I like to think that if it hadn't gone as well as it has if I wasn't able to make a living off of playing music I would still be playing the music. But of course I wouldn't likely have had the opportunity to travel and a lot of the places have inspired songs.
Ellis Peters's historical detail is very accurate and very minute and therefore is not only interesting to read but good for an actor to acquire a sense of the period. And the other thing I think is that an actor lives in the land of imagination.