Ariel asked Juliet Marillier:

First off you're a wonderful writer and your imagination is so impressive. So many different characters. So many different conversations. You're astounding! Thank you for being a writer. I'd love to know if it comes easily to you, but that's not my question. I'm curious what fairytale or idea inspired "the dogs" in Flame of Sevenwaters?

Juliet Marillier The dogs were based mostly on my real-life experience of dog training - during the period of writing Flame of Sevenwaters I was working intensively with Harry, who was a rescued dog needing to build confidence around other dogs, and he and I worked toward competing in a trial. The bond between us was strengthened very much by that work together, and I built that into Maeve's bond with her dogs, Bear in particular. There was no specific fairy tale behind this story or the dog transformation though animal transformations are quite often found in Irish mythology. Does writing come easily to me? Yes and no - it depends on a lot of factors. When I love the story I'm writing and get very close to the characters it generally comes fairly easily, but there are also times when real life gets in the way and concentration becomes difficult, and times when I wrestle with finding the best way to tell the story. But overall I love the job!

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