Goodreads asked David Hughes:

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

David Hughes I was backpacking on the Tahoe Rim Trail with a friend and my son. It occurred to me without cell phone service, a through-hiker (like a PCT backpacker) could be off the grid for several days, even a week or so if batteries died, etc. Long enough to miss out on a fast-spreading human infection off the trail and at home. It seemed like a good environment to start the story and a good device to ensure the protagonist (Val) was clueless about what was happening to the world.

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