What will Kentucky Book Festival visitors find on your table?
Visitors will find stories that celebrate young readers! My latest is Fowl Play, a middle grade mystery starring an inherited parrot which has received two starred reviews (Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist) and is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection. There’s also The Decomposition of Jack (Also a JLG Gold Standard Selection) which features…roadkill. (Yes. If you or a young reader likes gross humor, this story might be the one for you.) I’ve also written three books that celebrate service dogs and all the amazing things they can do (A Dog Like Daisy, Zeus Dog of Chaos, and Luna Howls at the Moon), and I have two historical fiction novels based on the family that lived inside the New York Public Library! (The Story Collector and The Story Seeker). If you’re curious about a lot of fun, fantastic, wonderful worldly things, please come say hi!
Whom do you invite to stop by? Who will benefit from reading your book?
I love chatting with all readers, but I especially love chatting with young readers ages 8-14ish. If you’re curious, if you like humor, if you love animals, if you love science and nature – let’s talk about our favorite books!
Could you please tell us something curious about you and/or your book?
Fowl Play is the story of Chloe, who inherits an African grey parrot named Charlie. When Charlie starts squawking “Call 911!” and “It was poison!”, Chloe begins to wonder what actually happened to her favorite Uncle Will. I wrote this book after researching starlings – a much smaller songbird who has really cool migration patterns. It’s only after I decided that Charlie should be a parrot, and not a starling, that the mystery came to life.
Is this your first time participating in Kentucky Book Festival? If yes – what are you looking forward to the most? If you’ve participated before – what was your favorite experience at the Festival?
I’ve participated in the Kentucky Book Festival for several years (when it was still in Frankfort!), and I love meeting readers and other writers! My favorite memory is when I met a young reader who wanted to get his book signed. “What’s your name?” I asked. “Luke,” he replied. “Ah!” I said. “Like Skywalker!” “No ma’am,” he said. “Like Duke.” Ha! I LOVE young readers because of moments like this – I love how they see and explain the world.
