Goodreads asked Erik Larson:

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

Erik Larson A long story! Here's the short version: I was looking for an idea. I had none on my plate. I'd always been interested in the Lusitania, and so, I started reading about the ship, for no particular reason--really just because when I'm looking for ideas I try to read widely and wildly. I was immediately hooked by the dimension of the personal tragedy involved, something that is typically overlooked in survey courses on European and American history, where the whole episode tends to be consigned to a dry, dusty node on the long timeline that led to World War One. I realized also that the 100th anniversary would arrive this year. As a rule I don't like writing to meet an anniversary. I don't think readers care. But, in my case--and this was five years ago--it was just enough to tip the balance, because it answered the question that always plagues us former journalists, which is, "Why write about it NOW?"

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