Goodreads asked Cara Lopez Lee:

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

Cara Lopez Lee I coauthored Where There's a Will with Mark Dumas. Mark proved the value of asking our elders to record their life stories. In the 90s, the summer after he graduated college, Mark did that with his grandfather, William "Bill" Miner, and discovered Bill had lived a bolder, more adventurous, more heroic life than he'd imagined. As a young man, Bill ran away with a circus, drove Route 66 cross-country before most of it was paved, road the rails with vagabonds of the Great Depression, and became a hero on World War Two's front lines. Years after Bill's death, Mark came to me with an idea: though his grandpa's recordings didn't have enough material for a biography, it had the seeds for a work of historical fiction to honor his life.

We pictured a teenager who has suffered a trauma coming to his grandpa the summer after high school, in need of wisdom. Grandpa and grandson spend the summer sharing their gripping stories. I was proud to help Mark bring his vision to life. The fictional Will and Dylan remind me every person is a world, and when we share our worlds, we unlock healing tears and joyful laughter.

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