Background Notes

Maiden Castle was inspired by Hohenzollern, a German castle atop a steep, tree-covered hill in the heart of Swabia. Originally built in the 11th century, it was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, the present castle dating from 1850.

One of the legends associated with Hohenzollern is of a woman who led an attack upon it, capturing its lord and giving him a choice: marry her, or go to the dungeon. Legend says he chose the dungeon. This story was the original inspiration for the character of Serena, a woman with an equally unsuccessful dating history.

The meteor storms that are the hero's passion were inspired by the yearly Leonid showers, caused by the earth passing through the trail of debris cast off by Comet Tempel-Tuttle.   Every 33 years, when the comet passes closest to the earth, the Leonids stand a good chance of being not just a shower, but a storm.  In the skies over Rhode Island in 1833 there were as many as 60 shooting stars per second, their brightness waking people from their sleep.  At the time "Of Midnight Born" takes place, the cause of shooting stars was a mystery yet to be solved.

Hohenzollern Castle, in Germany, which I transplanted to England as Maiden Castle.
		In the Ancestral Hall at Hohenzollern, trying on the felt slippers all visitors must wear.