Kitty Black shares the beginnings of Everglade from a single character into a magical adventure designed to empower neurodivergent readers and inspire courage in young people.

What do you love most about writing?

I love being able to sink into my creativity. I love that I get to spend time with these worlds and characters and eventually get them to a place where I can share them with others. I especially love that I get to do all of these things at home, wearing comfy clothes, and wrapped up in a blanket.

You’ve said that your children are a large part of your inspiration to write stories. Has anything else inspired you to write?

For me, there seems to be periods of time when I’m ready to be inspired, and I’m able to be inspired by lots of things. This is usually followed by a period of time when I actively don’t want to be inspired because I want to work on the stories I’m already inspired about!

Lately, I’ve become inspired by, in no particular order—my aunt’s cat, a raven stealing someone’s pie, and a comment about cheese from my cousin. But I think what I’m truly inspired by is the contrast between the depth and meaning of what it is to be alive, compared to the utter silliness of it. We are complicated creatures, and I love that.

What inspired you to write Everglade?

It was Wren! Wren as a character showed up in a warm-up writing exercise I was doing one day. She was angry, and gutsy, and sarcastic and I knew that she had a story to tell, and that I was going to write it. I approach warm-up exercises with caution now!

Are you excited to begin writing middle grade novels? Have you had to adjust your approach to planning, compared to what you might have done for picture books?

I adore writing middle grade novels! I love that I can get into the nitty-gritty of a character’s emotions and motivations, and that I get to thoroughly describe things that I wouldn’t be able to in picture books. Having said that, I have a new appreciation for how I plan picture books, in that I have never planned a picture book. Picture books just kind of happen. There’s always editing and shifting things around, but for me, a picture book idea tends to show up complete. Novels do not. Planning a novel is essentially me trying to stop myself from getting distracted by tangents in the story and going off track completely, tempered by moments of literary freedom and chaos. I plan lots and I ignore lots. It’s difficult to adequately describe my planning process—but eventually there’s a book.

You’re an advocate for neurodivergent representation in writing. How did you incorporate this into Everglade?

I absolutely am! I’m diagnosed with ADHD myself, so this was important to me. I think everyone deserves to see themselves in a story and to feel a connection to a character. There are characters in Everglade who are definitely neurodivergent, this impacts the way that they act, think, and talk. I wanted to write neurodivergent characters who are just being themselves—so within the book there’s info-dumping, conversational tangents, stimming, as well as social cues that are interpreted from a neurodivergent perspective. The fact that these characters are neurodivergent is not a plot point in the book, or a problem to be overcome, it’s just who they are. My goal was to provide a relatable experience for neurodivergent people in a positive, fun way. Because we are positive, and we are fun!

How did you meet your main characters? Were they inspired by anything or anyone?

Wren showed up quite early on in the process, and she was very quickly joined by Blue and Wish. The three of them together just made sense. I think maybe they were inspired by each other, and I didn’t have much to do with it! I was very intentional about their names though. I wanted Blue to have a name that was intrinsically feminine (Bluebell), but that she could twist to suit her own identity. Wish’s (full name Aloysius, pronounced Al-oh-wish-us) name comes from a family joke – my brother’s middle name is John, but my Dad used to joke that my brother’s full middle name was ‘John Henry Peter Robert Aloysius Goosebump.’ So I suppose Blue is inspired by female empowerment and Wish is inspired by dad jokes?

What did you most love about planning and building a new fictional world?

I loved that I could throw everything that I love into it, and no one could stop me! I love trees, so there’s a big tree. I love animals, so there’s talking animals. I love the idea of magic and fate—so there’s magic and fate! I also enjoyed building in concepts from mythology—particularly Celtic and Norse because that’s my background and what I grew up with. The fictional world of Everglade is precisely where I wanted to live when I was twelve-years old!

What do you most hope to impart on readers through Everglade?

I hope that they have the courage to be themselves, fully. I hope that they see themselves as worthwhile just as they are, and that they don’t hide or downplay a single attribute or skill they have, because you never know when the world is going to need it. Whoever you are, however you show up in the world—you belong here, and we need people like you.

Without spoiling anything, what are you most excited for in this series?

Oh no, this is tough because I immediately want to go into detail! Okay—without spoiling anything—I’m really excited for readers to learn more about Wish and Blue’s backgrounds.

I think that’s safe. Actually I want to add one more thing. I’m also really excited for readers to go back to the first book at the end of the series and spot the clues I’ve left along the way!

Do you have any other projects in the works?

Mainly, I am working on the next Everglade novels, but there are a few picture book side projects that I hope to complete.