DC: When I finished writing The Chalice, I assumed that I was done with the story of these characters, but my editor pointed out that I simply couldn’t leave Pheresa stranded. What would become of her next? And so I sat down and thought about what would happen to an ambitious young girl who thinks she has everything exactly as she wants it, and then loses it all. I set out to show how Pheresa, who lacks self-confidence, tends to be timid, and isn’t particularly adept at conniving her way through life, nevertheless perseveres doggedly after her goals. And, despite terrible odds, achieves them.

I very much enjoyed creating the character of Talmor, who eventually becomes her protector. Like Dain, he’s another half-breed outcast, but Talmor’s insecurity and coping mechanisms make him a rigid personality so loyal to duty that he seems rather one-dimensional through a large part of this book. However, near the end of The Queen’s Gambit his world is shattered, forcing him to relinquish his limiting self-concept and start on the road to change.