Goodreads asked Jay Brandon:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Jay Brandon SHADOW KNIGHT'S MATE is so different from my other novels you'd think I would remember specifically where I got the idea, but I don't. It just percolated up slowly. I thought if there aren't people working subtly behind the scenes who have influenced history for generations, there should be. So this is my secret-society-international-conspiracy thriller, my first. I loved writing it, and the advance quotes I'm getting have been great.

flag