INSIDER INFORMATION

Dear Reader,

Like so many others, I adore Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael books and it always seemed to me that she had chosen a terrific period in which to set those delightful mysteries. Twelfth century England has it all: knights and castles; battles and sieges; all the bitterness and treachery that is inherent in civil war. Best of all, the historical records for this period are limited, which gives a fiction writer lots of room in which to operate.

So when HarperCollins asked me if I was interested in writing a series of historical mysteries for them, I was primed and ready. The twelfth century was my period. I had even collected an assortment of books on the English Middle Ages because I thought that one day I might write a book set during this time.

I always prepare to write a book by first conceiving the characters. In this case I needed to find a main character who would be interesting enough to keep my attention (not to mention the attention of my readers!) over the course of a series of books. I thought about all of the heroes in my previous books and one man stood out above all the rest. Arthur from THE ROAD TO AVALON.

Why not give Arthur another chance for a happy ending?

So was born Hugh de Leon, a young man who, like Arthur, grew up not knowing his true identity and who finds himself burdened with responsibilities he never dreamed he would have to shoulder. As I began to write the book, Hugh became vividly alive to me in his own identity, but the inspiration for his character was definitely Arthur.

I knew I could write a novel about the twelfth century. What I wasn't quite sure about was the mystery part of it. My chief interest is always character and it seemed to me that one must be very plot-oriented in order to write a mystery. However, as I actually got into the writing of the book, I was delighted (and relieved) to discover that the characters themselves actually generated the mystery for me. I never quite knew what was going to happen next, but something always did!

I had a great deal of pleasure writing this book, and its sequel, THE POYSONED SERPENT, which will be out next year. I'd love to hear your reactions to this new venture of mine.

Joan

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