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'Ideas pop into your
head when you're least expecting them. I was in a
shop in Rye when my attention was caught by a peculiar
doll hanging on the wall. It was part crow, part woman,
with twigs for hands and feet. As soon as I saw it
I thought, "Wow - I wonder what happens to that when
it gets dark?" because it looked capable of anything.
The answer of course lies in this book, I always like
to make a seemingly innocent object turn out to be
really sinister and frightening.
In this novel, elements
of Christian mythology are brought in contact with
other beliefs. The ancient and magical town of Glastonbury
is a place where that has been happening for centuries
so it made a perfect setting for the final battle
between the two forces.
When I was young I
bought a stuffed raven in a sale from a taxidermist
and called him Quoth. Shortly before I came to write
this series I unearthed him from a cupboard but was
dismayed to find that he hadn't weathered the years
very well. Thus was the character of Quoth defined
in the book, a tattered and poorly preserved specimen
whose brain isn't what it was. Sometimes I know how
he feels.'
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