Mark,
Thanks to you and Amanda for a really interesting interview. It was great to meet her at the joint signing you did in Banbury when Imperial Assassin and The Poisoned Crown came out, and this interview really fills in some gaps.
There are two further things I'd be really interested to know, next time Amanda is passing:
(1) which tends to come first - the core of the plot, or the idea for the characters? Or does this vary from book to book?
(2) does Amanda still write short fiction, or does she focus exclusively on novel-length stories?
Thanks,
Patrick.