What lessons do you want young readers to learn from your story? At book signings, I often tell people, both kids and adults, “Be sure to read this in the daytime.” It’s vast and opulent, and my imagination runs wild whenever my family and I go there. Why did you set your book at the Biltmore Estate? It took about a year to write, revise, and finish. This has been a family project from the beginning. They helped develop the character, create the plot, and fine-tune the writing. Once I started Serafina and the Black Cloak my daughters and wife helped me every step of the way. When I gave it a try, I found that I totally loved writing for her and her sisters and their friends. When my eldest daughter was about 11, she encouraged me to write a story that she could read (previously I had been writing books for adults). Did they have any role in encouraging you to write this story? My other inspiration was the Biltmore Estate, which is a real-life place. For this particular story, my inspiration was my daughter who loved to sneak up on me when I was trying to write. Why did you want to write a book? What was your inspiration? Only Serafina and her friend Braeden know the clues to follow to solve the mystery. One night, she sees a sinister man in a black cloak and then the children of the estate start disappearing. Her father has warned to never let herself be seen by the rich folk who live upstairs, so she prowls the darkened corridors at night, sneaking and hiding, using the mansion’s hidden doors and secret passages.

Serafina and the Black Cloak is about a strange and intriguing girl who lives secretly in the basement of a grand mansion called Biltmore Estate, in 1899. How would you explain what your book is about to people who have never read it? Beatty questions about his new book via email. The first week of its release, the novel made The New York Times Best Seller list. Author Robert Beatty of Asheville wrote the mystery novel, Serafina and the Black Cloak, which came out this summer. So I was intrigued when I heard about a new book involving a fictional girl living in the basement of the huge house. The extravagant mansion is open to the public, and I love to visit there. Have you ever been to the Biltmore Estate? It is America’s largest home, and it is right here in my city, Asheville, North Carolina. Jordan in front of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina

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