On a skiing trip in Alberta in March of 2001, I got a story idea during breakfast. I did not have a kid for the story, but I knew the name of a girl in the dining room because she was behind me in the buffet line and I heard her mom say her name. So once I was done with the story, I went over to the family and told them what had happened.
They were happy to have me tell the story to Thea and her little brother, Tate — and that is how they got to be the kids in the story.
