Lost and Found follows a young girl and her friends at school as they investigate rumors they hear and find out that not everything they hear or read online is true. What was the inspiration for your story?

This is not an uncommon occurrence for any of us online, but while the instance in the book about fake cheese and sleeping janitors are innocent enough, the real danger is that individuals lose the ability to critically think about a subject when they see it online. Over the last decade or more, we’ve seen an explosion of people getting online, and that has brought with it more information available for a wider audience. This brings with it the challenge of validating what we see and hear online.

What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?

There were a few items I wanted to highlight in this particular book. One was being aware of information that is online and ensuring that we understand that we need to take it with a grain of salt. Another notion was to be able to take a break from our devices on occasion. Many of us struggle to distance ourselves from our devices, but doing so periodically is healthy. Lastly, I wanted to bring in the concept of cyberstalkers. I struggled with writing this in a way that wasn’t frightening for a children’s book, but at the same time was able to convey the seriousness of the problem. While cyberstalkers are a very real thing, simply knowing that you cannot always confirm whom it is you are conversing with online is a key takeaway.

Your book touches on topics that are relevant for children today and is written in a manner they can connect to the characters. What’s your experience as a writer?

This is my third children’s book, and I also have a technical book published by Manning Publishing on the topic of software security. These are very different audiences, but the discipline and process is similar. In both cases, you need to put yourself in the mindset of the reader. I have a young daughter, so I was able to leverage some of the interactions that she has online with her friends to pull together some of the storyline.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

I am working on a novel for adults that is a bit of a cyber-thriller. I’m in the early stages of writing, so I don’t have a publishing timeline in mind. My hope is to have it out in 2024. Additionally, I am starting to frame a choose-your-own-adventure book for children on cybersecurity. This will, most likely, have a different set of characters. I am aiming for a 2024 release for this one as well.

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