Beyonder asked Jacqueline Carey:

A number of your l plot elements in the Kushiel universe have a basis on deeply esoteric religious elements from a number of cultures. You bring these richly to life and use them to build fascinating alternate-history scenarios while still being respectful and reverent to the cultures they come from. I'm curious if you can share anything about your process of research and inspiration for this side of your writing?

Jacqueline Carey Thank you, I appreciate it! I've always been fascinated by the elements of religion, mythology, culture, psychology, history, etc. Once I have a general "road map" for a book in mind, I do most of my research up front, which in turn helps firm up the plot structure.

I'm always looking for those little details or insights that will help me bring a culture to life. One of my biggest challenges was wrapping my head around the Aztec practice of human sacrifice in "Naamah's Blessing," after determining that it was significant enough that no, I really couldn't gloss over it. I finally found my mental access point reading a translation of Aztec poetry about the transitory nature of life and the poignancy of death.

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