The author, Angelo Crapanzano was ninety-six years old when he finished his fourteenth novel. After that novel was published he could not think of any subject that would be good for his next novel. About six months later he got a very serious throat infection. After eight days in the hospital he went home. Due to the problem he had he could not lay down flat. That would cause the mucus to go down the throat and cause coughing and blocked his breathing...