Katherine Scott asked Susanna Calkins:

Which came first: the desire to write a historical book or the desire to write a mystery, or were they always intertwined? Have greatly enjoyed your first two books.

Susanna Calkins Hi Kathy, This is a great question! I always loved mysteries when I was a kid, and I must have always had a bit of propensity towards historical fiction (and actually books from the past--I read a lot of Victorian literature when I was a kid). As I was earning my PhD in graduate school, I discovered Anne Perry. I also discovered 17th century murder ballads (yes, people used to sing about murder!) and I got the half-formed idea for a Murder at Rosamund's Gate. But it wasn't until I completed my PhD and had been teaching history for a few years that I finally took the time to write. A scene here, and a scene there, and a short ten years later, the book was done! :-) So on some level, always intertwined. Thanks for the great question and nice words about my book.

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