Book 2

In the beginning, I only intended to write one book about the Niello necklace but it was clear at the end of book 1 that the story wasn’t finished.  I wanted to write more about the characters and wondered what might happen to Bun’s step brothers, Kevin and Wayne, who were so mean to him in book 1. They were both bullies, especially Kevin, and I didn’t like to see bullies winning. Then, of course, there was Katie, Bun’s best friend. I wanted to know what happened to her.

In between the books, I travelled to New York and fell in love with this big, noisy, grey city all over again.

I also found out more about why my necklace was called ‘niello’. I discovered niello is historical jewellery making technique that goes back thousands of years and involves filling in engraved or etched designs on metal surfaces with a black alloy, typically composed of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead. When heated, this alloy melts into the engraved design creating a contrast against the polished metal surface, which is often silver or gold. The technique was first used in the Roman Empire.