Yes, in some ways. I already had the characters' personalities set in my mind, so developing them was easier in that regard. Because Jed and Hannah were basically adolescents in the early pages of book one, we are watching them emerge into adulthood, so they still need to retain some of that youthful naïveté and inexperience while they mature, and striking that balance was challenging. Laying out the action was more difficult in this book because I'm bringing diverse historical elements together in a condensed format while keeping the history very true and accurate.

Markus and Arthur are breakout characters in this book. What inspired their storylines?

They balance the overall story. Markus represents the privateers who really were our Navy in this war. His story and the events that transpire in his family are based on historical facts. It's quite a tale. Arthur shows the gentle, courtly side of the British war machine. I try to make sure that each character is balanced by another. Through Arthur I attempt to remind us how close America is and always will be tied to her European heritage.

What personal experiences did you have while writing this book that left an impression?

Wow . . there were several, but the trip my husband and I took to Hampton, Virginia jumps out at me. I had read about the attack there and about the British Navy's conscription of French prisoners for their military, so we visited the visitor's center and spoke with the docents. We spent some time digging through materials, and finally we were able to pinpoint the landing site of the British. My husband and I drove for about an hour searching through what is now known as Hampton's Olde Wythe Neighborhood until we found the location. The area still has small, narrow creeks that wind between the streets. It was eerie envisioning the British rowing into those obscured waterways, dressed in their red jackets and the French dressed in their green, and then to imagine the fear that sight would have instilled in the residents as they awoke and found themselves under attack.

What character do you love most in the books?

I love Hannah and Jed and Frannie, but in this book I think I fell in love in with Lyra. She became such a fearsome woman, but inwardly, she was such a gentle and tender soul. I love that she knew what she wanted and was not willing to settle for anyone else, believing in her heart that Markus would eventually come to her. And better yet, I love that she just went for it! She was bold and fearless about saying, "Hey! I love you!" That is very admirable.

Did you discover any interesting Church history facts while researching Twilight's Last Gleaming?

So many . . I found Dr. Nathan Smith fascinating. The more I read about him and about the timeline that brought him to the Smith family, the more I could see the Lord's hand moving events and people where they needed to be. He is specifically named in Mother Smith's biography of Joseph, yet in Dr. Smith's own biography he is quoted saying he had no recollection of performing the surgery on Joseph, but he attests that the procedure performed was his. There also are no records of a bill being sent to the Smiths or monies collected by Dr. Smith, but we know the medical bills nearly bankrupted the Smith family. So it appears that Dr. Smith oversaw the procedure but that it was actually performed by someone else, perhaps his students or his colleague, who must have collected the fees.

Can you share something with us that most people don't know about you?

I love accents. Can you tell by my eclectic assortment of characters? In order to write their dialogues correctly, I speak the lines out loud using that accent. I had so much fun with the O'Malleys that for weeks afterward, and even now sometimes, I'll just break into an Irish accent. I have a friend from Germany whose accent is still pretty apparent, and she and I will speak "Irish" to each other when we're feeling silly. My kids think Mom's losing it!