I knew my first hero, Sir Merrick Hadrian, had to be part of a secret government organization
hunting vampyres and other supernatural threats to the Crown and its people. The exact structure
of that organization was one of the biggest hang-ups to writing the book. It was my husband who
said, “Well if it’s in England, the logical group for paranormal enforcement is the Order of the
Round Table.” Then it clicked and the entire series came together. I’d already used several
names in the book that traced back to the original Knights. The MacKay family is obviously
derived from Sir Kay. The Lakes? From Lancelot, of course. Devere from Bedivere. The Round
Table mythos snapped into place and a series was born. George the mechanical mastiff quickly
emerged as a fan-favorite character and makes at least a cameo appearance in each of the books.
As the series has continued, I’ve become more and more lost in the world of alternate history
romance. I have a couple projects underway for other publishers, set in different worlds, but I
think my first love in steampunk will always be a book I originally called “Mary Poppins meets
Van H [