Dear Lucia (comment #22),

I am sorry you haven't been able to read another book after reading CRY FOR PASSION, yet very, very glad! It makes everything worth while to know that I have affected a reader so deeply. Grazie!

My inspiration came strictly from history. When researching SCANDALOUS LOVERS, I read about the case of a woman who was imprisoned by her husband. The resulting appeal (the Queen's Bench agreed that it was a husband's right to keep his wife [property] in his home) changed the course of history for married women. And Rose. Rose was definitely an inspiration in SCANDALOUS LOVERS. She was so lonely, the only married woman in the Men and Women's Club. When I wrote a scene between her and her husband, I almost cried at their pain. I wanted so desperately to write her a happy ending. And then Jack revealed himself to me. I knew that they would be the perfect couple to challenge the law, as a real woman and barrister did in the Victorian era.

I will also admit to being inspired by music: "Talk" by Coldplay; "Hurt" by Johnny Cash; "The Rose" by Bette Midler. And a video on YouTube, that someone on my board had posted a link to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nipv8_QbT0w&feature=related. There is so much pain and beauty in it. I created a video of my own for CRY FOR PASSION: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxzdLQBl7eE and also a TV commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8juwCiCGdQY.

Thank you for posting, Lucia!

Robin Schone