The catalyst for Jordan’s interest into the genre of historical fiction, and for this novel, was in the finding of an old wartime photograph thought to be circa 1940 that depicts the sad parting of a wartime brave from his young love, believed to be taken at a local Melbourne train station (Jordan later discovered it was more likely to be a combat train departing from Sydney). A fellow text publisher gave the image to Jordan and her interest in the figures within the photo was piqued; she began to construct an elaborate maze of intertwining characters and began the tale of Nine Days.