In Stray Drop, the house plays a pretty critical role in the story, it being where most of the action takes place. Adventurous, I know, but my heroine’s a house slave, so . . . you know. I’ve spent a lot of time studying houses of the day. Thank you to all those diligent archeologists out there who have uncovered some for me!

What did I learn? That in Israel in Jesus’ day, much of the household was run on the roof. The rooftop was usually on multiple levels, each section of the house being a varying height, and it’s where people did the weaving, the cooking, the everything. For some reason, I hadn’t envisioned this. I had assumed there would be something like a porch or portico, something that would provide shade. But apparently they went outside for the light, so . . . this is why I shouldn’t assume. The actual kitchen was very small, and most of the cooking was done out there where the heat wouldn’t build up. Makes sense, huh?

And of course, it’s totally different in Rome. I doubled my work by moving the plot of Stray Drop to Rome for the second half of the book. Because while some things are the same, others are definitely NOT. Their house is built around the courtyard, with a back garden. And the interior is far different, too, each room having one purpose only.

Speaking of one purpose, my son seems to think his right now ought to be running into his sister’s room and waking her up, so I had better get off the computer. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

(for a sketch of this, go to this site and scroll down to the housing section)