“The Dragon Run” protagonist Yann Vatel was born in Boulogne sur Mer. Located right across the channel from England, the town was once a staging area for Julius Caesar’s armies and, centuries later, Napoleon’s. It was also the point of departure of the first attempt to cross the Channel by flight, in 1785. Sadly, it ended in tragedy when the hot-air balloon crashed, killing its creator, pioneer Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier.

Like many of the locations in “The Dragon Run”, this is a place I actually visited: This is where I did the last year of my Master’s, back in 2002-2003. It’s a charming little town, and although I haven’t been back since I graduated, I would love to go again and see the old center, its beffroi (the medieval guard tower) and its massive domed church.

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Bob Morane is one of the big inspirations behind The Dragon Run‘s protagonist Yann Vatel. In this 1950/1960’s series of pulpy adventures for kids and teens, ex-RAF pilot Bob Morane roamed the world, one exotic location after another, fighting spies, pirates and mad scientists…

Reading it in 2020, let’s face it, it hasn’t aged too well (among other things, women are often little more than potted plants, and some racial stereotypes are cringy, to put it generously) but it’s easy to see how these fun, exciting tales captured the imagination of kids and adults alike… And if I can stir the same emotions with my stories, then my job is done.