I was wondering how/what drove you to write The Queens Poisoner, with the main character being an 8year old boy? Were you nervous that readers wouldn't pick it up due to the MC's age? I also wanted to say that you did an incredibly amazing job - I suggest this series to all my friends. It has definitely become one of my favourite series! Thank you for all your work!

Jeff Wheeler What a great question! Thanks for asking it. Yes, I'll admit there was a lot of concern about doing a fantasy novel with such a young main character. It was a big risk, but I felt really strongly about Owen's story and I'm so glad I had a good partner/publisher who was willing to try something very different. I thought about other stories with young protagonists that I liked -- for example the kid in Sixth Sense. I've also been a fan of Charles Dickens' Great Expectation at Pip starts out as a young boy too. So I knew it could work if handled correctly. But what really made it work was Elizabeth Victoria Mortimer. Without her, the book just wouldn't have been the same.

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