Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
When I was about eight years old I used to start novels about Russian princesses called Tatiana who rode in troikas through the snow and wore huge fur coats and Faberge jewels. But inevitably the 1917 revolution came, and they suffered a terrible fate. Then, as now, my stories had to make historical sense and I couldn't write a story where Bolshevism simply didn't happen.
What is your writing process?
I am semi-retired so I write when I want to. There is a huge amount of research that goes into every scene and sometimes I do it in advance if I know I'll need it but sometimes I just verify and read around whatever topic pops up. There are always a few real people (usually deceased but known to history) and it is a point of pride to describe them accurately.
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