Goodreads asked Marcus A. Nelson:

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

Marcus A. Nelson As a history buff, mostly Black history, I found the biographies of Assata Shakur, James Forman and Bayard Rustin fascinating - those were my true inspirations. Including the era of Civil Rights, Pullman Porters, HBCU's, I wanted my first novel to include all of that. Also, my childhood was basis of the setting I utilized and I felt it was important to show that not all Blacks grew up in an urban environment.

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