The Changeling follows a self-assured gray cat who must outwit fairies, reverse a tangled chain of enchantments, and rescue his beloved human’s baby before magical bargains throw two kingdoms into lasting chaos. What inspired the setup to this story?

The idea of a changeling story dropped into my brain many years ago, probably around 2003. I actually did an entire research paper on changelings for a Library Science class to get background information and understand changeling mythology. The story originally started as a picture book in which a fairy was defending himself in a fairy court because he had given himself away as a changeling. I really couldn’t get it to work, and every time I workshopped it, it was suggested that I expand the idea into a full-length novel. I resisted the idea as long as I could until a story wormed its way into my brain. I started to read tons of fairy tales – The Green Fairy Book, The Violet Fairy Book, The Yellow Fairy Book – to get an idea of how fairy tales work, and specific details I might be able to use in mine. Smokey, the cat, is based on my beloved Kula, who was devoted to me and me alone. I drew on many of his cat behaviors and mannerisms to create Smokey’s character.

How did you balance traditional changeling folklore and fairy-tale conventions with the novel’s distinctly comic tone?

The traditional convention is the use of an omniscient narrator to tell the story without much character development or emotion. Although my original picture book was in first person, I couldn’t figure out how to write a novel that way. Who would tell the story, and who could be everywhere to witness everything? Subsequently, my early drafts as a novel were in third person. As a Children’s Librarian, I constantly read current fiction for kids and young adults. At the time I was trying to write THE CHANGELING I was reading the Bartemeus trilogy by Jonathon Stroud. I loved the sarcastic voice of the djinnie Bartemeus, which Stroud did so well, and wanted to create that kind of humor in my story. The humor came with the change of having Smokey tell the story, who could easily access any point in the kingdom and know everything going on. In first person, his personality came to life naturally and added the comic tone I was hoping for.

The princesses ultimately prove themselves worthy heirs through ingenuity and courage. Was challenging traditional ideas about royal succession part of the story from the beginning?

No. The princesses didn’t exist in early versions. A mentor whose opinion I greatly value, Anne Ursu, suggested I write the story from the point of view of a princess. I didn’t follow her advice since at this point I had fallen in love with Smokey and was determined on having a cat be my narrator. Her advice stuck in my brain, however, and I came to the conclusion that I could include a princess to help unravel all the enchantments, because I didn’t know how Smokey could do it alone as the events became more entangled. The other princesses were added as I figured out whose baby would be taken and why.

Choice becomes increasingly important as characters reconsider family, duty, power, and even the lives they want to lead. What drew you to that theme?

I’ll be honest and say the current political atmosphere, although I don’t think I realized that at the time. People in charge make decisions without giving a lot of thought about what they are asking or who it affects. Luckily, I found ways to make those decisions comical, for example, when the servants became invisible except for their gloves. While writing the story, I was not aware of the developing theme, but as I neared the end, I thought quite a bit about choices and repercussions and was pleased I had provided choices at the end for all involved and to give Smokey a happily ever after. Plus, it has led to the sequel I’m working on. In Book 2 of the series, which I am calling The Kingdom of Cats, Princess Rose will narrate the story for Anne.

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