Sparrow is set in the Roman city of Carthago Nova. How did you research the ancient settlement?
In 2016, I visited Cartagena, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, the modern city on the site of the ancient Roman settlement. The Roman theatre there, which is still very impressive, became the setting for several major scenes in the book. The city’s ancient cemetery now lies in a covered courtyard in the municipal museum, and I sat on a mezzanine overlooking the graves and sketched out a funeral scene for one of my characters.