Goodreads asked H.L. Bernabe:

How do you get inspired to write?

H.L. Bernabe A lot of things inspire me come from real life. For example, Paisley and her dwarf friends go through the forests in northwestern Erdea. The trees are so large, that the road goes right through the middle of one. I actually did something like that when I was a kid. My family and I traveled through the Redwood Forest and got to drive through a tree in my dad's enormous 70s tank-sized Caddy. Little details like that are scattered all through the book.

As for ideas for the stories themselves, sometimes they come from my dreams, or an article I read will trigger an idea. Back in the day of paper newspapers, I used to keep clippings of things that I found interesting. A road that kept burst into flame here in Oregon for no apparent reason. Mutant frogs being found in a watershed. Six trenchcoats being stolen from a sporting goods store. Things like that. I have a file folder filled with story ideas for the future. I also have a digital folder, as well, for things I've saved from internet discoveries. I'll probably never get to write 90% of them, but they're there in case I ever feel inspired to do something different.

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