The Junkyard centers around a pit bull trapped in the brutal world of dog fighting who would rather lose than harm another living creature. Where did the idea for this novel come from?

The inspiration for The Junkyard struck from three moments in time, several years apart!  In 1999, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace arrived in theaters. After a 16-year wait, this Star Wars fanatic finally got to sink his teeth and imagination into another action-packed space adventure. The movie began with great audience anticipation and musical fanfare and… two heroes going to a meeting about a trade embargo. On my way out of the theatre, I thought, wouldn’t it have been cool if, when the heroes went off to their meeting, something terrible happened back in the place they had left unprotected? What if the movie’s underutilized and underdeveloped villain attacked their friends? Would that have given the story more emotional weight? Would it have raised the stakes? Those thoughts stayed with me until 2005, when I began writing a short story about junkyard dogs. In its first pages, two dogs of a peaceful tribe leave home and journey across the junkyard to meet and negotiate with the dogs of a militant tribe. While they are gone, an animal that craves revenge attacks their home. The story’s beginning has since changed, but this meeting remains a pivotal moment. So again, I must thank George Lucas for inspiring me!

Second, I was in lower Manhattan, NYC, on 9/11/2001. One of my many takeaways from that horrific day is that the attack on the World Trade Center was an act of revenge. So, when the U.S. retaliated, I remember thinking, Who will want revenge next? When does the cycle end? In that moment, I had a theme for The Junkyard—and I knew that somewhere in the story, its hero and supporting characters would be forced to choose: Continue the cycle, or end it?

Finally, as comedian Ricky Gervais once said, “We don’t deserve dogs. They are perfect. I couldn’t invent anything better.” I agree with him and love dogs unreservedly. In 2024, I recalled a 2007 news story about a famous athlete being indicted for running an illegal dog-fighting operation. I thought about the brutality and terrible conditions the dogs of the fighting ring experienced, along with the kind of person who could subject dogs to that kind of treatment, and I remembered the short story I’d written years ago. Suddenly, I had The Junkyard’s villain. And to me, the opposite of an evil human who fights dogs for pleasure had to be a pacifist dog who refuses to fight! I had The Junkyard’s hero. I knew my short story had to evolve into something bigger and deeper—its first pages had to change to better introduce its hero and villain. That’s when The Junkyard became a novel-length story.

The novel explores the idea that kindness is not weakness. Why was that message important for young readers?

In a world that can often feel divided—and in schools and neighborhoods that have developing minds and at times, competing egos—I think it’s important to communicate how kindness can build bridges, imprint positively on the mind, and create happiness; how it can inspire friendship and leadership; and how it can provide affirmation to someone that they are seen, that they matter, and that love and respect are available to them. In my humble opinion, kindness is the world’s most powerful influencer. I think giving young minds more examples of kindness in action, whether they be on the page or in real life, is a very good idea. 

I also think it’s a good idea to communicate that it’s okay to be kind to yourself. In the face of peer pressure, bullying, and all the negativity that can creep into a young reader’s life, it’s okay to stay true to your values and stick to what you believe in. The friendships or ‘found families’ that last and are the most rewarding are with people who love us for who we are. In my experience, ‘staying true to you’ inspires people, too.

Many middle-grade novels focus on adventure, but The Junkyard also deals with trauma and recovery. Why did you feel those themes were important to explore?

As adults, we know that not every day is a winning day. We all get knocked down from time to time, whether literally or figuratively. When I think of trauma and recovery, my mind defaults to stories of people far tougher than me—people who have overcome disease and tragedy and survived wars and live every day to the fullest. I often think of Floyd Patterson, a champion boxer who took his share of traumatic blows. A reporter once said to him, “You got knocked down more times than any other heavyweight champion in history.” To this, he famously replied, “Yeah, but I got up more times than anyone.” My hope is that the trauma and recovery aspects of The Junkyard help young readers see resilience as an essential and inevitable part of life—one nearly as essential and inevitable as asking for and accepting help. It’s okay to put pride aside and lean on the people who care about you. That’s what our biological and ‘found’ families are for!

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

I am currently refining an upper-middle-grade / lower YA science-fiction story and outlining the sequel to The Junkyard. I hope both will be available in the near future!

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