I love stained glass windows. Everywhere I go I take photos of the coloured light that they shed on floors and walls. Here's an example from Liverpool cathedral, right outside my front door:
And another from the fabulous church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which I visited in September:
In Wolf Tide I wanted stained glass windows that were magically engineered to contain moving figures. I followed the thread of that idea to see where it went, and I found myself thinking that this could be part of University Library's ancient security system. The stained glass figures were supposed to be armed to protect the library. Over the centuries, though, they had fallen into disrepair. My heroine, Anabara, is employed by the university to sort the security problems out. For that she needs the help of a Fairy artisan. But he does a rather more thorough restoration job than she'd bargained for...
And another from the fabulous church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which I visited in September:
In Wolf Tide I wanted stained glass windows that were magically engineered to contain moving figures. I followed the thread of that idea to see where it went, and I found myself thinking that this could be part of University Library's ancient security system. The stained glass figures were supposed to be armed to protect the library. Over the centuries, though, they had fallen into disrepair. My heroine, Anabara, is employed by the university to sort the security problems out. For that she needs the help of a Fairy artisan. But he does a rather more thorough restoration job than she'd bargained for...
...And now an eerie
light gathered at the corridor mouth. Jingle,
jingle. Wind-chimes in a breeze. Oh dear God. An angel. I’m trapped. It’s over. Snick-snick-snick, the
peacock wings unfolded. It filled the archway. A sword in its hand. No escape.
She backed away. It advanced. She stopped. It stopped. She could hear herself
whimpering, couldn’t help herself. She cringed away again, it came on. And now
her back was against the door of the Stacks. Still it advanced. All lit up as
if by sunshine. A dozen colours spilled on to the walls and floor...
Exciting!
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