We spoke with bestselling author Jane Feather about the two concluding books in her “Kiss” trilogy—TO KISS A SPY and KISSED BY SHADOWS, which follow her national bestseller, THE WIDOW’S KISS. This interconnected threesome of novels has offered veteran Feather an exciting canvas. Read on to see what the author says about connecting with her characters, and her passions!
TO KISS A SPY and KISSED BY SHADOWS are the connected stories of two sisters, Pen and Pippa, and more peripherally their stepbrother, Robin, whom we first meet as children sixteen years previously in their mother’s story THE WIDOWS KISS.
I always enjoy writing about children and these three very quickly captured my imagination. In the earlier book I felt that they had all developed such strong personalities that I became very attached to them and realized that I was not ready to let them go. It was a very appealing idea to follow them into adulthood and watch how the childhood personalities were shaped by the dangerous and tumultuous times in which they lived. The challenge as well as the fun with such stories is to blend the fiction with the history as seamlessly as possible. Each book is set against a particular historical event, all of which are themselves connected, and the characters’ stories play out as the events themselves play out.
The period of uncertainty into which England was plunged after the long rein of Henry V111 has always fascinated me. The boy king Edward, manipulated by his ambitious and greedy advisors, the tragedy of Jane Grey, and the bloody rein of Mary, all with the shadow of Elizabeth hovering in the background, was begging to be explored. But there was far too much rich and captivating detail for one book. It was clear to me that once I’d delved into the details of Mary’s hazardous accession to the throne, then I had to follow her into her rein and her struggle to hold the throne. And once I’d started to learn about the true character of Philip of Spain, then he had to play a significant if grim role in Pippa’s story.
The network of espionage, the switching of loyalties for political advantage, the dark underworld of spying was such a vital aspect of the period, and the men who played such parts so intrigued me that it was only natural that they should become the heroes. Men who were as ruthless as the age in which they lived; who lived their lives on the edge, deep in the shadows. Men who were by no means perfect or initially sympathetic, but whose lives and preconceptions were turned upside down by their involvement with the heroines.
So in short I had immense fun weaving the connected romances into the warp of history. It was, however, such a dark and ruthless age that it was quite a challenge to create a credible romance in amidst the brutal treacheries that informed the background to the stories.
I look forward to hearing from readers whether I succeeded or not. I know you’ll tell me!
Copyright 2002 Jane Feather.
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