Let's get chatting:
I love this trilogy. As the creator, is it sad saying goodbye to the characters?
I'm not sure I'll ever really say goodbye to these characters! There's always a possibility I will return to Peapod Farm, but I do feel like I'm leaving them in a good place. Stepping Stones was about finding your footing in a new situation, Apple Crush was about figuring out how to navigate a new stage of friendship, and Sugar Shack is really about settling in to yourself. I think Jen, Andy and Reese have run the gauntlet of adolescence and step-sisterhood in a way that makes me feel like I did right by them, at least for now.
I can't wait to read Sugar Shack.
Have you lived on a farm? What's the best part?
Yes! Just like Jen, I moved to the country with my mom when my parents split up. I'd been born and raised in the city up until then, so it was a big change. We didn't have a huge farm, but we had chickens for eggs, and we grew flowers and vegetables and sold them at the farmer's market. I also grew up working on larger farms in the area, milking cows and mucking manure and knocking bugs off organic produce. Obviously, there were parts I preferred over others. The best part of all was learning about where my food comes from-- the people that grow it and the land that produces it. Fresh food is delicious, and taking part in the making of it makes it even tastier!
Do you have a favorite season? Favorite food(s) with that season?
I love summer-- best produce. Cherries and peaches and tomatoes and corn! But there are wonderful parts of farm life in every season. I tried to showcase those in the Peapod trilogy through the changing seasons-- even in the wintertime, when almost nothing grows, farming still continues and there's hard work and delicious treats.
I do love all the berries of the summer. And the apples of the fall.
Do you have a favorite comic/graphic novel from childhood?
I didn't grow up with the abundance of kids comics that we have now! But I was lucky enough to come up at the height of Calvin and Hobbes. Those were always my favorites.
Calvin and Hobbes are fun; I loved reading the comics from the newspapers. There were so many great ones.
What's the best part about creating graphic novels?
I love it when a reader finds something in my books that I'd forgotten or that I'd done unintentionally, and tells me about it! Connecting with readers through my work-- making them feel less alone, or creating a kinship or appreciation for something, is my absolute favorite thing. I also like the part when I'm inking, because it's when I get to listen to an audiobook and watch the lines flow out without a lot of thought--writing and penciling takes a lot of focus and problem-solving, but inking is the part that, for me, let's me just enjoy drawing without a lot of concentration.
That does sound relaxing.
Anything you'd like to share that I didn't ask?
Nope! I hope this book brings you coziness and makes you crave pancakes!
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