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.    

    Field research for the Sardonyx Cup takes a lot of time and travel.  Saqqara is the necropolis for the ancient city of Memphis. 

  I have always been entranced by Norway’s low light levels in winter. The finale to The Explorer’s Code takes place in arctic Norway. 

I have been researching volcanoes lately and have climbed several.  Here is the gorgeous island of Stromboli in southern Italy!