Interesting Interview with Suzanne Collins

The "Where do you get your ideas from?" may be one of the most common questions asked of authors, but it is often a very complex one to answer.  I came across an excellent interview with Suzanne Collins, author of The Huger Games Triology in the Huffington Post.  It's well word reading.  What I found most interesting was how bits and pieces of things came together to inspire her...the desensitizing influence of television, the Greek  Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur in which 14 children are sacrificed to keep Athens safe, and Spartacus (a classic film starring Kirk Douglas as a rebellious Roman slave which just happens to be one of my all time favorites).  The magic of writing is in taking all these threads of inspiration and ideas and weaving them together into a compelling story.  No question that Suzanne Collins has done just that.