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.

Q&A with Peter Clines

 

Photo by Colleen Cooper

 

 

 

Peter Clines is the author of the new novel God's Junk Drawer. His other books include The Broken Room. He lives in Southern California. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write God’s Junk Drawer, and how did you create your cast of characters?

 

A: As far as inspiration, it was a lot of things. I’ve always been a big fan of lost world stories. One of the first movies I ever saw in the theater was The Island at The Top of the World when I was... 4? 5? I slept through a lot of it then, but it’s about people discovering a lost Viking colony in the early 1900s. 

 

And then there was King Kong on Skull Island, the X-Men in the Savage Land, John Carter found a lost world on Mars in the second Barsoom book, Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, Land of the Lost... There were just so many of them that I was basically marinating in all through my childhood.

 

As for the characters... well, that was also a lot of things. Most of them started out as basic ideas—I need this character to do this within the story, so at that level it’s kind of mechanical. Then they get fleshed out and become more well-rounded. Which then tends to change the story a bit.

 

F’r example, Billy/Noah is very integral to the book, but in earlier drafts he was just sort of, well, the embodiment of the theme. Which politely meant he was... let’s say “extremely stubborn.” But when I changed him, it meant changing a lot of other aspects of the book—some of the structure, where a few reveals happened, and so on.

 

Parker went through a lot of changes, too, and so did Sam.

 

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

 

A: Weirdly enough, it was just a random bit of dialogue I scribbled down very early on. Like, before I even started thinking of titles. It was something Noah’s dad said about the valley.

 

When I finally sat down to start seriously working on the book and got all my random notes and snippets in order, I came across it and though “oh yeah, that’s the title.” It’s big and cosmic and kind of ominous, but it’s also something where people can read it and get an immediate level of understanding.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it?

 

A: Kind of a tricky question. I pretty much always know how a book is going to end. I don’t always know the exact path that’s going to get me there. Like I mentioned above, it’s not uncommon for me to do revisions and have to tweak someone’s motivations or the structure or more.

 

It’s kind of like asking did I know how a game of chess was going to end. Sure, it ends when you capture the king. Did I know from the start exactly how I was going to capture the king? Every step planned out? No.

 

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

 

A: A healthy fear of dinosaurs.

 

Well, okay, a healthy fear of dinosaurs and maybe a bit of self-reflection about the things we loved when we were younger. There’s an underlying theme in this book about fandom and that old idea of “you can’t go home again.”

 

One way or another, everything progresses. Everything moves on. And a lot of life boils down to am I someone who can progress, who can change and move on, or am I someone who’s just going to stay stuck in the past shouting at everyone who challenges my out-of-date view?

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m about to dive into heavy edits on a book that’s coming out in early 2027. It’s probably the closest I’ve done to a straight horror novel, but still with a lot of the dark weirdness I tend to write into everything.

 

And while that’s going through edits I’m already poking at the next book after that, which I think may circle back to a little tease I made in a story... seven years ago?

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: By its very nature, it’s a book with a hundred easter eggs from movies, TV series, books. If you know where to look, there’s a nod somewhere to almost everything I’ve written.

 

Also, I was serious about that healthy fear of dinosaurs thing.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Michael G. Colburn

 

 

 

 

Michael G. Colburn is the author of the new novel Asylum Murders. It's the second in his Lady Black mystery series, following Stolen Brilliance. He lives in Vermont. 

 

Q: This is the second in your Lady Black mystery series—do you think your character Lady Edith Black has changed from one book to the next?

 

A: Edie Black grows from a naïve child to a master criminal, then to an educated, sophisticated lady seeking to apply her skills to solving crimes. Edie matures from being a poor child of the slums in London to a very wealthy lady in Australia because of a benefactor that cannot be revealed. She marries her long-time lover and vows to be like him in caring and helping others.

 

Q: What inspired the plot of this new novel?

 

A: I write to create Victorian adventure mysteries and explore new locations with my characters. I enjoy using actual events and look for crimes that haven’t been solved when possible.

 

In book two I needed to bring Lady Black and her childhood friend, Britina, back together again and Edie was now in Melbourne, Australia, because that is where the stolen ship Ferret, of book one ended its voyage—these were two givens for me. Research gave me clues to the plot I would later develop.

 

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

 

A: I read newspaper archives and did research on the time in Melbourne. I looked for crimes that weren’t solved and strange occurrences I could weave into a narrative.

 

Once I found out about the Kew Lunatic (official name at the time) Asylum, I focused a lot of time on studying asylums and asylum life.

 

Eventually I uncovered a book entitled Lizzie’s Journey to Yarra Bend. Written by Linley Walker, it’s an authentic account of her great-great- grandmother’s confinement in the lunatic asylums of Kew, Australia. Yarra Bend was the predecessor of Kew Asylum. It provided a wealth of detail about asylum life.

 

What surprised me a great deal from all my asylum research is the injustice of asylum confinement and how patient treatment deteriorated into abuse and mistreatment frequently and how easy it was to cover it up.

 

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

 

A: I wanted to show the injustice in the asylum confinement system of the 1900s. How madness isn’t always in the mind; it’s often in the system, and confinement was used to cover up mistreatment and illegal activities, including murder. I also wanted the reader to take away the enjoyment of a good story.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m writing book three of the Lady Black Mysteries—The Fate of Precious Things. In this book, Benji Diamond, Edie’s husband, is returning to London to complete the sale of the farms and food businesses he and Edie own so he can spend more time with Edie in Australia.

 

He chooses a voyage up the East Coast of Australia, where he has not been. He booked a passage on the HMS Quetta. The ship’s hull is ripped open on uncharted rock and sinks.

 

Benji survives and is stranded on a Torres Strait island with a young girl. Lady Black seeks to find him. He must confront West Indian savages, pearl-harvesting pirates and a lost memory. Jack Cramer (from book one) is hired by Lloyds of London to salvage the cargo of the Quetta, but others want to prevent him from doing so. He and Edie join forces.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’m researching book four, which brings the characters to Boston to uncover the secrets of murders that occurred in the 1800s and to confront the monster of the Berkshire Mountains.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Dec. 16

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Dec. 16, 1775: Jane Austen born.

Q&A with Simon Stephenson

 

 

 

Simon Stephenson is the author of the new middle grade novel The Snowman Code. His other books include Sometimes People Die. He is also a screenwriter, and he lives in Los Angeles.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Snowman Code, and how did you create your characters Blessing and Albert?

 

A: Before I was a writer I was a children's doctor and I worked with kids in the care system. I always wanted to write something they might see themselves in.  Blessing is a kid like the ones I knew, and embodies much of the strength and resilience I saw in those kids.

 

At the opposite end of the scale, I always find it very funny when somebody is certain they are correct while clearly being wrong and Albert embodies that. There is another part of him, though – a kind of polite formality – that I think comes from my beloved late grandparents.

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between them?

A: They are quite opposite in many ways. Blessing is the more responsible and worldly of the two, and has to do a lot of humoring Albert. They can certainly bicker but do also care deeply for one another. In that way, I suppose it is kind of a sibling relationship.

Q: This is your first book for young readers—why did you decide to write for kids?

A: It was something I'd wanted to do since I worked in the children's hospital. I also work as a screenwriter and I'd worked on a couple of big children's movies - Paddington 2 and Pixar's Luca - and so it seemed liked the obvious next step.

 

Q: What do you think Reggie Brown's illustrations add to the book?

 

A: So much! I fell in love with Reggie's work from his Instagram and when he started delivering images they were beyond anything I could have dreamed of.

 

They elevated the work in ways I had not possible, but I think overall the biggest thing about Reggie's illustrations is their heart. I think it's one thing to be able to write with heart when you have 200 pages to do so, but to bring such emotion to a single image is such a rare skill. He’s brilliant. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Right now I am working on a TV adaptation of my most recent novel, Sometimes People Die. It is a couple of years since the book came out and it has been fun to revisit it.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: There's a snowman festival in Japan in February every year and it looks amazing. I'm hoping to go sometime, but if you get there first please take some pictures for me.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Nora Ericson

 

 

 

Nora Ericson is the author of the new children's picture book The Bunny Ballet. Her other books include Too Early. She lives in Portland, Oregon. 

 

Q: You’ve said that your daughter and niece, who had taken a ballet class, were dancing around the house wearing leotards and bunny ears, and one of them suggested you write a story about a bunny ballet. Can you say more about how you created your bunny characters?

 

A: It was mostly coincidental, as it was just the timing of my daughter’s ballet class coinciding with Easter bunny ears. But bunnies also have a wonderful tradition in children’s literature. The Runaway Bunny, of course, and the bunnies in Goodnight Moon.

 

I must admit that ever since I read the wonderful exchange between Ursula Nordstrom and Clement Hurd in Dear Genius (the collected letters of Ursula Nordstrom) regarding whether or not the characters in Goodnight Moon should be humans or bunnies, I’ve wanted to write a bunny story!

 

Q: What do you think Elly MacKay’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: Elly’s artwork adds SO much!! It really adds the magic! She is such a master of layering and light and one of my favorite spreads is at the beginning when you see the bunnies leading the kids through the leafy tunnel into this other world. It just gives the book that “through the wardrobe” quality that I so loved as a kid –and still love as an adult!

 

I have an art background (I studied painting in college), so I tend to clearly visualize the art when I’m writing a picture book. But then since I don’t actually do the art for my own books, it never ends up looking the way I imagined. Which is usually a good thing!!

 

When I was writing The Bunny Ballet, I pictured the children sneaking out into a city at night and stumbling upon this underground theater of bunny dancers. And I actually envisioned the bunny dancers as these elongated, willowy hares!

 

So when I first saw Elly’s sketches, I was quite surprised and asked about making the bunnies taller/longer to better match my vision, but was told that she’d already tried that and found it made them look “creepy!” I had to laugh! My whole vision was a tad creepy!

 

So yeah, I think it is a very good thing that Elly brought her absolutely beautiful and charming interpretation to this story, because I’m pretty sure kids prefer it to my dark and creepy version. :)

 

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

 

A: I did a little research about ballet moves. I never intended my book to dive very deeply into the intricacies of ballet, but I wanted to include at least a few ballet-specific terms.

 

One thing not necessarily very surprising, but a bit tricky, was that many ballet terms are French and difficult for Americans to pronounce. This becomes especially problematic in a rhyming book because it’s important to choose words that people will pronounce the same way so that the meter/rhyme scheme works.

 

This is my first rhyming book and I guess something that really did surprise me was discovering how MANY words there are just in English that have a range of pronunciations. Words that different people stress differently or even pronounce with different numbers of syllables.

 

A few examples off the top of my head: elementary, pecan, syrup. Any word like this becomes very difficult to use in a tightly metered story and led to a few hair-pulling moments!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m a bit all over the map! I always have a bunch of picture books simmering away on various burners, but I’ve also been working on some longer pieces for the last few years that have been hogging a lot of my head space. We’ll see what happens!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: My daughter now wants a bunny for her birthday. We already have two dogs and two cats, so wish me luck!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb