A – The last four or five chapters of The Empress. I must have rewritten these chapters two dozen times over a period of about six months. Initially I sought to solve the question of the rights of thrones through some great final battle – like Lord of the Rings. I tried this several times. (I think I am fairly good at creating battle narrative.) However I was never happy with the result. The world currently has too many bloody wars and I didn’t feel comfortable creating another fictional one. After many attempts I solved the problem by resolving the rights of thrones in a history lesson explained to two children on holiday in 2014. No great final battles – history recorded compromise, inclusivity and peaceful resolution. A shame the real world can’t take six months to consider its actions.