The inspiration for Danse Macabre: Into the Reaper’s Arms came to me while writing my first book for Schiffer Publishing in late 2009. I was deep in research for the illustrations for Cemetery Gates; Death and Mourning Through the Ages when I came across the old European historical references to art and literature on Death during the Middle Ages and on through the Renaissance period. I was fascinated by its deep understanding of dying, acceptance and the breathtaking beauty in the rich artworks of the time. I was determined not to forget the images and poems I found while finishing the other book. All these works of literature and art made for somberness that was unrivaled until the Victorian mourning period of England that trickled over in the States until the First World War. Without it we would not have such a profound appreciation for life itself without first having faced the inevitable reality that the reaper awaits us all with open arms. Dance Macabre: Into the Reaper’s Arms has classic poetry from Charles Baudelaire, Robert Louis Stevenson, Emily Dickson, Lord Byron and a dozen other masters of melancholy.