Goodreads asked Matthew Bruce Alexander:

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

Matthew Bruce Alexander I shall assume this refers to Withur We, my only published book, and not to the one I am working on now, which will be talked about in another answer.

I decided to write Withur We when I had the abrupt realization that I simply was not constituted right to make independent films, the main reason being I hated asking people for money, which is 90% of independent filmmaking. I was, however, quite happy to sit by myself in my computer room and write scripts. I had always been a book reader, and my interest in cinema and movie making was sort of a sidetrack from literature. When I realized that I was not - at least at that time - going to be directing independent films of any length or importance, I knew I had to do something with storytelling.

This moment in my life also coincided with the completion of my conversion to libertarianism. While I had been a libertarian for a number of years, it had only been for the last year or so that I had been a closet anarchist. It seems strange to me now, but I was leery of coming out and declaring my opposition to all government everywhere. When I finally came out of that closet, and realized that I was not going to be making films any time soon, the decision to write a libertarian novel was made as a fait accompli.

The book evolved in my mind over time. I spent five or six months prepping for it. From the beginning I knew it was going to feature a rebellion. Other elements and new directions were added later, and even as I was well into writing it my understanding and appreciation for libertarianism was growing and gaining nuance and perspective. I clearly remember the moment when I had an idea for how I was going to tie everything together at the end. I knew the basics of how it was going to end, but I had a eureka moment and the jubilation I felt I can remember quite clearly.

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