The Literary Hedgehog follows a mouse poet who struggles to have her voice heard and starts to doubt her worth, yet with the help of friends, she finds her confidence. What was the inspiration for your story?

Every author who questions their self-worth as a writer. Derek and I have both experienced this at some level, and we see this online in the Writing Community every day and with students when we present writing modules in local high schools. We want to offer support and encouragement to writers and let everyone know— you have a voice and deserve to be heard, just like Evie.

What were some ideas that were important for you to personify in your characters?

We wanted to juxtapose some biases and stereotypes by sharing a deeper view of the main characters. For example, when Mr. Hedgehog’s attitudes are shown, his beliefs are stuck in the past. When presented with an alternate perspective by Ms. Rabbit, he isn’t really a misogynist, and he proves this again when a crisis at City Magazine arises. He changed his mindset and gave Evie a chance— an opportunity for publication.

With Ms. Rabbit and even Evie, we wanted to demonstrate a common gender-role bias of a woman’s role in society that lingers today. Granted, this bias isn’t as strong as it once was, but gender bias still has a foothold in cultures around the world.

For Brayden, we wanted to demonstrate that although he has gifts and talents of his own, supporting others like Evie along their path doesn’t mean he isn’t pursuing his own. It shows he is supportive, friendly, and encouraging— help and be helped.

And finally, Evie demonstrates the importance of being true to ourselves by pursuing our own passions and not falling prey to doing what we think others or society expect from us. We all have gifts; we all have talents, and we live our most fulfilled lives when we utilize them.

Overall, there is more to each of us than meets the eye.

What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?

One of our favorite scenes is when Brayden is searching for Evie so he can deliver the post message to her from City Magazine. He finds her near the woods picnicking and delivers Mr. Hedgehog’s request for Evie’s poetry. At first, Evie is uncertain, but Brayden tells her it is her big chance and that she can’t miss it. When Evie realizes he is right, she takes the lead, jumping on the front of the tandem bicycle, and Brayden hops on the back, and they head to the post office to call City Magazine. This is fabulous— it’s the moment Evie takes control of her fate.

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

We are always working on the next project and usually more than one. Right now, we are creating Our Spring: Imagination, Creativity, & More, the fourth book in our family-focused Keepsakes series, which includes Our Christmas: Traditions, Memories, & More, Our Halloween: Mysteries, Monsters, & More, and Our Summer: Adventures, Amusements, & More releases on March 20th.

Additionally, we are creating the fourth book, The Enchanted Summer Faerie Realm, in our Enchanted Realms series of faerie-themed poetry books, each with a different aspect introducing children to the elements of poetry. It releases on May 6th. The next two books in our Enlightenment series are near completion and include kintsugi- inspired Life is Sweet: Words of Gratitude (February 11th release) and Bloom: Ho’oponopono Words of Love and Gratitude (March 11th release).

While all that is going on, I’m writing The Golden Locket, the sequel to Katie’s Attic, for my MG supernatural historical fiction Thread Through Time series, and it will be released on March 25th. And Derek released a new poetry book in December, New Year’s Frost, and he has another poetry book, Soulmates Forevermore, releasing January 7th. But his current solo project and this is exciting, is his first fiction novel— a sci-fi thriller, which is slated for release in the third quarter of 2025.

Needless to say, we aren’t short of projects; each brings us much joy.

Derek King’s Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Instagram | Website | Amazon

Julie Kusma’s Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Instagram | Website | Amazon