Q&A with Katy Farber

 

Photo by Kurt Budliger

 

 

Katy Farber is the author of the new novel The Board. Her other books include the middle grade novel The Order of the Trees. She is also an assistant professor of education at Saint Michael's College. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Board, and how did you create your character Liv?

 

A: The spark for the book came from Brendan Deenen of Blackstone Publishing. He had the seed of an idea about a corrupt school board, and a narcissistic principal also acting as a superintendent. They were looking for a writer with K-12 teaching experience, and I fit the bill! 

 

The book is inspired by many things: the rise of book banning and uncivil school board meetings across the country; the threats to teachers for working to teach true, hard histories of the United States and to protect the identities of all of their students; and the many ways women are made to feel small and undervalued in our society as many of our rights are stripped away.

 

I created Liv based on the idea that many women have had to face workplace harassment and discrimination and might not have done what they think they should have, and how this informs their future decisions and actions. 

 

Q: The novel is set in a small town in New Hampshire--how important is setting to you in your writing?

 

A: New England, I hope, feels like a character in this book. I want the reader to feel steeped in place, and season, the end of fall and the beginning of what we call stick season (even before Noah Kahan’s song!). That sense of coziness and beauty at times, but also of foreboding and fear in the crunch of leaves and the starkness of the sky and trees.

 

The setting allows for the reader to imagine a place that is small town and beautiful, but also closed minded and insular. I think the story would be lost if it were not of this time and place in New England. 

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: No, I did not know the end before I started writing it. I had a sense of the final scene, in that I wanted it to connect to and rhyme with the opening one, but how to get there in between, I wasn’t clear.

 

I also worked with my editor to create a few more moments of the plot shifting in unexpected ways and had to circle back to plot points that emerged and make sure everything made sense and hung together. 

 

Q: The Publishers Weekly review of the book says, “Farber nicely captures Liv’s mounting anxiety and makes her amateur investigation feel high-stakes. It’s a sharp exploration of parental unease.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love that description because it hits at what so many parents are feeling after the pandemic with the stark increase in anxiety rates of children. We went through a collective trauma, and our kids are still facing the consequences of that time.

 

Parents are constantly barraged with negative news, advice about what they should be doing, and how they are failing their kids. It is hard to be a parent, and to feel like you are “getting it right.”

 

I wanted to capture that feeling with Liv and her daughter Piper, who is highly sensitive, creative, and struggles with a very regimented and inflexible school environment. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m in the middle of my next thriller novel, the details of which will remain hush-hush, only to mention that it's told from four different women’s perspectives while on an ill-fated safari  trip. I am looking forward to some cold and sleet and early sunsets to help me get this draft finished! 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: There is a playlist for The Board made by my daughter, and it captures the essence of many aspects of the book. Give it a listen! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6lFhztnKG8yxPO46t8XjHh?si=f3ff41507ac7435e

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Brendan Gillen

 

 

 

Brendan Gillen is the author of the new story collection Hang Time. His other books include the novel Static. He lives in Brooklyn.

 

Q: Over how long a period did you write the stories in your new collection?

 

A: The earliest piece in the collection is “Tully”, a flash fiction piece from the perspective of an aging boxer, which was published by Molotov Cocktail way back in 2018.

 

The most recent piece is “What Gouda Knew,” a story about a cat that assists in healing the grief of a young woman who has just lost her twin sister, which JMWW just published last month.

 

I’m currently working on a novel-length version of the final story in the collection, “Man Up,” about a basketball player navigating insomnia and personal trauma amidst the microscope of major college basketball. So, to answer your question, some are from the vault, while others continue to evolve.

 

Q: How was the book’s title--also the title of one of the stories--chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: In the title story, a high school basketball player disrupts the space-time continuum in the middle of the game, freezing the entire gym—teammates, opponents, coaches, fans—as he ponders his future as a ballplayer and as a man.

 

It’s that in-betweenness that really interests me as a writer, the moments right before…before a personal transformation, before disaster strikes, before the dissolution of a relationship, before we become the person we hope to be.

 

In many ways, most of our days are a sort of “Hang Time,” the elongated parenthesis of the present moment. It’s in these moments that life occurs, if we can only slow down enough to notice it. 

 

Q: The writer John Brandon said of the book, “These tense, urgent tales explore the past-your-prime turbulence of adulthood with the lush sentence-writing of Barry Hannah and the stop-short eeriness of Raymond Carver.” What do you think of that description, and of those comparisons?

 

A: I’m a huge admirer of John Brandon. I first became aware of this work for Grantland, the now-defunct sports literary journal that launched a number of fantastic writers to a broader readership (John Brandon, Hua Hsu, Chris Ryan, Molly Lambert, Jay Caspian Kang, etc.). And John’s novel Citrus County is one of my favorites of all time.

 

So, when John not only agreed to read and blurb Hang Time, but lend such kind words, I was incredibly honored.

 

Carver and Hannah, it goes without saying, are titans, so I’m beyond flattered to be mentioned in the same breath. I once heard someone hilariously say that LaCroix flavored sparkling water tastes like someone shouted the name of a fruit from another room…maybe that’s me with Raymond Carver and Barry Hannah. 

 

Q: How did you decide on the order in which the stories would appear in the collection?

 

A: Largely by feel. I wanted to create a sense of flow, stacking shorter and longer pieces together to establish a rhythm of peaks and valleys. When I’m reading story collections, I sometimes feel overwhelmed when I know there are say, three or four 30-page stories in a row. So, I was keeping that in mind.

 

But readers should also feel free to skip around, like picking up the needle on an album to find your favorite track. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m currently working on a novel manuscript, which is an extension of the final story in the collection, “Man Up.” As I mentioned above, the story takes place in the world of major college basketball, centering on a star player whose mother was a WNBA player before she passed away.

 

I won’t spoil it, but I’ll say lots of other intense shit goes down leading up to the biggest game of the season, all of which contributes to the protagonist’s nightmarish insomnia, a subject I unfortunately know plenty about.

 

My dad was a college basketball coach for 30 years, so I also know plenty about the ins and outs of the sport, about what the game can give you, and what it can take away. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Even if you don’t like sports, there’s plenty to dig into with this collection: surfing, monster truck rallies, a dystopian Miami gun range bachelorette party, rollercoaster vomiting, Scottish Fold cats…something for everyone!

 

I hope anyone who picks it up can find something to enjoy, but there’s a lot being written about how men no longer read fiction…I hope this collection can play a small role in counteracting that narrative. 

 

I also just want to thank Scott Bolohan and .406 Press for the belief and support; John Brandon, Emily Costa, and Eric Rasmussen for their words; and Jared Hedges for the cover design. I’m proud of this collection and grateful to have had the chance to work with so many talented people to bring the book to life.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Brendan Gillen. 

Q&A with Naomi Yaeger

 

 

 

Naomi Yaeger is the author of the new book Blooming Hollyhocks: Tales of Joy During Hard Times. She is also a journalist, and she lives in Duluth, Minnesota. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Blooming Hollyhocks?

 

A: In 2011, when my mom was 81, she told my brother Charles and me she had kidney disease. She preferred to keep it private, but I felt an urgency to interview her and preserve her story—especially her remarkable public health nursing career.

 

She inspected nursing homes in Maine; served at the Indian Health Service Hospital in Gallup, New Mexico; cared for patients in Florida, directed Public Health Nursing on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation; and worked with Hispanic migrant families in Minnesota’s Red River Valley. As a preschooler, I sometimes played with the children in the sugar beet fields while she visited families.

 

Her favorite work was maternal and child health nursing in Polk County, Minnesota, where she believed a single home visit could prevent child abuse. Later she worked as a school nurse across several Polk County schools, and if you attended schools in that county she may have checked your hearing or given you an immunization.

 

But despite that long résumé, she didn’t want a book about her career. She wanted a book about her childhood—growing up in a small southwest Minnesota town with three brothers, one sister, and a lively extended family. Counting her siblings, 26 cousins shared a tight bond. Those were the stories she wanted to see bloom on the page.

 

Q: Did you need to do much research, or did you know most of the story already?

 

A: Like many kids, I’d listened to her childhood stories with “half an ear,” so interviews were essential. I recorded her while scribbling in my reporter’s notebook.

 

My mom’s cousin, Donald Minehart, wrote Fields of Dreams, which helped me verify names and dates and happenings on the farmstead. Her brother Gordon’s memoir, My Story, help me add depth.

 

Toward the last two years of writing, I emailed Aunt Phyllis every day to ask about people and events. She had been my mom’s childhood friend and married my mother’s brother, Jim.

 

Mom told of a train trip from South Dakota to Minnesota when the snowdrifts were so high the train stopped and the family stayed overnight with a stranger in Pipestone, Minnesota. Research confirmed it was the Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940. Parents say, “The snow was way higher when I was a kid,” and—well—this time she was right.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: Choosing a title was a struggle. Early versions included An Avoca Childhood, Fortunate Janette, Do All the Good You Can, and The Girl with the Can-Do Attitude.

 

My early favorite was Yellow Tulips. Wendy Grethen suggested it because my mom loved bright yellow. I loved it too, but tulips bloom far too early to fit our Minnesota–South Dakota stories.

 

Then, during a phone call, my cousin Jenny reminisced about making hollyhock dolls on the family farm with her sister Martha and Aunt Nina. Hollyhocks were sturdy, cheerful, old-fashioned, and rooted in our family’s memory. That’s when I knew the book had found its name.

 

Q: What impact did writing the book have on you, and what do you hope readers take away?

 

A: At first, I thought the book would be only for family. Then my goal became to write it well enough for others to enjoy. I assumed young adults might be the main audience, but older adults have embraced it—drawn to its nostalgia and the resilience it celebrates.

 

Writing it taught me how eyesight issues were passed down, how farmland changed hands, and how deeply my great-grandparents and grandparents valued education for girls as well as boys. My grandpa even turned down promotions so the family could stay rooted.

 

Their good parenting shaped my mother—and those blessings extend to my daughter, me, my brother, and his son.

 

I hope readers see how joy and hardship can sit side by side, and how community support can transform even the toughest years.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I write news and feature stories for Duluthian, Positively Superior, and Northern Wilds. I’m creating a devotional companion, a journal, and study guides for Blooming Hollyhocks. Chapter 1 includes lessons on hard vs. soft water, constellations, and the Northern Lights. A friend who homeschools her grandchildren inspired me to expand these guides for students.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I spent 14 years working on this book and sharing it has become a joyful journey. Visit NaomiWritesWords.com for events. And if you come to a book event, you might hear my husband, Terry, playing the banjo—we make a great storytelling team.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Ashley Key

 

 

 

Ashley Key is the author and illustrator of the new children's picture book Dash and the Lights in the Sky. She is also an educator and a technical writer. 

 

Q: What inspired you to create Dash and the Lights in the Sky?

 

A: I’ve always been mesmerized by the northern lights, but the real spark came from watching my own daughters ask “why?” about everything. I wanted a book that captured the wonder of auroras while also gently explaining the science behind them — something lyrical, cozy, and full of discovery.

 

I worked in satellite communications for several years, so space weather wasn’t abstract to me; it affected real signals and systems. I thought, kids are already curious — let’s give them real science wrapped in a beautiful story.

 

And honestly, a lot of Dash’s personality came from our real-life husky, Drake — his head tilts, his sky-watching, and his endless curiosity on walks reminded me daily that wonder begins with simply looking up.

 

Q: Did you work on the text first or the illustrations first — or both simultaneously?

 

A: Both came together almost at the same time. I write in a very visual way, so as soon as I had the poetic rhythm of Dash noticing the lights, I could already see the watercolor washes and soft Arctic night skies.

 

Sometimes an illustration idea inspired a line of text, and other times a rhyme guided the artwork. The story and visuals shaped each other continuously, and it all started when my daughters asked me to draw our husky — I made him a bit cartoony for them, and that style naturally evolved into Dash and the world around him.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I relied heavily on primary scientific sources, especially:

NASA – Auroras Overview
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earths-magnetosphere/auroras/

University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute (Aurora Forecast & Science)
https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – Space Weather & Auroras
https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/space-weather/auroras

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

 

The biggest surprise: auroras are happening all the time — even at midday — but we can’t see them without darkness and clear atmospheric conditions. I also learned how specific gases create different aurora colors.

 

For example:

Green and yellow light generally come from oxygen at lower altitudes (~100–150 km)

Red auroras come from oxygen at much higher altitudes (~200–300 km)

Purple and blue hues often come from nitrogen ions

 

I was also fascinated by the aurora australis, the southern lights, which occur simultaneously around the geomagnetic south pole. And yes — Jupiter, Saturn, and even Mars have auroras, influenced by different magnetic field strengths and solar wind interactions.

 

For a children’s book, I had to translate that into friendly language — but I refused to oversimplify scientific accuracy.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: Curiosity, absolutely — but also confidence in asking questions about the natural world. I want children to feel that science and wonder can live together, that understanding something doesn’t make it less magical, it makes it more magical.

 

The book includes a Parent’s Reading Guide, vocabulary list, science facts, and built-in STEM crafts, because stories can spark real exploration:

Why does the Sun send out streams of solar wind?

How does Earth’s magnetosphere shield our planet?

Why do different planets have their own auroras?

 

If a family ends up watching a NASA aurora video or checking the University of Alaska Fairbanks aurora forecast together, that’s a win.

 

More than anything, I hope the book encourages families to learn side by side. There’s no pressure to memorize facts or become experts — just permission to follow curiosity, chase questions, and feel that sense of discovery long after the last page is turned.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m expanding the Dash series into a full educational collection — all Arctic and STEM-based. Dash, Echo, and Nimbus will explore topics like weather, maps, seasons, animal adaptations, sound in snow, and more.

 

I’m also building hands-on author visit programs for libraries, museums, and schools that include live science demonstrations and STEM crafts. Readers can expect more science, more northern landscapes, and new discoveries in every book.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Dash and the Lights in the Sky is already available worldwide in hardcover, softcover, and board book editions — and readers have discovered it in more than 20 countries.

 

I also offer author visits with hands-on science demonstrations, including “Balloon Planet & Dancing Northern Lights,” which uses static electricity and magnetic fields to show how streams of solar wind can create ribbons of light in our sky.

 

Every book, school visit, and STEM craft is rooted in real science, presented in a kid-friendly way. My goal is to help children look up at the sky with wonder — and leave with a spark of understanding they can build on.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with Ashley Key. Enter this giveaway for the chance to win one of seven signed copies of Dash and the Lights in the Sky: two hardcover editions and five board books. One grand prize winner will also receive a beautifully curated craft box paired with a signed hardcover copy of the book.

Dec. 17

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Dec. 17, 1873: Ford Madox Ford born.

Q&A with Erin Frankel

 

 

 

 

Erin Frankel is the author of the new children's picture book biography Mary Oliver, Holding on to Wonder. Her other books include A Plate of Hope. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write a picture book biography of the poet Mary Oliver (1935-2019)?

 

A: Years ago, a friend shared Mary Oliver’s poem "Wild Geese" with me. The first line stopped me in my tracks. I felt like I was holding my breath yet exhaling at the same time. To read on and feel what I had felt so many times before so beautifully put into words made me want to know and read more of Mary’s poetry.

 

When she passed away, I felt a sense of having somehow just missed her, and I thought of how the world would grieve without her presence. I was grateful to have her poems to turn to.

 

I thought of all that would be missed if readers never learned about Mary Oliver, and I imagined the possibilities if they did. I knew then that I wanted to write about her. A beautiful door had been opened. It turns out that I was just getting to know her.

 

I hope this book might be part of opening a door for someone else. Writing a picture book biography about Mary Oliver has been an honor. It is my way of saying: Thank you, Mary.

 

Q: What do you think Jasu Hu’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: Everything. Jasu captured the spirit and essence of Mary Oliver in her illustrations. She has created tender, soulful spaces where the reader’s imagination can land and take off at the same time.

 

Before the book came out, Jasu shared her feelings about its creation: The happiness of working on this project felt like rowing through moonlit tides.

 

Her illustrations show just how deeply she traveled into Mary Oliver’s life and work. She walked through that open door that I was speaking of. Into the woods, to the edge of the ponds, to the dunes, to the beaches, and to the heart of the people and places Mary loved.

 

And she gives readers the possibility of doing the same through her stunning illustrations.   

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says that it “[l]ets young readers tiptoe through the wild, wonderful life of a celebrated poet.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love that description. Tiptoe says to me that the reader is doing something with great care and intention. What does it mean to walk tenderly into the life and world of another? How does it feel to honor a life in this way?

 

It also makes me think of Mary herself and how she walked through the wild, wonderful natural world that she so loved. It is my great joy to do so as well.

 

And the words celebrated poet speak to the child in me. Growing up, I often wondered about my favorite poets (some of them children’s book authors). I would have loved to have known more about their lives and what it meant to be a poet. To have written a book that may speak to that same curiosity in readers fills me with joy.

 

Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?

 

A: I hope readers feel a sense of the curiosity, empathy, and wonder that embodied Mary Oliver’s life and lives on through her writing. I hope they take joy in imagining and knowing that Mary’s world of wonder awaits them beyond the pages of the book. May they start now.

 

I hope they find comfort in knowing that the natural world loves them deeply and unconditionally and are inspired to love it back as tenderly as Mary did. And for those who are excited to tell about it, I hope they find a way that speaks to them as much as poetry did to Mary.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am working on new stories both real and imaginative. I’m drawn to stories filled with hope and wonder. In the spring, I have a book on musical theater composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim coming out. Speaking of wonder!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: As readers explore Mary Oliver’s writing, I hope they are inspired to share their favorite poems with others and to perhaps try some of their own. You never know what a poem might mean to someone. And what greater gift than to give someone words that carry them through and fill them with hope and wonder.

 

Working on this book felt like a gift. It was a beautiful collaborative process, and I am so grateful to everyone who nurtured it and tiptoed with me along the way.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Gail Kuhnlein

 

 

Gail Kuhnlein is the author of the new children's picture book Into the Thicket. She also has written the picture book How Happy Is a Lark?. She lives near Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

Q: You’ve said the inspiration for Into the Thicket came from a family experience--can you tell us more about that?

 

A: Sure, I’m always happy to talk about my sons. If we travel back in time some 22 years ago, our boys were playing catch in the backyard on a late spring day.

 

When big brother’s throw soared over little brother’s head, he dashed next door to retrieve the football. Next to the ball, he spotted “something.” The creature was too young to be recognizable. It lay alone in the dry grass and hot sun, rocking a bit from side to side, its heart visibly thumping. The mystery animal turned out to be an injured baby rabbit!

 

From this point forward, except for taking the kit (as baby rabbits are called) to a wildlife rehabilitator, the rest of the book is fiction. With the help of my wonderful editor, Bob Comenole, I rewrote and edited the manuscript.

 

From the get-go, I rewrote the ending so that the baby rabbit lives. In real life, ours was too young to survive. In an author’s note at the end of the book, I mention how impactful it can be to write about and change our stories and rewrite endings.

 

Q: What do you think John Megahan’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: Oh my gosh. Working with John on this book was a chance of a lifetime. John’s illustrations bring the story to colorful, magical, breathtaking life. I’m over the moon with how our book turned out. The time, love, and patience John put into our book shows. The level of detail is incredible.

 

His hand-drawn sketches with watercolor give soft, nostalgic life to the characters and settings. The different perspectives he captured, within a limited number of settings, makes each page turn a delightful surprise.

 

The illustrations add personality, enchantment and enhance the emotional feel of the story. A number of reviews mention the story’s emotional depth and how it will stay with the reader long after the final page.

 

Q: Did you need to do any research for the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: My research was in different phases, starting some 20 years ago when I spoke to the wildlife rehabilitator we took the rabbit to for help. I used her name, Felice, in the book. She graciously shared details of the animal’s care with me.

 

After decades seeking a publisher (it’s tough out there), I was reworking the story to self-publish and realized how much time had passed. So, a wildlife rehab friend directed me to Keirstie Carducci of Out-Back Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

 

As a result of our discussions, I updated some rehab strategies and added further detail. I’m grateful for her help and chose to donate half of my proceeds to Out-Back. After a year, I may choose another wildlife rehab or related organization. John will donate to conservation causes.

 

What was most eye-opening (if not so surprising) to me was learning how difficult it is for rabbits under a week old to survive without their mother. Rabbits’ eyes open at about a week old.

 

This helped explain what happened to our rabbit in real life. Its eyes were closed when my son found it. Rabbits get a special food from their mothers during the first week that helps them survive. I “aged” the rabbit in my story to make its survival more realistic.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to learn strategies to protect a nest of baby rabbits, for people with dogs who find a nest in their yard, for example. If a nest is moved “to protect” the babies, sadly, mama rabbit won’t find them.

 

Placing an upside-down wheelbarrow or a lawn mower over the nest to keep your dog out works. As long as Mama has a couple inches of space, she can get to her babies.

 

Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?

 

A: I hope that children take away an enhanced feeling of compassion, love, and respect for wildlife and our natural world. This upcoming generation will be faced with mounting environmental crises. They are the ones who are going to have to, quite literally, save the world.

 

I want them to know that they can make a difference by caring and taking action. I hope that in our hero, Patrick, they see that children can overcome their fears, a step at a time. I’d also like Patrick to be a role model for difficult times everyone eventually faces when we love deeply and have to learn to cope with letting go.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: My main writing related activity now is marketing Into the Thicket. I have a couple more older manuscripts I’m thinking about rewriting and editing in the future. I think one of these would be a good project for the new year.

 

One I have in mind was, interestingly, also inspired by our youngest son and fictionalized. I have a couple of new ideas brewing, too. It will be fun (for me) to see where I go next.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I take the honor of writing for children to heart. Writing picture books combines two loves of my life. I have a profound respect and love for children. I remember what it was like to be a child.

 

In many ways, I feel the same INSIDE now as I did then: in our core, our soul, perhaps. I hope that my life experiences have made me somewhat wiser, but that shy little girl will always be within.

 

I know she would be happy to see this newfound chapter of my life: this dream of ours coming true. When I see photos of my little self, I think how I’d love to hug her and tell her it’s going to be hard, at times, but we’ll be alright. In a way, by continuing to write, as little me did, I’m honoring her and wrapping her tightly in my arms.

 

More broadly, I’d love to play even a tiny role in encouraging young writers (or whatever it is their heart desires) to follow their dreams.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with Gail Kuhnlein. Enter this giveaway for the chance to win one of three signed hardcover copies of Into the Thicket, each accompanied by a set of custom stickers featuring illustrations from the book. One grand prize winner will receive a signed hardcover of Into the Thicket with an adorable rabbit companion stuffie and a set of custom stickers, plus a signed paperback of How Happy Is a Lark? along with a singing lark stuffie.