From the mailbag:Mason in New Jersey says, “I enjoy your book The Tale of Despe...

From the mailbag:
Mason in New Jersey says, “I enjoy your book The Tale of Despereaux very much. But, I have a question that is most of the time unanswered, how do you get the ideas for your books? How do your ideas come? And how much do you enjoy making the books?”

Something about this letter moves me very much.
I wrote back and said that I love making the books, but that making the books is not easy for me.
But, where do the ideas come from?
Somehow, for all my efforts to answer that ques...