Jane Escapes to the Jungle of Individuality follows a young girl grappling with feelings of not fitting in who takes an adventure in her imagination to an exciting jungle filled with animals. What was the inspiration for your story?

The inspiration for my story was a mixture of life experiences I’ve had as a little girl, in addition to some of the experiences I’ve observed from others in my life. I originally had the idea of Jane as a character mapped out in my mind before I started writing the story. I wanted her to be humble, unique, quirky, and intelligent, but a bit socially awkward, as most of us can relate to that feeling of not quite fitting in at some point in our lives. As someone who mentored kids in the past, I know that bullying has been a recurring problem, especially with social media in this day and age. I wanted to craft a story about a girl who had such a vivid imagination, she was able to escape into a daydream where this Jungle had animals who were strong to us as humans, but were actually just like Jane when it came to their own unique features. Like Tim the Tiger for example, who has a mohawk. He didn’t love his mohawk at first, but eventually realized it was a characteristic that made him special. I just started writing one day and it clicked that these animals were metaphors for the strength that Jane always had inside of her, but didn’t know.

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

One of the ideas that was important for me to share in this book was that no matter what quirks we may have, what makes us different, makes us beautiful. The correlation to animals Jane meets in the Jungle of Individuality that are viewed as strong to us like Apes, Cheetahs, and Tigers, but still experienced the same feeling of being different at first, shows that it’s something many of us go through. I wanted children to read this book and understand that not everyone’s the same and that is okay. I also thought it was important to have diverse representation in the book amongst the characters, especially Jane. Lastly, I wanted to shed light on the importance of children having open conversations with their parents if experiencing bullying at school. In the book, Jane talks to her mom about what’s going on at school, and her mom makes sure to listen and provide helpful feedback and is supportive to Jane in that moment.

What is one thing that you hope young readers take away from Jane Escapes to the Jungle of Individuality?

I’d love for young readers to take away the last paragraph of the book when Jane tells her mom that her individuality makes her strong. I hope that they understand that the features that Jane thought made her stand out in a not-so-good way are actually the exact qualities that make her who she is, and that she should embrace them, celebrate them, and ultimately stand up for herself with confidence. I hope that resonates with young readers and that they also enjoy the animals inside The Jungle of Individuality as they guide Jane through this incredible adventure. The imagery is vivid, and the characters are certainly memorable. I hope that young readers find a character within this story that makes them smile, and inspires them to think of one thing they absolutely love about themselves.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?

Yes. There will definitely be another story within this series. I hope that Jane becomes a familiar face that young readers learn to know and love. The first book will come out in Summer of 2024, and then hopefully, the next part of the series with Jane will come out in late 2025.

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