The Stolen Chalice (release date June 26th) has a scene in a castle in Scotland.  This is the kind of scene that has to be felt and lived in order to have the details right.  This is the view out my window in the Castle Culzean.

Some of the scenes in the upcoming book THE STOLEN CHALICE (release June 26) are in the Enlightenment Galleries at the British Museum.  There are expedition notes from the great explorers VonHumboldt, Cook, Darwin. 

The beautiful tombs at Saquarra have carving all over the walls and ceiling.  The Stolen Chalice take place partly in Egypt.  It will be released June 26,  2012.    

Taking an afternoon walk through the old section of Cairo looking for inspriation.  One doesn’t have to search very far.    

I do a lot of writing on ocean liners – Cunard’s Queen Mary (for transatlantic crossings), the Queen Elizabeth, and the Queen Victoria.  If you area aboard, The Explorer’s Code can be found in the ship’s library.

My ideal research trip is to stay about 10 days in a place, such as Venice to not only see the sights, but note the tempo and mood. Then when I write the scene, I can recall all the details of that place more easily.

The Cairo Museum is gloriously large, dusty and filled with treasures.  While lacking the polish of other museums, the contents of the cases are so astonishing, I could easily spend a week here.  Great place to research The Sardonyx Cup.

My character John Sinclair is an archaeologist who works on many ancient sites.  In THE EXPLORER’S CODE I describe him reading the ancient carvings with his hands, like braille.  In Saquarra Egypt the stones of the ancient tomb are warm in the sun.