Goodreads asked Gary A. Nilsen:

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

Gary A. Nilsen The idea for Alfheim wasn't born from any one thing; rather is comes from a mood, a sense of place that came from a dream when I was 9 or 10 years old. In that dream I was kidnapped and taken into a magical world. I remember that one of the girls, who were all dressed in green (almost like leprechauns) was a classmate of mine. I don't remember the details of the dream, except that in the end, they brought me back to my house in Brooklyn and left me near the front door of the sunlit hallway. I came away with two things that never left me: waking and desperately wanting to go back to sleep to resume the dream and a panic of wanting to go back to their world so badly. It awoke a sense of wonder in alternate worlds and a love of fantasy. When I read Twilight, even though I'm not the typical member of the intended demographic for that novel, I realized that it was okay to let go and write from the position of passion. The result was Alfheim...

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