No, not everything. The German town is not a real town, and there isn't really a new Roman archaeological site with fossils in the way I describe in the story. But the theory about dragons and monsters as based on fossils is real, and Adrienne Mayor's book is real, too. The ancients did know about fossils, fossils have been found in archaeological sites, and modern science is only just now figuring out how all this fits together.

You can look at Ms. Mayor's book here. I've collected some ideas about the connections between fossils and mythical creatures here, along with some great dragon stories!

It's also true that some German families took a lot of risks and created ingenious hiding places for Jewish people under the Nazi regime.

How did you become a writer?

I've been interested in language for as far back as I can remember. I'm good at learning foreign languages, and I love finding out how other languages work: another language is a new mental window onto the world.

My friends have always told me I should write a book, and I've always had some kind of writing involved in my work as a translator and technical writer. But I didn't really feel the desire to write a book until I started reading children's books again with my son. There are so many great new books for children, and writers of children's books are expanding their topics and options all the time. So when I got this odd idea to write a science-mystery-adventure, I thought I might be able to pull it off. I love writing for children: you are what really motivates me.