Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels take for their inspiration Elly's archaeologist husband, and her aunt who lives on the Norfolk coast and who filled her niece's head with the myths and legends of that area.Her husband Andrew, is an archaeologist who had been excavating an old Roman villa near Lewes. He mentioned that sometimes bodies - often children's bodies - are found under the walls of Roman houses. No-one knows whether they died naturally or were murdered but they are known as 'foundation sacrifices'. This started her thinking about the Roman Gods, particularly Janus, the God of doorways and beginnings. The book Janus Stone grew from there. She wrote her first book when she was eleven.