in the same clear way that I can see some of the lesser characters who've appeared in the books, I feel I know him very, very well -- to the extent that he feels like a real person to me. Like any real, living person, he's constantly developing and evolving. In the first books he was a little wilder and ragged-edged, and despite all the good things he did to help those in need, he was deeply unhappy with life. Now he's a little older and some things have changed for him, that rawness has healed to a degree. He's less of a loner, and has gradually amassed a circle of people around him that he cares about. He's not drinking quite so much and is less crazy. Where in the earlier books he wouldn't hesitate before wading in, guns blazing, against insane odds, now he'll maybe hesitate for about half a second... he's still very much Ben Hope. What's the hardest part of writing a Ben Hope book? Although it's a process I'm becoming pretty familiar with, none of the elements that go together to write a Ben Hope book are easily achieved. Every book (with the exception of the prequel Passenger 13 ) has a historical backdrop or mystery that I spend a lot of time figuring out. It has to be interesting in its own right and also relate believably to the modern day. Bad guys have to have cause to care about it, and Ben Hope