A Chat With the Author
Q. What inspired you to write books for children?
A. In June 2003 I adopted a dog named Ivy from friends who were moving to
Charleston and whose housing arrangement didn’t allow pets. I love mystery and crime shows, especially “Law & Order,” and, as I watched the shows with Ivy, I noticed that she seemed to like them as much as I did. The light-bulb went on: a canine sleuth! So I put Ivy in a mystery of her own! (P.S. That's Ivy with me in the photo above.) Q. How did you select the pets that would be part of “Shandon’s Ivy League,” Ivy’s
crime-solving team?A. Some of them were already were in Ivy’s life. Ernest, the pug, lived next door;
Hoover, a hyperactive Jack Russell Terrier, belonged to my parents; and my sister had a black cat named Spooky. My former neighbors had a whippet named Gracie, who was the inspiration for Lovely, a gentle greyhound who once had been a racing star, and the canary Marigold was inspired by the parakeets that my father raised as a child. Then, of course, Ivy needed a leading man, so I chose Blitz, a handsome German shepherd who belonged to friends, and cast him as the police dog. Q. You use the term “Guardians” for people who have pets. Why?
A. I didn’t want to call them “owners.” I believe you can’t “own” another living being.
Besides, the pets in our lives are so dependent on us for their care. We are the guardians of their well-being, and we have a responsibility to take care of them and love them. Q. What was the most difficult part of writing your first book?
A. The story came to me very easily. The most challenging aspect was giving the
animals their own voices and characteristics. Writing dialogue for people is challenging enough, but giving animals their own personalities was difficult. Q. Did you always want to write a children’s book?
A. Not at all! I always knew that I had a story in me, but as time went on I wonder-
ed if I would ever discover and write that story. Ivy helped me to find that story, and she did it during a very bad time in my life. Now I realize that Ivy was just the in-spiration I needed. I also see now that writing a book for young readers was exactly what I was meant to do. I loved reading as a child, and I always wanted to share that love with young people. Q. Does the book have any special messages for young people?
A. Although I set out to write a mystery, I also realized that I had an opportunity to
work in some of life’s lessons and values. I developed Ivy’s Sweet PEAs – which stands for “People Existing among Animals.” These are rules that Ivy developed to help her make sense of the human world. For instance, Sweet PEA 10 is “Be careful where you go sniffing.” In other words, don’t be nosey! We also have themes of homelessness and animal-rescue and adoption in the first book. Children, teachers and parents have liked all of these. One student described the Sweet PEAs as “The 10 Commandments for Dogs.” A different set of Sweet PEAs will be featured in each book. Q. Tell us about Ivy.
A. Ivy is a solid black Labrador retriever-Chow mix. She has the body and nose of
a Labrador retriever, and the fluffy fur and swooping tail of the Chow. For the most part, she has the Lab’s laid-back disposition, but she does have the protective-ness of the Chow. Ivy was born in rural South Carolina in 1996 and was taken to a flea market to be sold with her brothers and sisters. The former owners bought Ivy for $5 when the man who had taken her to the flea market said that he would drown her if she were not sold that day! Q. Is there a character in the book who’s most like you?
A. Hmmmm. I’m a lot like Ivy in the sense that I often want to help but don’t know
how. Ivy gets nervous and anxious about things that are going on around her, and I do, too! I’m somewhat like Lea-Elise, Ivy’s Lady-Guardian, but I see the fictional character as being younger than I am. Q. How could you be sure young readers would like the book?
A. Helen Schell, a creative writing teacher at Hand Middle School, allowed me to
come and read portions of the book to her students. That collaboration has con-tinued since fall 2004. The students give me their “polishes and praises,” and they’ve made me a better writer. They asked probing questions that really make me think about characterization and plot. Children can be a tough audience! I’m now working with Becky Smythe’s creative-writing class at Hand and an in after-school program at EdVenture, Columbia’s children’s museum. Q. What in your background prepared you to write a book?
A. First, I come from a family of great storytellers -- my grandfather, my great-uncle
and both of my parents. I loved listening to them as a child and as an adult. Second, I majored in journalism at the University of South Carolina, and worked for about 10 years as a newspaper reporter and editor before returning to my alma mater to work in media relations. Being a reporter and editor requires a great deal of discipline. You have to meet deadlines, you have to love to read, and you have to be observant. Writing practically ever day of my life since graduat-ing from college made writing a book seem less challenging for me than it might be to some people. Q. What is the most rewarding part of publishing your first book?
A. Without a doubt, it’s sharing a fun story about pets with other people,
especially young people. I turned my love for reading as a child into a love for writing as an adult. Knowing that my book is being read by young people is a dream come true! Q. How is Ivy handling her stardom?
A. Ivy takes everything in stride. She’s most concerned about getting her next
treat or meal! She has to have her “biskee” -- our name for a dog biscuit -- every morning before I leave for work. And, of course, she’s always ready to go for a walk
or go for a ride. Ivy loves to keep moving. Q. What’s next?
A. I've now published three books in the Shandon's Ivy League mystery series.
The second was The Mystery at Foggy Bottom Lake. The third was The Mystery of the Stolen Stallion. And the fourth, which I'm writing now, is about a circus. Actually,I have ideas for more than 20 books in the series! But the big news is that I've now
written a non-fiction book. Titled A Paw on My Heart, it will be published this spring (2008) and will be my first hard-cover book. Stay tuned!