Deborah Underwood and the Man Who Didn't like Animals

Avid and eager readers! I know its been over a year and a half since I have posted here, I have been busy with award panels, Ryan getting into elementary school in TK, father duties and fun and the world and its mindless games.  Thank you for visiting my blog again or for the first time!!

Today I am more then grateful as mega fan of Deborah Underwood to have her on the blog for her book Man Who Didn't Like Animals!

Please Purchase book here: https://booksinc.net/book/9780358567134

On to the interview:

Introduction: 

I'm a Northern California writer who has published more than 30 picture books. I live in the Bay Area, and love animals, green spaces, and vegan cookies. Please visit me at deborahunderwoodbooks.com.

Intro to the book:

The Man Who Didn't Like Animals is about a tidy man in an apartment building who swears he doesn't like animals...until a cat decides she lives with him. Over the story, more animals show up and he grudgingly falls in love with them all, which leads him to make a surprising life choice. LeUyen Pham did the spectacular illustrations for the book. Interview1. What were you like as 5 through 8 years old?
I was an introverted child before people were talking much about introversion: your basic nerdy, small-for-my-grade, terrible-at-sports kid. I had a hard time fitting in, which is of course what I wanted more than anything to do. I was a big reader. I was overwhelmed with happiness when I realized the school library was open during recess so I could go hide there and read instead of getting beaned with kickball on the playground2. You say you write for your inner 6 year old, please explain?
A lot of authors say they have an inner kid. It seems like if they have an inner fifteen-year-old, they write YA; if they have an inner six-year-old, they write picture books. My most successful books have been the ones I wrote to please my inner child, not ones I wrote because of some perceived need in the market or some editor's wishlist. If something delights six-year-old me, I know I'm on the right track.

Underwood Author Photo

3. How many books have you gotten published versus written and submitted to publishers?
Oh gosh, I'm not sure. I definitely submitted some amateurish manuscripts when I was starting out. I'm thankful that now my agent is a gatekeeper: she'll let me know if she doesn't think something is strong enough to send out, and I'll either abandon it or rework it and try again. She submits quite selectively and knows the tastes of editors we work with, so my acceptance rate is much higher than it was at the beginning. But there are still manuscripts she and I both love which haven't yet found a home.
4. How do you write for kids despite all that is going on in our world?
It can be so hard—and functioning in the midst of all the difficult news seems to be a problem for many people, not just writers. Sometimes I need to do news fasts. And I remind myself over and over that writing books that amuse kids, or get kids excited about reading, or help kids be more empathetic is likely the most powerful way I can effect change. If I let myself get depressed and bogged down in despair, I'm not serving anyone. 
5.    What would you say to your 5 or 6 year old self today?
I'd tell her that being introverted and not fitting in can be a challenge, but that those things are also a great source of power, and she'll discover that eventually. And that she'll find her people when she gets older and be much happier. And not to read in the bathtub, because despite her best intentions, the book will fall in and she'll have wrinkled books on her shelf when she's an adult.
6. Animals seem to be be dominant and always important in all your books, why? What is the role of animals in your books? Their recurrent Thematic importance?
I just love animals and feel a strong connection to them. And I think our world values a few animals—cats, dogs—but treats so many of the others badly: as products, as things put here for our use. I hope at some point we'll draw the circle of compassion more generously and include those others. Since I feel so deeply about animals, they can't help but show up in my work, because my work is me.

Underwood with new Book

7. Your new book is amazing, adorable, crucial, amazing blend of text and illustrations, and above all a lovely read for all ages! How did the book come to being from idea to sitting on shelves?
Thank you so much! I'd been trying to write a manuscript that would encourage people to see animals as individuals, and of course when you start out with a preachy message, you get a preachy, dull manuscript.
So I put it aside, and one day wondered what would happen if a man who didn't like animals had a cat show up at his home (which is the way I acquired my first two dear cats). I figured he'd discover things he had in common with the cat, and that the cat would worm her way into his life and his love, as they do.
As other animals showed up in the story, I wondered what the heck the man would do with all the animal friends he was accumulating, and Old MacDonald popped into my head. So I didn't set out to write an origin story, but there it was! I'm thrilled that my wonderful editor loved the idea too, and that she found the perfect illustrator in LeUyen Pham.
I have a draft of The Man Who Didn't Like Animals from 2020, so things progressed at publishing's usual molasses-like pace. I'm very happy to finally have it out in the world.
8. You have spoken so modestly about the entirely outrageous number of rejections you have had over the years. This seems to be way too common especially for not as accomplished authors... what can readers of all ages do about making our shelves and Storytime's full of both the best and the diverse books?
Aw, thank you—I think my mom was the only other person who was outraged by the rejections I got! I think just paying attention goes a long way toward building a diverse book collection. It's so very important for readers to be able to see themselves in stories—people who look like them, people who worship like them, people who share their experiences. And it's also important for kids growing up in areas without much diversity, as I did, to get a window into other lives. Booksellers are happy to recommend good picks to help diversify libraries.
The question about best books is an interesting one. In a way, I feel like any book that gets a kid excited about reading is a good book. But when I read self-published books with crummy rhyme schemes or creepy pictures, it really makes me angry, because the creators didn't take their job seriously. Kids deserve books by people who have worked hard to learn how to write and illustrate them well. Kids are the most important audience.9. What can everyone do to support you always? What do you want us to do next?
What a lovely question! Most authors appreciate it when folks buy their books, or ask that their library buy them, or post reviews, or pay them to come speak at a school (often people want free visits, not understanding the time and effort it takes to prepare a good presentation, and that many authors rely on school visit income to keep afloat). And I certainly love it when people shop at their local independent stores. Books Inc. has solidly supported my career from the beginning, and I can't begin to say how much I appreciate that. If you want to support local authors, shop at your local bookstores!
10. What is next for you professionally? How can we support you best?I'm really excited about Fairy Tale Fixers, two graphic chapter books I have coming out—I think the first one is scheduled for 2025! They're illustrated by Jorge Lacera, and have been such fun to work on. And I have several picture books in the pipeline, too.And there's a blank page on my desk waiting for me to put something on it. I may need a few vegan chocolate chip cookies first.Thanks all for all your time! 
Above all thanks Books IncEspecially Deborah Underwood  (her books from Books Inc website) andLeUyen Pham  (books from books Inc Website) Please Purchase book here: https://booksinc.net/book/9780358567134

Book Cover Courtesy of Underwood

Sisterhood of Sleuths interview with Jennifer Bertman!!

Eager Readers!!

Welcome to another author interview! This time with Worthy Reader and Books Inc favorite author Jennifer Bertman!!! We focused this interview on Sisterhood of Sleuths, Bertman's new book!

My quick review of this book made it to Kids IndiesNext “Wow, this book ousted my insecurities, reminded me of the crucial role of making friends with good books, and gave me a fresh appreciation of Nancy Drew. I laughed along with the story and loved all the feels and memorable lessons.”

With out any more of me here is the brand new interview!!

1. Please introduce yourself and your new book in your own words.

Hi Drew! Thank you so much for interviewing me! I’m Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, the author of the Book Scavenger series and my latest middle-grade mystery is the recently published Sisterhood of Sleuths. Sisterhood of Sleuths is about a young girl named Maizy who finds a mysteriously abandoned box of classic Nancy Drew books that appear to be connected to her grandmother, but when her grandmother feigns ignorance about them, Maizy takes inspiration from the iconic sleuth and sets out to solve the mystery.

2. What made your writing leave the Book Scavenger world? What inspired Sisterhood of Sleuths?

Sisterhood of Sleuths was actually supposed to be my second published book. It has been in the works since before I knew Book Scavenger would become a series. I was working on it when Book Scavenger was published, and then my publisher asked if I would consider writing and publishing the sequel first. I said, sure, and switched gears to The Unbreakable Code. And then my publisher signed on a third book in the series, The Alcatraz Escape. I was eager to follow the momentum for the Book Scavenger series, but it was also nice once the third book was wrapped up to return to this Nancy Drew novel I’d begun many years earlier. I would still love to return to the Book Scavenger world someday, though, and I also have many other stories in me that I hope to tell too.

3. How would Emily the  lead character in Book Scavenger series and Maizy, lead role in Sisterhood of Sleuths relate to each other? What was your goal in creating Maizy? Is she different from Emily version 2.0?

I think they’d get along pretty well! I didn’t think of Maizy in terms of Emily as I was writing her. What I was thinking about was how to make her contrast the traditional characterization of Nancy Drew, and I was also thinking of aspects of my younger self that Maizy and I have in common.

4. What made you choose Nancy Drew as a focus for the book? Explain the impact of Nancy Drew on your life, your work, and your reading life?

I discovered Nancy Drew books when I was 7 and they were my gateway to loving mysteries. As an adult, the history behind the series and the creation of Carolyn Keene was one of the first “behind-the-book” publishing stories I remember becoming fascinated with. I’ve been collecting books about the history of Nancy Drew for decades.

5. Literary history mysteries for all ages seems to be a sub-genre that you have mastered. What makes you continue to write such informative yet heartwarming  stories?

Well, thank you for saying that! I strive to write the types of books I love reading most– informative and heartwarming literary mysteries are good words to describe those kinds of books!

6. Izzy is a complicated adolescent secondary character. How did you make her hard to like yet relatable? Explain the reason behind their difficult relationship storyline arc?

With any of the secondary characters in my books who play an important role, I think a lot about their world outside the story. It was important to me that Izzy not seem like a stereotypical “mean girl.” For one, that doesn’t feel authentic to me. People are too complicated, and friendships are too complicated, for a person to fit so tidily in a box. Also, Izzy has been Maizy’s best friend for a long time! Maizy wouldn’t want to be friends with, or spend a lot of time around, someone who is a mean person, and so it was important to me to show the positive bonds they have as well as the friction. The difficult moments in the story are a sign of things shifting below the surface of their friendship, and I don’t think either girl understands exactly why that’s happening, which to me feels like a relatable part of growing up. We don’t always go at the same pace as our friends, our interests don’t always stay the same, and those are things that can affect friendships. Maizy is trying to hold onto how their friendship has always been, and Izzy wants their friendship to continue and branch out. She doesn’t want to do their same old, same old. 

7. Complicated relationships, especially friendships, are all part of the focus of this book. You seem to be very experienced and masterful at creating and developing nuanced friendships and dynamic family issues for all your characters. How do you do that? How do you so creatively mix dialogue, details and character development to show relatable yet unpredictable dynamics especially in Sisterhood of Sleuths?

Thank you again! That’s very kind. I’m not sure how I do that, other than exactly what you wrote is important to me–creating nuanced friendships and dynamic family issues. So I work very hard at crafting my characters and their scenes, which often involves thinking deeply about their world and beyond what appears on the page. I think I’m also a good listener and observer–that can help with writing characters. Also paying attention as a reader helps a lot–in fact, I think reading is the best teacher for writing. When something really resonates with me as a reader I try to enjoy the story first, but then go back and ask myself what the writer did that made that work so well. 

8. The book clearly is an Intergenerational mystery filled with family secrets. Why did you choose to have families with multiple generations and layers of mystery be so vital to the story? Explain the role of the adults, especially Jacuzzi in the book. 

When I think of Nancy Drew, I think of generations of readers who know her. Readers who go back almost 100 years! And when I think back on what I admired about Nancy Drew when I was a young reader, her friendships were a big part of why I kept coming back to her. The books were fast-paced and exciting things happened–I liked that too–but the specifics of the plots have faded in my memory. What remains is the steadfast relationships she had, primarily with women. And so those are the thematic elements of Nancy Drew that I wanted to explore–the sisterhood of friendship and bonds created with others over a mystery to solve.

9. Any behind the scenes favorite moments or memorable bloopers from your writing and editing process for this book?

I love the idea of a blooper reel from the process of writing a book! I’m sure I had many blooper worthy moments, but I don’t remember anything specific. One of my favorite moments was seeing the cover concept and art by Sarah Watts for the first time–I love what my publisher came up with, most especially the nod to the Book Scavenger series with the flying books. Seeing Vesper Stamper’s interior illustrations was another favorite moment. And then seeing the typeset pages for the first time is always a favorite moment. That’s when my story feels like it’s stepped fully out of my imagination and is almost ready to head off on its own. (Not unlike Maizy’s brother going off to college in the book!) 

Author: Jennifer Chamblis Bertman

10.  What is next for you professionally? 

My first picture book will be published in February 2024! I’ve actually been writing picture books longer than I’ve been writing novels, so I’m very excited. The book is called A Good Deed Can Grow and it’s illustrated by Holly Hatam, forthcoming from Christy Ottaviano Books/Little, Brown.

11. What would Maizy say to her readers? Parting words?

Maizy would probably be too lost-in-thought with her next movie project to have much to say. She’s more a girl of action than words, always thinking ahead to her next idea. So she’d probably give a friendly wave and say, “Thanks for reading!” And then get back to work.

Thank you to Books Inc! Books Inc Palo Alto! Jennifer Bertman! and Christy Ottiiano Books!

Learning to Fall with Sally Engelfried

Hey eager and worthy readers!

It's been a while. Today I am sharing an interview I did with debut author Sally Engelfried and her book Learning To Fall! Sally will be in conversation with Worthy Reader favorite Jennifer Bertman about her new book Sisterhood of Sleuths (out Tuesday 10/4/22)!

The conversation event will be Saturday 10/8 at 3 PM at Books Inc in Palo Alto!! 

Here is the info on this website: https://www.booksinc.net/event/jennifer-chambliss-bertman-and-sally-engelfried-books-inc-palo-alto

  

1. Introduce yourself and your debut book Learning to Fall in your own words please. 

Hi! My name is Sally Engelfried, and Learning to Fall is my debut middle grade novel. It’s about twelve-year-old Daphne, who is being sent to stay with her dad for the summer while her actor mother is away in Prague shooting a movie. Daphne hasn’t wanted anything to do with her dad ever since he broke a promise he made to her three years ago. He’s an alcoholic, which has made him unreliable in the past, but even though he’s in recovery now, Daphne is convinced it’s too late. Then her dad reminds her how much they’ve always both loved skateboarding, and skating together helps Daphne to begin to trust him again. When he ends up breaking that trust, she has to decide if she can accept her dad’s imperfections and forgive him.

2. What were the inspirations for the book, Both personal and professional?

The first inspiration for this book was pretty personal: I wanted to write about what it was like to grow up with an alcoholic father because my father was an alcoholic, an experience that definitely shaped me in many ways. On the other hand, I didn’t want to write specifically about my own childhood. As I was thinking about what kind of girl I wanted my main character to be, my husband happened to mention that one of his skateboarding buddies was coaching a twelve-year-old girl. I started thinking about what a powerful bond that could be between a father and daughter and how alcoholism could break that bond apart, and I wanted to explore that.

3. How did you create Daphne? What inspired you during her creation and your writing process with her? How did you create such a complex and relatable child? 

For me, creating characters is always a matter of inhabiting them as best I can and figuring out how they’d react when put in certain situations. I knew right away that Daphne would be someone who preferred to throw herself into something physical like skating than to ask questions of her parents that she doesn’t quite know how to articulate. That’s something that was also true of me as a child—not the skating part, but I didn’t know how to talk about my feelings at all! I wanted to make Daphne a little more willing to learn along the way than I was, and her dad’s determination to rebuild their relationship helps push her into talking about it. She’s reluctant at first because that’s pretty hard stuff, but in the same way she can’t resist the challenge of mastering an ollie on her skateboard, she also can’t resist the challenge of figuring out how to forgive her dad.

author: Sally Englefried

4. Your detailed and honest explanations of alcoholism and acute observances of skateboarding are blended very well in your debut!! What made you choose these two subjects? How did you integrate them so well? How did you make the two probably unfamiliar topics so real and palpably, and movingly relatable?

Thank you! Because I’m not a skater myself, I did a lot of research by watching countless movies, documentaries, YouTube tutorials, and Instagram stories. Little things would catch me, like a twelve-year-old skater saying that the main reason she skated was that it made her feel free. Or a thirteen-year-old boy after a skate session saying how much he liked the sound of the wheels on the skate bowl. Those kinds of details made me think about how skating would integrate itself into the way a passionate skater views the world. My research also really brought home to me how much falling is a part of skating, and that is such a great metaphor for life, especially if you’re trying to repair a broken trust between two people. It’s pretty impossible to fix damaged relationships in one go—it takes a couple of tries and both parties have to be willing to make mistakes. That same philosophy is built into the AA guidelines to recovery—as Daphne’s dad tells her, you have to take things one day at a time, and if you mess up, you go back to square one and start again.

5. Learning to fall is such a great book for all ages. In a previous interview you spoke of your growing up and your current family living situations. Who did you write the book for? Are there multiple target audiences?

Thank you! It’s true, alcoholism cast a somewhat mysterious shadow over my childhood. I knew it was there, but I didn’t really understand it and I didn’t know how to talk about it. It wasn’t until I was older that I discovered how many people shared similar experiences to my own. My husband’s father was also an alcoholic—it might sound strange, but it was one of the first things we bonded over! One of my sisters married a recovering alcoholic and I liked the way he spoke about it so openly, especially when it came to making amends. I wanted Daphne’s dad to model that openness too and to be blunt with his daughter that he was doing his best but that there was no guarantee that he was “cured.” Recovery is an ongoing state. It doesn’t end.

With that in mind, one of my hopes for readers of my book is that it might open the door to conversations for kids who are curious about alcoholism or addiction in their families—or any difficult topic, for that matter.

Another driving force behind writing Learning to Fall was wanting to show a girl doing something she really loves to do and to emphasize that the process of skating, just like writing or anything anyone wants to get better at, is as important as attaining the goal. It’s really common to think you have to get an ollie, or you have to publish a book. And then once you do that, you’re on to the next goal—a kickflip! Another book! It can be a bit tortuous, and I think it’s important for us all to remind ourselves that we like the doing of the thing, not just the attainment.

6. Daphne and her parents have some of the most complex relationships I’ve seen in a middle grade book.  Due to factors both chaotically beyond their control and things surprisingly manageable within their control. The details seem authentic and tend to be illuminating to the lessons in Daphne's story. What are some of your favorite falling and getting back up moments in the book and why?

Thank you again! Being an imperfect parent myself (aren’t we all?!) made me want to portray all the parents in Learning to Fall as people who want the best for their kids but maybe don’t always do the right thing. One of my favorite falling-and-getting-back-up scenes in the book takes place when Daphne is just starting to trust her dad a little. Then he has a burst of anger because he finds out he didn’t get yet another job he applied for. He throws his laptop on the floor and isn’t acting like himself, and Daphne gets really scared and calls her grandma. I won’t describe the whole scene, but I liked the aftermath of that, where her dad apologizes to her and tries to explain what was going on. It’s really the first time Daphne deals directly with his alcoholism without her mom as a buffer, and it’s an important moment in their relationship.

Another falling moment is when Daphne, in a moment of anger at her dad, blurts out something that hurts Arlo, her new friend who has been nothing but kind to her. That scene was hard to write because I love their friendship so much, but I thought it was important for Daphne to mess up too, to remind her that everyone makes mistakes. 

Silver Bowl Skate Park, an inspiration for Learning to Fall 

7. How long did you work on this book? What kept you determined? 

I worked on this book about two years, although I was working full-time while I was writing, so it was mostly weekend writing. Learning to Fall is not the first book I’ve written, but it was the first book where I kind of thought I knew what I was doing, and that helped my determination. I had an idea of where it was going and I knew some specific scenes I wanted to write, so that made it really satisfying to see it through.

8. I love the metaphor of falling and getting back up. Were there any notable falls and mistakes in your writing process?

Definitely! This book went through several revisions, including me writing an extra thirty or so pages at the end that I ultimately realized needed to be cut! The more significant writing falls happened before Learning to Fall, though. My agent and I had already gone through the submission process with two other manuscripts that didn’t sell. I was getting pretty discouraged, yet I was determined to keep trying. I really took that metaphor of falling and getting back up to heart as I dove into writing this book!

9. In a previous interview you talk about skateboarding vocabulary and your book being edited by your editor as well as real skaters. What was that part of the editing process like?

I interviewed some skater friends before I started the book and while I was working on it. They pointed me toward some movies to watch and helped me understand the culture. I had one of them read my manuscript before I even submitted it to catch any errors I made when I described skating. As a librarian, I really enjoy doing research and I didn’t want to make any mistakes with the terminology or descriptions. When my editor read it, she was more interested in clarity for the readers who might not know anything about skating, so I made more changes. The copy editor had still more questions about skating terms, so I checked with my skating expert one more time to make sure our changes were correct.

 

Learning to Fall cover 

10. If Daphne was here with us now what would she say to readers of all ages?

She’d probably feel a little self-conscious about talking to so many people at once, so maybe she’d make a joke about grown-ups saying the corniest things, but it’s true what her dad always says—everything’s like skating. If you find something you love to do, you should pursue it and don’t worry about making mistakes along the way. Embrace the mistakes as a part of the process and keep trying!

11. What’s next for you professionally? Anything you can tell us for your next work as an author? Thank you!!

I’m working on another middle grade contemporary novel that’s about a girl in a big family, a subject that’s close to my heart because I have three brothers and three sisters. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with it yet, but I am sure I will keep writing, because I’m like Daphne in that way: I don’t give up easily! 

12. Parting words?

Thank you so much for having me and for asking all these great questions!

Don't forget to support Books Inc and Sally Englefried by purchasing her book from this link!!

Thank you Sally Englefried (Her Website link)

Books Inc Palo Alto

and Little Brown Books for Young Readers