David Andre asked Deborah L. Davitt:

How many hours of pure research did you have to go through just fleshing out even the first book? (which I just finished and loved). I was a classics minor, greek/roman history and mythology, etc. and I have a hard time remembering the details. I love when you mention some classic author or historical figure and help me remember.

Deborah L. Davitt Hi there! Nice to meet you, and I'm delighted that you enjoyed the book!

I honestly can't estimate how many hours I put into research, because I did a bit every day. It took me roughly . . . 5 months, I think? . . . to do the rough drafts of the trilogy, so maybe 1-2 hours a day would be spent tracking down some bit of information, depending on the day in question.

I'm doing *more* research this time; I was writing Book IV, when I got distracted by doing the prequels. I didn't think I had the educational background to handle it, but I have a reader who's currently doing his Master's in Classics at a UK university, and he's been quite helpful as a guide. While I continue to do my own research, it's handy to have *two* people who can chase down an answer. . . and he has a slew of professors he can ask when we're utterly stumped by something that the internet presents conflicting information on (or plain inaccurate, as I've found a couple of times).

Thanks for the question, and I hope you'll stick around for the rest of the books!

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