I know some will be wondering where this came from and possibly even why?
Jack was born a long time ago as my alter ego in a table top role playing game. The game was a long running campaign so I got to know Jack well. Even did a few live events as him. But that's at least 25 years in the past.
He's always lurked about in the back of my imagination.
Further inspiration came from books like Neverwhere, The Rivers of London series and especially London Falling by Paul Cornell, which was deliciously dark. Again, I had wondered how Jack would fare. But little more than that.
Much more recently the M.W. Craven books snared my attention, I not only loved the characters, but the attention paid to Cumbria.
Cumbria has so much history and interesting history, it's tied up with Arthurian legend as well. But it's all too often treated as little more than a tourist destination.
I think it was this, a long interest in my home county and a thought of "Sod it" I pulled it all together and, eventually, created "The Last Mage" Jack has changed, but at his core he's still the same, grumpy, stubborn and unable to walk past.
In turn that's fired up my imagination and more books are in the offing.