In the Forests of the Night critics. The title refers William Blake's poem "The Tyger", which appears in the beginning of the book. Atwater-Rhodes' second book, "Demon in My View", was published in 2000 when she was 16 and is the sequel to "In the Forests of the Night". "Persistence of Memory", published in 2008, makes mention and appearance of the main character's brother. According to Atwater-Rhodes' official site, The Den of Shadows, "In the Forests of the Night" is one of seven novels that she had finished writing and is only the first she ever published. The inspiration for the novel came from an assignment
Burning Bright was too long and too literary by the producers of the play led to the change to the shorter excerpt from the same poem: "Burning Bright". Friend Ed has been pointed out as one in a line of characters inspired by Steinbeck's best friend Ed Ricketts. At the time Steinbeck wrote "Burning Bright", Ricketts had recently been killed in a car accident, and as well as reflecting his friend's character in that of Friend Ed, it is thought that the settings of the circus and the sea may have had significance for Steinbeck: he had apparently been at the circus