Goodreads asked Neha Yazmin:

How do you get inspired to write?

Neha Yazmin Usually, it takes a combination of different factors and experiences to inspire a whole novel. I take inspiration from good books, films, music, and of course anything interesting I know. I also draw on my knowledge of Psychology.

You do need one or two triggers to start writing though. For my debut novel Chasing Pavements, it was this bizarre vision I woke up with on the morning of August 1, 2010. I opened my eyes with Jamie in my head. I could see him so clearly - his hair, his eyes, his demeanour. As though he was a very good friend, I just knew him - his pain, his apathy, his past, his present. What I didn’t know was his future.

But I wanted to find out.

I spent the rest of the day thinking about him, his life, his family, and music. Christmas 2009 with Jamie and his family was the first scene that came to me that day.

Music had a critical part to play in it too. That summer, I had been obsessed with Muse’s single Neutron Star Collision and I knew that song represented Jamie (and Mukti) when he first came into my life. A fading star, losing his way.

The other song that had grabbed me was Marcus Foster’s I Was Broken (the lyrics speak of no longer being broken). That was the song I wanted to represent Jamie (and Mukti) at the end of the book. All year, I had been fascinated by the idea of two fading stars, coming together and then emerging brighter as one, and somehow this concept inspired the storyline.

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