IAN GROSVENOR asked Martin Turnbull:

Hi Martin, I really loved the Garden of Allah series. But why did you stop at Book 9? Do you have any plans to write any more in the series? (covering the time periods for the death of Marilyn Monroe and the assassination of Kennedy, for example). Would love to read more. Thanks

Martin Turnbull Hi Ian, and thanks for your question. My plan with the Garden of Allah series was always to tell the story of life at the hotel, and by extension life during studio-era Hollywood from its opening party in January 1927 to its closing party in 1959. To my way of thinking, the Garden's life exactly paralleled Hollywood's golden years, starting with "The Jazz Singer" ushering in the talkies in 1927, and closing with "Ben-Hur" in 1959, which in my view was the last of the great studio-era Hollywood blockbusters. By 1960, both the golden era and the hotel were history. So it seemed to me to be a way to tell the history of the golden era of Hollywood - through the eyes of the people who lived in a place that exactly matched it, year for year.

Also, by the time I released "Closing Credits," I had been writing about Marcus, Kathryn, and Gwendolyn for over 10 years, and I felt it was time to retire them and move onto fresh projects and different characters with whom we could explore this endlessly fascinating era.

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