Elle asked Anna Lee Huber:

How do you come up with your ideas? The plot that kicked off the whole series - being an anatomist's wife - is a very interesting idea! And each mystery after is always a unique story as well. Do you have a process that helps you come up with ideas or do they just come to you?

Anna Lee Huber Thanks, Lincoln! My ideas come to me in a lot of different ways. Sometimes they come from the research I'm doing. The smallest little historical tidbit can spark an idea, especially if it's particularly relevant to the characters in some way. I actually got the plot idea for A GRAVE MATTER from watching a documentary on an attempt to steal President Lincoln's body after it had already been entombed for many years. Other times, it grows out of the characters themselves--a particular challenge I know they must face. This was the case in A STUDY IN DEATH, as I knew it was time for Lady Darby to face down some of her demons. Setting also plays a role. So many interesting facets of Rathfarnham, Ireland, the setting for July's book, AS DEATH DRAWS NEAR, play into the story, and it was a lot of fun working them in. I would say I don't have a particular process for coming up with ideas, but if I'm having any trouble with plotting something, I usually turn to research texts, the characters, and the setting. I start asking myself questions about them, digging into the details or examining the characters' psychology, and that usually gives me a lot of good material to work with. As a historical author, I find it the most exciting when something that actually happened historically lines up with what I'm planning. Then the plots almost seem to write themselves.

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