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Grace Burrowes | The Importance of Being Unproductive
Author Guest / April 4, 2013

One of the questions an author hears most is, “Where do you get your ideas?” and for a book about a hero who has very nearly sold his soul, that curiosity is understandable. (Don’t worry, with Lady Vivian’s help, Darius wins it back, and then some.) The usual answers I’ve heard or given are: I read widely in the historical period original sources. I take stories that aggravated me in some particular, and tweak them so they become satisfying to me. I read the classics (or watch movies), and then ask myself, “What if….?” until something germinates with that whiff of possibility about it. Those answers are not inaccurate, but they are incomplete, at least for me. I’d met Darius Lindsey in an earlier book, THE VIRTUOSO, wherein he was a secondary character with a strong sense of loyalty toward the hero. Darius popped up again a book about his sister Leah’s romance with Nicholas Haddonfield, and once more, Darius’ protective, responsible streak was much in evidence. And yet, this dude was miserable. I didn’t know what he got up to off the page when he stayed out until all hours, or disappeared to ride across the countryside, but I…