About Templar
A lot of people have heard of the Knights Templar, thanks to their cameo appearances in modern-day conspiracy thrillers like The Da Vinci Code and Assassin's Creed. Not so many know the true historical events that gave rise to their legendary mystique.
The arrest and trial of the Templars in 1307 was a scandal that rocked the medieval world so deeply that its echoes still reverberate today. It was more sensational, gripping and heartbreaking than anything a writer could invent.
In writing Templar, I wanted to weave a swashbuckling romantic adventure in the spirit of Alexandre Dumas - an entertaining fiction that nonetheless conveys a truthful picture of the world as it was then.
I love LeUyen's and Alex's artwork. It's fluid, humorous and expressive, intimate and epic, and grounded in scrupulous historical research. They both come out of Dreamworks feature animation, LeUyen is an award-winning children's book illustrator, and I'm immensely proud of what they've achieved with Templar. I can't wait for readers to discover it, too.
The full 480-page hardcover edition of Templar was published by First Second Books in July 2013.