Lynn Lovegreen asked Stephanie Marie Thornton:

How do you find such interesting characters to write about?

Stephanie Marie Thornton Thanks for the question, Lynn! I've stumbled over a few of the characters in history books; Theodora was a mere mention in a world history textbook and Jack Weatherford's THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE MONGOL QUEENS pointed me in the direction of Genghis Khan's women. I've been enamored with Hatshepsut since I was in school so she was a natural choice. And for THE CONQUEROR'S WIFE, it was actually my editor who suggested I write about a Persian woman. I did some research and found Roxana, Alexander's first wife, and then discovered that he was surrounded by pretty fearsome women. And so, a book was born!

flag