Goodreads asked Amy Ephron:

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

Amy Ephron When I was little, I thought of books as magical places to get lost in. I thought the characters were real, the places they lived were real. I think Misselthwaite (sp?) exists and that "The Secret Garden" might well be a work of non fiction. I even think (I admit it) that Mary Poppins is real and that Oz exists somewhere if only I could get there...
I wanted to write a modern day mashup of an old fashioned children's novel like the ones I loved when I was kid (and still reread) that somehow married the contemporary world to magic which is why I wrote "The Castle in the Mist." Almost magical realism, because you can't tell at times if the magic is real or if it's imagined. And it relies on the belief that wishes can come true. And the conviction that it's essential to believe in yourself. (Both of which I think are also an excellent motto for life.) #believeinmagic and the fact that sometimes wishes do come true.

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