Today I’m delighted to interview the lovely, talented Queensland children’s author Kate Foster. Kate’s first book, a middle-grade novel titled Paws, has just hit the shelves (published by Walker Books), and I was lucky enough to chat with Kate about the book and its path to publication. As a children’s author in Australia, I can never get enough insights into how other writers work and learn, so I’m thrilled that Kate agreed to join me for an interview about children’s books, writing, stories, and more.

First, though, here’s the synopsis for this touching novel:

At home, Alex’s best friend is Kevin the cockapoo, although what he wants most of all is a friend at school. But that is harder than he ever expected. A touching story about learning that friendship isn’t one size fits all and is often found where you least expect it.

Everything is changing for 11-year-old Alex and, as an autistic person, change can be terrifying. With the first day of high school only a couple of months away, Alex is sure that having a friend by his side will help. So, he’s devised a plan – impress the kids at school by winning a trophy at the PAWS Dog Show with his trusty sidekick, Kevin. This should be a walk in the park . . . right?

Welcome, Kate!

It’s so lovely to learn more about your gorgeous new book and how it came to be. As a dog lover and owner, I know how much my fur babies help(ed) me deal with life’s challenges, so I love to see this kind of relationship play out in fiction, too.

The first thing I’d love to know about Paws is, what was your publishing path for this particular book?

I wrote PAWS while on submission with another project. They say write new things to take your mind off the querying and sub process, and so I always do! I admit that this did also coincide perfectly with me being in the right place emotionally and mentally to write PAWS, too. Something I don’t underestimate anymore.

Anyway, I completed the draft fairly quickly, and shortly after that ended up parting ways with that agent, for many reasons I might add, and I decided to query again with PAWS. It wasn’t a long querying journey. I received agent offers within a couple of months, and I was then on submission with PAWS within two weeks of signing with a new agent. PAWS then sold in about two months, give or take.

I know, it was all very quick! I went from utter disappointment, of feeling like I was getting nowhere, to celebration in the space of a few months. I am thankful to every single friend who kept me going and believing in my words during the months leading up to that. Without them sticking by me, I probably would have quit for a while and may very well have missed my chance.

Did the story outline come to you fairly complete early on, or did you go down various plot pathways as you wrote it?

This one did come to me fairly complete, fairly early on, and fairly quickly – sorry! That isn’t to say it swerved off that path here and there, but my vision was clear and solid from the first days of plotting and stayed that way up until the final edits. It’s important to mention, though, that I lived a lot of the experiences in the story and thought long and hard about each of them, how they might have worked out should someone have responded differently, alternative endings and knock-on effects. So, it wasn’t as if I was pulling a brand new story out of nowhere; I’d been living many scenes firsthand for a number of years prior.

Was Paws always written in first person? Why did you choose this point of view? 

Yes, it was. Up to that point, I’d always written in third past, which I guess for my previous books had always felt right. But, I think for PAWS, because of the nature of the storytelling, the fact it’s a quiet, character-driven story, and it’s told in a rather intense, breathless voice, it begged to be first present, so the urgency and importance of every interaction and experience was felt by the reader. Everything that happens to Alex, which may to most people seem trivial, is processed in a unique way and oftentimes pretty stressful for him and requires a great deal of thought and analysis. First person present tense allows a reader to understand the reasons why every step he goes through is necessary. At least, I hope so!

In the story, Alex faces plenty of challenges and can become overwhelmed. What is one of the most helpful coping strategies you use at times where everything feels too much?

For me, it’s my dogs. I realise not everyone has dogs, so this won’t be that helpful for them! But when I can’t handle life and all the things it throws at me, when I feel lonely or overwhelmed, when I’m just sad for no obvious reason, I turn to my dogs. We go out for long walks, we cuddle on the sofa and watch cooking shows, or I write short scenes and silly stories about them. They inspire me to be better and kinder, to forgive and move on, to focus on those that love me and don’t always expect something in return, and to just live in the moment. Incredible creatures and one day my goal is to be a dog lady and own hundreds.

I’m a full-time freelance writer for hire and a kids’ author, so I know how much work it all takes and how much there is to juggle. What do you find the most challenging part about writing or publishing books, and how do you overcome or deal with that?

Three things: Drafting. That there are so many parts of the process I can’t control. And the constant worry I’ll let down the people who are investing their time and money in me. (The last two actually apply to most parts of my life, to be honest, so more a reflection on my character than publishing!)

I don’t particularly like writing first drafts – some parts are great, most parts are such an effort. I find scenes and characters and conversations can be so clear in my mind, as if I’m watching them on TV, so when I come to put them into words it’s all about zooming in and being patient as I extract the right sensations, thoughts, and emotions at each moment. When the right words don’t come straight away, I get super frustrated and annoyed with myself. When I can’t type the words quickly enough, I get annoyed with myself. When I lose the words I want to write, I get annoyed with myself.

The way I’ve dealt with my drafting struggle, is to plot. And I mean plot plot. Like, mega plotting. Heavy plotting. I never used to, but now I will write a synopsis and a detailed chapter outline, often working on that for several weeks before even considering starting the drafting process. It helps me stay on track and not get so overwhelmed that I give up halfway through a story.

 I know you’re a busy Australian children’s author with lots more in the pipeline to come. What’s up next for you?

Well, a few things… I’ve been working hard on my next books, which you’ll be pleased to know all star remarkable dogs doing remarkable things! I have a couple of new middle grade manuscripts I’m writing that dive further into how having a uniquely wired autistic brain can sometimes be hard but sometimes be hilarious. As well, I like to write about mental health issues and how they present themselves, how society makes those who suffer feel damaged and worthless, and so readers out there who also suffer can feel seen and cared for.

I’ve also been writing a series of short chapter books, something a little different for me, and that has been so much fun. Hopefully one day they will all sit on bookshelves around the world!

I’m passionate about supporting my fellow authors, and particularly in the representation of disabled and neurodivergent kids in children’s literature, so I’m learning more from the community of disabled authors and illustrators and hoping I can uplift and support and champion as many as possible.

About Kate:

Kate writes children’s books about friends, family, and dogs. Originally from the south east of England, she now lives on the beautiful Gold Coast in Australia with her family and rescue dogs. She loves eating cake, reading books, and watching cooking programmes on TV!