When I finished writing Hearts of Ice and Stone it soon became obvious that my work in the world of Britannia was incomplete and that I was actually only half way through the process. Hearts of Ice and stone finished in dramatic fashion and with a natural springboard for future story progression (I won’t be more specific than that for the benefit of those who haven’t read Hearts yet!). Besides, I had created a cast of characters I had become very fond of and I felt that many of their own stories remained incomplete. I wanted to spend more time with them and I hoped that my readers would too. In Hearts of Ice and Stone we see a tension between knowledge and faith. In particular, we see the way in which scientific investigation and supernatural events can interact with each other in a way that is fascinating to consider and to write about. In Well of Souls we see a further exploration of this theme, with the introduction of a powerful new figure who casts a dark shadow across Britannia and beyond. The book is written, in the process of being proof-read and is having a design prepared for its cover, something that I shall share with you in due course. My conception was that it would show a girl standing or kneeling beside a dark pool in which the faces of the dead might be seen. For now, as a kind of place-holder, I shall leave you with a very different image, although one which also includes a female figure next to a pool. This is one of favourite Pre-Raphaelite paintings from the 19th Century, ‘Convent Thoughts’ by Charles Allston Collins.
