The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

So, today I’m fascinated with places like Egypt, those not far from the Mediterranean, but consist of sandstone buildings and sandy deserts not far away from urbanized areas.

My fictitious country is one that had seen many occupiers, the British, the French, and the Russians, all after leaving a Noraville legacy behind, the most noticeable, the French.

Perhaps, once it had an outpost for the French Foreign Legion.

It certainly had an influence on the people’s names and customs.

The most recent posted occupier, the Russians, was not so much an ousting as it was the installation of a Russia-friendly regime, mostly for keeping their stranglehold over the country’s natural resources.

Human Rights, of course, and in practice, are very low on the agenda, whilst the privileged few, from the President down, work tirelessly to maintain their stranglehold on everything.

But like all oppressive regimes, there’s always an opposition that is well-funded and aided by the last occupying countries’ enemies.

And, perhaps, in their haste to try and appear like a benevolent regime, their attempts at hosting a human rights conference might just be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Just at a time when the country was filled with foreign diplomats, spies, and other assorted espionage agents lurking in the shadows, their motives and agendas unclear.

All of these elements make up a very good backdrop to the story.

And just to add to the mystery, I’ve decided on having the catacombs, under the old city, a place people can easily get lost in, are rumoured to have people hiding there, and are part of the military regime’s torture apparatus.

Then there’s the scenic part, where visitors can visit caverns and water holes, even an underground river, providing substance to the mythical part of the land.

This story just gets more interesting every day!