country and is the lyrist for Second Chances: The Thrift Shop Musical, which received its world premiere in 2015.
When not on stage or behind a computer, Megan can usually be found playing her ukulele or climbing a mountain with her fantastic husband.
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