As my previous books were all set in the neon lit streets of Tokyo and Osaka, a lot of folks have been asking why I chose to write a novel set half a world away in Prague.
There's no single answer. I was blown away by the city when I first visited in 2002 (just after the devastating flood that plays an important role in Complication) but I didn't really consider using it as a setting until years later, when I got the idea of a crime surrounding a mysterious watch that ticked backward and forward at the same time. And I thought, who better than to have commissioned this watch Emporer Rudolf II, Prague-based Holy Roman Emporer in the late 16th century?
From there it involved a ton of research, something I'd hoped to avoid, to be honest, but the more I started learning about Prague and its history, the more fictional doors started opening, the more my story started expanding and deepening.
Its a city of intrigue, ghosts, and endless fascination (and yes, a real place too, where real people get up everyday and go to their real jobs and live regular, mundane lives -- but if you wanted to read about that, you probably wouldn't be at a mystery blog right now, would you?) Despite visiting multiple times during the course of my research, I feel as if I've only glimpsed at its surface
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Posted by: Kari | April 30, 2012 at 03:03 PM