When I started the initial research for this book, I was working as a graphic designer for a college, so I spent my breaks at the library. One day, I was looking for information about castle construction. I was walking towards the European History section when a small tan book fell face down off the shelves at my feet. I picked up this book and looked around, thinking someone had shoved it off the shelf from the other side, but no one was there. Then, I noticed the book’s title was Cliff Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe. I had never heard of a cliff castle, and I noticed that this book was very old. The cloth cover was tattered on the ends, and the pages inside were yellowed and fragile. I thought it was unusual for the library to have a book like this in its collection, so I went and asked the librarian about it. The book was published in 1911 and was not even listed in their card catalog! Of course, after this strange circumstance, the main setting for Chalice of the Goddess had to be a cliff castle.