The Memory Bank – Prisoners of the Prism – Sources of Inspiration
Sources of Inspiration 
Here you will find links to online sources of information about historical details and events that inspired the story. Please note that all links were fully operational at the time of the book’s completion. For The Memory Bank books, I was inspired by how people often have casts made of a beloved pet’s paw made when their faithful friend passes away.
I then remembered how death masks have been created of notable people throughout history, well before the invention of photography, so that we know what some of these people actually looked like and in some cases the mask closely resembles the person’s face as portrayed in a painting. The ideas began to converge.
For the novels, I speculated how in the modern era, masks could be made of a person’s face and this would then preserve their memories for their family to see on a screen after the person’s death, just like viewing photographs or watching home movies. I was also aware of masks worn at carnivals in Venice and have always wanted to somehow include them in a story. Once The Memory Bank books began to be written, it seemed like the perfect fit.
Death Masks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_mask
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240209-the-lost-art-of-the-death-mask
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/death-masks-famous-people/
https://www.biography.com/history-culture/famous-death-masks
Napoleon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_mask_of_Napoleon
Marie Antoinette
https://www.royaltynowstudios.com/blog/marieantoinette
Mary, Queen of Scots
https://www.medievalists.net/2024/02/face-of-mary-queen-of-scots-revealed/
Oliver Cromwell
https://www.hiddenhistory.ie/collection-items/oliver-cromwells-death-mask
Carnival of Venice
