Molly Murphy asked Sharon Kay Penman:

What was your favorite scene to write, and why?

Sharon Kay Penman I assume you mean in Ransom, Molly? I can think of several. I enjoyed writing a scene that Richard definitely was not enjoying--his capture outside Vienna by the Duke of Austria. For a man as proud as Richard, a man who'd considered himself almost invincible, that had to be a very humbling experience, all the more so because his seizure was so unlawful. His bravura performance during his trial before the Imperial Diet at Speyer was another scene that I enjoyed writing very much. I'd decided upon the arguments "my" Richard would make, and then found a letter by the real Richard, in which he discussed what he'd said in his own defense, and it was very gratifying to discover that both Richards were on the same page! And then the scene at Trifels Castle where Richard is visited by his father; Henry is my favorite medieval king and I loved being about to give his sardonic spirit some time on center stage again. I also liked the by-play between Joanna and Raimond de St Gilles. Notice I did not select any of the death scenes; they are never fun to write, although it is even more challenging to write of the grieving by the deceased's loved ones.

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