There were many inspirations that came together for this story. The one that pulled all the characters together and formed the first stepping-stones of the plot was Sarah Brightman's Chase the Morning, from the soundtrack of Repo! The Genetic Opera.
The first lines of Chase the Morning are "Shiloh? Is your name Shiloh?" This became the direct inspiration for Conall's daughter, Shyla.
Other inspiration came from the music of Sweeney Todd and The Phantom of the Opera.
I've always wanted to write a story set against the backdrop of World War II. Though His Cemetery Doll actually takes place a decade after the war, the details of the conflict still called for WWII research, and I loved it.
The creature Broken Doll is flawless except for a series of deep cracks down the side of her porcelain mask. In earlier versions of these characters, Conall was the one hiding a serious facial disfigurement. It was changed because the symbol fit Broken Doll much better, and Conall was instead given a major leg injury from his time in the war.
The story was written in six weeks.
Conall Mackay is one of only two major male POV leads in my work. The other is Finn of the Morrigan from my Four Courts series.
The last two paragraphs of His Cemetery Doll had to be re-written three times.
I make all my own book trailers, and the trailer for His Cemetery Doll is the most complicated one I've made so far. It was the first time I remixed music and used voice-over.
While I don't currently have plans for a sequel, I never say never.
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