Bingo

All the book research has paid off. This weekend I identified the main character for Book 2. I wanted her to be the daughter or niece of an artist who worked for the French court; I was thinking I would have to invent such a person to encompass all the aspects I needed for the plot. Then Sunday I found reference to a prominent artist's daughter; her dates work perfectly for what I need. Even better, her brother is an artist, so I have the rivalry element I was looking for. The best is that little is known about her (as is true about most women of the time), so my imagination can have free reign (within the bounds of probability; I've blogged before about my ethical hesitations in fictionalizing persons from history). There's even a coincidence of names; her true name is one of the ones I was considering for a fictional character. It's all too good to be true...serendipity at its best.

So now I'm all set. Let the writing begin....