I’m not a good liar, I hate flying, I can’t ski and I’m intimidated by policemen, not to mention bears. But I love to tell a good story. So, in The Great Escape, what else could I do but put all these elements together? Of course, I desperately needed to do some research (since I generally don’t know much about things I avoid). So I pestered very big policemen and very busy pilots into answering a few questions. It didn’t take long before they were threatening to throw me into a cell or out of an airplane if I didn’t go away! Now I know how my heroine, Joan, feels. She wasn’t the only one who had to make The Great Escape!
—Cheryl Anne Porter