Dear Mr. Stroud,

To begin with I'd just like to say thank you for an excellent trilogy of books that have unseated every other in my small collection to become my favorite. I've read each of them three times, and although no one else in my family can understand how I can keep reading them over and over, its hard not to, as you probably hear from your fans.

I really only have one question, which is-

Was it hard to to reach the conclusion of the Bartimaeus Trilogy? I loved it personally, simply because days after reading it, I found myself thinking about Nathaniel's sacrifice and what would become of the world he left behind, especially Kitty and Bartimaeus. At first I thought that I was disappointed that Nathaniel had died, but then I realized that the ending was just so satisfying, and I'd never felt that from a book I'd read before.

So basically, I guess I just want to know, did you have to sit and plan out the events, or did the flow of the story just lead you to this point? The ending just felt so natural, and even though I was shocked and surprised at the end, I think I just knew what was coming. It truly was an awesome and satisfying ending to a great series.

Thanks so much for your time and words!

Hello -

Thanks for your kind message, and sorry to be so slow getting back to you. I'm very pleased that the ending had that effect - exactly what I was after. Well, I knew from midway through Amulet that I was going to try for that ending, although I wasn't sure that I could make it work. For a long time I was scared it would just be too difficult and shocking, but when I at last got to the finale two years later, it actually seemed right and natural. I think it helped that I'd had it in my mind for so long, and all the action of the preceeding books had been slowly leading in the right direction.

Best wishes,

J