Gray After Dark was inspired by the real-life abduction of 23-year-old biathlete Kari Swenson. In the book’s Author’s Notes, Ihli reveals that her novel is a tribute to Kari Swenson’s “athleticism, ability to remain calm in an unthinkably traumatic situation, and her grit” (343).

Kari Swenson was a trailblazer of the biathlon, excelling in the emerging, male-dominated sport. In 1984, she trained for the US Olympic team while working at a Montana guest ranch. During a routine run in the mountains near Big Sky, she was assaulted and kidnapped by 58-year-old Don Nichols and his 18-year-old son, Dan. The father and son had been living in the Montana wilderness, adhering to a survivalist ideology. They believed that abducting a woman and making her Dan’s “wife” would allow them to recreate a pre-modern society based on self-sufficiency.

Less than 24 hours after the abduction, two members of a search party found the Nicholses’ camp, where Kari was chained to a tree. During the confrontation, Don Nichols fatally shot Kari Swenson’s friend and co-worker, Alan Goldstein. Before escaping the scene, Dan Nichols shot Kari Swenson in the chest, collapsing her lung. For the next four hours, Kari practiced the controlled breathing she had learned as a biathlete, and this allowed her to survive until she was found.