I found myself extremely interested in all things ‘raven’ while I was writing my novel.

The notion of having one of these incredibly intelligent birds play a trusty side-kick in my protagonist’s heists, was brought about by a conversation that I was having with some clients one day.

They had mentioned that they heard countries like Sweden and France had been training crows to pick up cigarette butts, and delivering them back to a machine that would then dispense a treat.

So, I made it a raven named Robin, and I added a little larceny along with it.

Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven, has this spectral messenger landing on the bust of Pallas, which not by coincidence, is the family name of my protagonist, Marion Pallas.

Though a group of crows is called a murder, a group of ravens is a conspiracy, which further added to my choice of the raven over the crow, as my story had many characters conspiring together to save Marion.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for the intellect and loyalty exhibited by both ravens and crows, and though I may have once felt them to represent a bad omen, I will quote the brilliant black bird and say, ‘Nevermore’.