Goodreads asked Jeffrey Matthews:

How do you get inspired to write?

Jeffrey Matthews This may sound stupid and ridiculous, but I'm a very visual person, and writing, of course, is the opposite since it's all in your head. So I need something to see, touch, smell or experience somehow. I created my own necklace, like the type my protagonist wears in the story, and I wore that from the time I started page one until I wrote 'The End'. I kept photos of my daughters riding the carousel on my desk. I had a small bowl filled with carousel ride tokens and even a brass ring. And of course, I had my set of carousel art and history books nearby to page through every morning before I started. These things keep me grounded, in touch with my characters and their unfolding story, and helped me 'experience' and be in the moment with all of them.

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