Ian Dempsey asked David Gilman:

where do you get your ideas from ?

David Gilman Ian, the ideas come fairly thick and fast but knowing when an idea has an authentic value to it is a different proposition. I think we need to open our eyes and ears a lot of the time. I was looking out of my office window recently and saw a shaven-headed, tattooed man with a rather fierce looking dog on a lead. He looked the stereotypical tough man from a sink estate, but when his kids arrived and the dog's tale wagged you could see just how much of a softie he might be. But in that instant he gave me an idea. I sat down and wrote an opening paragraph about him which might one day lead to a crime story. A simple, ever day image had given me an idea for a story.

Master of War, the first book in the series came about because my wife had gone to an art class and had painted a medieval Italian astride his horse that she copied from a painting she had seen in a book. Once I querie it -- months later by the way -- I learnt that it was a well known English mercenary knight who fought for the Italians in the mid 14th century. And that sparked my interest and led me to researching the medieval world and the men who fought in the 100 Years' War. And from these humble beginnings Thomas Blackstone emerged.

Everyone has ideas crammed away in their heads. The knack is to know when they might make an interesting story to share with others. Hope this answers your question. Best wishes, David.

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