What inspires about historical fiction? What can you tell us about your particular inspiration to write THE SHADOW ON THE CROWN? I have always loved books that take me to a time and place different from my own, whether they are fantasy or historical fiction or even sci fi, and so as a writer I turned to the genres that I love. I thought about writing fantasy for a long time – back when I was in my ‘dreaming of writing’ phase. But the idea of creating an entire world from scratch, as LeGuin and Tolkien did for example, was daunting. When I discovered Emma of Normandy, a queen of England completely unknown to me, I was inspired to write about her…