Changes

I also write because of things I’ve seen, heard and done. In Auschwitz, by the cracked concrete base of a crematorium, I once heard a rabbi say Kaddish (the Jewish prayer of mourning). I have never heard a voice like that in my entire life. When I was in Jerusalem, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, supposedly built over the Rock of Calvary, I joined the queue and touched the rock, but what I touched didn’t feel like rock to me, it felt that I was touching warm pulsing flesh... They are some of the experiences that impelled me to write.

* '''BB: How much of yourself do you put into your characters and is there some of you in any of the ''Words of Power'' people? (If so, which characters and which bits?)'''

The Japan-set part of the sequence will be four books, as described in my [http://www.ritchievalentinesmith.com Website] Afterwards I’d like to bring the characters here (‘here’ meaning the Empire of Albion) and then perhaps India and China before the ultimate resolution. The ending I have planned for the whole series should be memorable indeed (I hope!), so perhaps a good number of people will stay along for the whole ride...

* '''BB: We're certainly planning to, Ritchie. We hope it's a smooth journey.'''