Donna White asked Rachel Stanley:

Where did the idea come from for the 'Keeper of Souls'? He is my favorite character in the Grim series.

Rachel Stanley Hi Donna, thanks for the question, it's a really good one. And I have a soft spot for Blake too, he's damaged goods but he's learning to be a better 'person'.

I've said in the past that I actually dreamt up one of the first scenes you read in A Grim Affair, the one at the very beginning of the book where Blake is stood watching someone with a 50:50 chance of dying to see what happens. I always knew that he was the Grim Reaper but when I eventually started writing the book, I didn't want to refer to him as such. And Death just felt a bit too blunt.

The more I thought about Blake's role, the more I realised that a part of what he does is to keep souls safe until they can be passed onto the next generation ergo 'Keeper of Souls'. Some of what Blake does (or can do!) doesn't get revealed until the second book in the series (he has a much bigger role than just keeping souls safe!) but by the time I'd worked that out his title was already stuck in my head.

And actually calling him the Keeper of Souls instead of the Grim Reaper has proven to be a good move, it's great when Blake complains about being referred to as the Grim Reaper and it's going to become important in last book in the series.

Thanks for posting a question! Take care of yourself, Rachel

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