Goodreads asked Matt Hebert:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Matt Hebert The high school I attended, Bellevue West, has clearstory windows around the upper level of the common spaces in the center of the building. One day, while day dreaming between classes, I imagined that those windows were underwater, and that all manner of sea creatures were swimming by, breaking up the rays of sun that would pierce that deep. As I walked along I continued to rationalize that idea. The bus would have to be a submarine, and there would be air locks at the entrances to allow scuba-swimmers to enter and exit the school. As I started writing these ideas down and developing this world for my character, Sembado, to live in, I started to ask why. As the history of the complex revealed itself to me, the story became more robust, dynamic, and dire. Ultimately I finished the story 10 years later, updating only the current events of our time so that they were more closely represented in the turbulent past of Sembado's reality.

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