About the Writing of Porcupine (Continued)

started talking to me. She wanted to tell me about a swing she and her dad built. And that’s how Porcupine started.

I love this book. There is such a sweetness that runs through it’s core, even though the children battle through such difficult times. I borrowed bits of me. I too had a pet chicken named Coconut Zigzag who hatched a duck egg for me. The shoveling out the chicken house is a direct lift from my life except I would go into the woods and collect moss from the woods to spread on the floor because we couldn’t afford the hay. The fishing story and the rattlesnake section both were lifted from my life, as was the porcupine piece. Obviously there are small changes as the characters are fictional as is the setting. We did the cooking in our house, whereas in Porcupine, their Gran does.

(I’m being obscure here, because I don’t want to give away parts of the story) I know what it’s like to get up in the dark and milk the cow and I

wanted to give the reader a chance to experience the hard work and warmth, the smells and grit of life on a farm. I wanted to show how nature was a balm that soothes and comforted me in difficult times. And if you enjoy reading Porcupine one eighth as much as I enjoyed the writing of it, then the time and love I put into this book was well worth it!

One last thing. I know it says for readers 9-12 on the back of the book. However, this book really is meant to be enjoyed for people of all ages!

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