A huge part of a writer’s job is to create word pictures. We try to describe a room or a house or a village in such vivid detail that readers can see them, too. We transport you there, so you can smell the dirty socks in the bedroom or the aroma of bread baking inside the house; you’re tempted to sneeze as you inhale the dirt on the dusty village street. Whenever I research a story I take plenty of notes and photographs to help me recall what I’ve experienced and recreate it in word pictures.
But I’ve faced a big challenge in writing my latest series of books, The Restoration Chronicles. These three novels take place 500 years before Christ—and I don’t have a time machine to see what life was like back then! I did make several trips to Israel so I could describe the lush, rolling green hills around Jerusalem; the stark beauty of the Judean wilderness; the distant snow-covered peak of Mt. Hermon. But what did the houses look like? The villages? How did people cook—and for that matter, what did they eat?
One of the places I discovered while researching in Israel was the excavated village of Katzrin in the Golan Heights. This typical Jewish town has been partially reconstructed for modern visitors and outfitted with the household items and farm implements that people would have used every day. It was inhabited during a slightly later time period than my books, but it still offers a peek into what everyday life might have been like for my characters.
These are of the remains of the village synagogue. It was the place where people gathered together, studied scripture and prayed. Like most synagogues of this time, it was built facing Jerusalem.
One of the main storylines in The Restoration Chronicles is how God’s people labored to rebuild Jerusalem and God’s temple. This example of an ancient house under construction shows the tools and methods my characters would have used.
This picture was taken inside a typical home and shows the main room, used for living, dining, and sleeping. That platform hanging from the ceiling is where people put their food so the mice couldn’t get it. (And maybe it discouraged midnight snacking?)
This is my son Benjamin climbing down the ladder from the loft where the parents might have slept for privacy.
And this is the hearth where the women cooked the meals. I’m feeling grateful for my stove and microwave, aren’t you? 
Benjamin, my mother, and I are demonstrating an olive press, squeezing the oil out of the olives to use for cooking and lamplight.
So, do any of you want to go back in time and live in Katzrin? I admit I’m grateful for all my modern gadgets. By the way, if you want to read my word pictures describing daily life in 500 B.C., the second book in my Restoration Chronicles series will be out this month. It’s called Keepers of the Covenant. I hope you enjoy it.
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And all that manual labor done in the horrid heat. No thanks…I think I prefer the 21st century even though it’s not without it’s own challenges and perils! Fascinating though to think of all they accomplished without any kind of modern conveniences. Moving those gigantic stones alone without a bulldozer or crane is mindboggling!
I know what you mean, Kav. I’ve always wondered how they moved such huge stones.
Lynn I really enjoyed your Post and loved the pics!
Just trying to visualise( and failing miserably)what your office might have looked like ,had you lived 500 years before Christ! 🙂
Maybe a pointed stick ,a tablet and a few hieroglyphic,s instead of a computer! LOL
Lol! I don’t think I would have had time to write 500 years before Christ. I would have spent all my time trying to start the fire and baking bread and plucking chickens. I’m SO thankful for modern conveniences.
How very interesting !!
Glad you liked it. It was interesting to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.
Ilove your photos and story. It helps to read some historical fiction and let it helpme to step into the lives of real historical characters. We don’t always understand why Biblical characters do and say certain things. Its great to see your research. They lived such different lives.
I know! Their lives were very different, yet I think deep inside, we would find we have a lot in common–family, faith, and maybe laughter.
Lynn!!! Please keep writing biblical fiction!!!! I too went to Israel this past year (for the first time). At that time I was in the middle of your chronicles of the kings series and It made the scripture come to LIFE!!! it is so meaningful to me. PLEASE continue!!!
I agree with Kirby! The chronicles of the kings have been the most powerful books in my life! I read them once a year to rejuvenate my excitement for how God has worked in the past and is working in my life. I still get goosebumps making the journey with Jerusha, when the tunnels meet, and when the Assyrians are defeated. How easily I forget the great things He has done.
I am reading Pilgrimage right now and am looking forward to continuing the Restoration Chronicles series. Thank you Lynn!!