is it a case of winging it?! The reason I ask this is during The Sacred Sword you take us to Masada, an ancient fortification in Southern Israel overlooking The Dead Sea -- incidentally one of my favourite scenes in the book -- did you get a chance to visit the ruins? If I can, I like to see a place for myself to scout the location and get a feel for it before it gets into a book. I had the opportunity of visiting Masada some years back. It was a historic setting I'd wanted to see ever since watching the Peter O'Toole / Peter Strauss movie in my childhood. It's predictably touristy now, but nonetheless an awe-inspiring place whose sense of power and history is probably impossible to capture fully in words. How has being a published author changed your life? You can never be sure that simply getting published is going to change your life, as this is such a tough and unforgiving business to get into and so many authors fall by the wayside. I've been extremely fortunate, though, that by a combination of hard work, good luck and timing, my Ben Hope books have been popular with lots of readers across the world. It's allowed me to create a secure lifestyle that suits my needs, and given me an occupation that allows me to channel a lot of my personal interests into my work. The relative success of the books has also enabled me to