Chastellet is a real place, and the Battle at Jacob’s Ford really happened. I tried to re-create the siege and its aftermath to the best of my ability, but of course I’ve taken a great deal of creative liberty with the whole thing. The Templar fortress was indeed abandoned after the massacre, buried by years and sand until the last several years, when archaeologists rediscovered and began to excavate the ancient site.
Although Fallen Angels Abbey is fictitious, Melk Abbey on the Danube River is not. The abbey from the Brotherhood of Fallen Angels is based on the historic Melk, before it was completely rebuilt in the Baroque style as it exists today. According to the abbey’s own website, “In the order of importance of the rooms in a Benedictine monastery, the library comes second only to the church.” And the libraries are indeed magnificent, including one called the “small library room,” where a spiral staircase leads up to another area of the library, which is not open to the public.
Perhaps one day someone will figure out how to get the stone door open.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Before writing historical romance, Heather Grothaus worked as a successful freelance journalist, short story writer, and magazine writer. She lives with her family on a small farm in Kentucky.
Readers can visit her online at www.heathergrothaus.com or connect with her on twitter and Goodreads.
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