Bobbie Pyron is in the House!

Today I'm thrilled to have my friend, Bobbie Pyron, here to talk about her latest middle grade novel.

1.     Tell us a little bit about your new novel, STAY.

      STAY is the intertwined stories of Piper and her family, and a little dog named Baby, and his person, Jewel. Piper’s family has fallen on hard times and have just moved into a shelter for families experiencing homelessness. Piper misses her home and friends back in Louisiana and hates being called “the homeless kid” in her new school. Baby and Jewel are also experiencing homelessness. They can’t live in a shelter, though, because shelters don’t allow dogs. And Jewel would never give up Baby! But when Jewel gets sick and is taken away from the city park where she and Baby live, Baby is left on his own. Piper is determined to do everything in her power to get Jewel and Baby back together.

2.     You dedicated STAY to Girl Scout Troop 6000. Why?   

      One night after I’d started writing the first draft of STAY, I saw a story on the national news about a Girl Scout troop in Brooklyn, New York. All the girls in this troop live in a family shelter. Before they came to the shelter, some had lived with their families in cars, slept on relative’s couches, or lived in subway stations. Despite this, the girls were bursting with pride and enthusiasm! They were so strong, brave, and yet compassionate—just the way I wanted Piper to be.

3.     In all your books, geographical place plays an important role. In STAY, though, you never say where the story takes place. How come?   

      That’s very observant of you! The reason I didn’t ever say exactly where the book takes place is because I wanted the reader to feel like this could take place in any place, any city. Because that’s the way homelessness is: it can take place everywhere.

4.     Now that you’ve written six books, do you see a reoccurring theme in your stories?  

       I think I tend to write a good deal about loss and what makes a home, and how we define family. I experienced a great deal of loss at a young age (my father died in a car crash when I was seven), and we moved around a lot too. I think these early experiences in my childhood keep informing my stories. I probably always will, in some form or another.

5.     Half of STAY—the dog’s chapters—are written in free verse. What was that like?  

       It was fun! I love poetry and I love reading books written in verse, so I wanted to see if I could write that way. I like to challenge myself as an artist. I also feel like dogs probably think in free verse, don’t you?

6.     Since most of your books have adorable dogs on the cover, show us a picture of your adorable dog!    

       I’d love to! This is Sherlock, my 14-year-old rescued Shetland sheepdog. He’s my baby!

Thanks so much for stopping by, Bobbie!

Bobbie Pyron is the author of the award-winning A DOG'S WAY HOME, the critically acclaimed THE DOGS OF WINTER, among other popular middle grade books. She lives in Mars Hill, NC, with her husband and incredibly sweet Shetland Sheepdog, Sherlock. To find out more about Bobbie and her books, visit her website at www.bobbiepyron.com