Brian Lilley is the creator of the character Ximene and the stories about her adventures as she fights against oppression in Occitan.

Until 2001 he worked as an Engineering Consultant serving a wide range of clients in Australasia and South East Asia.

He wrote a number of textbooks dealing with engineering management.

The stories about Ximene took shape initially in hotel rooms and alongside hotel swimming pools, during Brian’s years touring the southern continents on various lecture tours.

Later he made several extensive tours of England, Spain and the South of France, visiting every place which figures in the stories.

He has always been an avid student of history. However, the book about Ximene Trencavel has lead him to several areas for which he had no previous knowledge.

He is now most interested in the powerful women, who for a short period, dominated the politics of 14th century England.

These women are a continuing sub-plot in the stories about Ximene.