Q&A with Kelly Jones, author of Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

After reading Kelly Jones’ wonderful book, we decided to ask the author some questions about her writing and her inspirations. Kelly kindly responded–take a look:

Author Kelly Jones with her unusual chickens (photo courtesy of Kelly Jones)

1. Your author’s note says you keep chickens. How did you get into poultry farming?

I grew up in a small town, and my best friend had chickens. Later, when I had my own suburban yard, I started reading up on chicken-keeping and touring urban farms. Finally, I took the Chickens 101 class from Seattle Tilth, and decided to give it a try!

2. How did your (presumably normal) chickens inspire the unusual characteristics of Sophie’s super chickens?

Henrietta’s telekinesis was inspired by a chicken who shoved other chickens out of her way. Chameleon’s camouflage came from not being able to find a chicken who was hiding in my backyard (it’s amazing how well they blend in!). And watching one chicken grab a slug and take off running, with all the other chickens in hot pursuit, inspired Roadrunner’s super-speed. I liked thinking about which superpowers would actually be useful to chickens doing chicken stuff, instead of, say, saving the world, which is just not that interesting to chickens.

3. Are any of the characters based on people you know? Is Sue?!?

All of them — and none of them! Sophie isn’t based on any one person; she turned up in my head exactly how she is in the book. The rest are all a mix of bits and pieces of people I’ve met or imagined. Real people are too complex to fit easily into stories; they don’t do what I want them to do. But to help characters feel real, I tend to borrow characteristics, names, hobbies, and other pieces from people I’ve met.

Photo courtesy of Kelly Jones

4. What was your favorite book when you were 12 (Sophie’s age)?

I was a very strong reader, so by twelve, I’d already read and loved all the Daniel Pinkwater books I could get my hands on, including Sophie’s favorite: The Hoboken Chicken Emergency. I was ready for something new! On special occasions, when my family went out to dinner, we’d go to our local bookstore afterwards (RIP A Clean Well-Lighted Place in Larkspur, CA!) and my parents, my brother, and I would each choose a book. An awesome bookseller recommended Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer to me (it was first published the year I was twelve), and it immediately became my favorite. I’d never read an epistolary novel before, and I loved the idea that two writers wrote a whole book in letters to each other! I tried to talk all my friends into trying the letter game.

5. It’s always nice to see diverse characters having fun adventures, and we liked how Sophie’s identity was part of the plot but not the main story. Can you talk more about how you created the characters of Sophie and her family?

For me, characters show up, rather than being deliberately, consciously built. That said, they do come out of somewhere. For years before I wrote this book, I was working with a diverse group of people who spoke frankly about what things were like in their families and communities, and how race and ethnicity factored in, in small ways as well as big ones. Race was often a part of these conversations, but rarely the only part.  I don’t think I would have been able to hear Sophie’s voice without having heard conversations like those.

But even when Sophie showed up, I didn’t know if I could write her story. Could I do a good enough job? Would I understand her well enough, when her background was so different from mine? I didn’t want to write a story that didn’t feel authentic to kids, especially Latina kids and multi-ethnic kids. But how could I refuse to write about a character who showed up and asked me to tell her story, just because she wasn’t white like me?

I read a really helpful book called Writing the Other by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward. Then, I took a deep breath and decided to try, but promised myself I would ask other writers whose background was more similar to Sophie’s for their feedback. That was a scary thing to ask for help with, but it was the best thing I did for this book. I am so grateful for all of their help.

6. Why did you decide to write an epistolary novel? Do you write lots of letters by hand?

I wrote lots of letters from elementary school through high school: to a second cousin in Australia, a friend who’d moved away, and a few other friends and secret crushes. In college, I got my first email account, and used it to keep in touch with friends and to get to know the guy I was dating. I love how letters show what a person chooses to tell a particular recipient; letters are not for just anyone. And, of course, I was still re-reading my battered copy of Sorcery and Cecelia! I wish I wrote more letters now, but then again, I write far more emails than I ever wrote letters.

7. If you could choose three people, living or dead, to write to, and were guaranteed a response, who would they be and why?

When I was fourteen, I submitted a story to an anthology edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. She wrote all the responses then, and she rejected mine, listing out everything that was wrong with it. Oddly enough, I was ecstatic: it was the first time I truly felt like a “real” writer. I would love to thank her for that.

But, really, if I had the chance, I would write to my own three grandparents who died before I wrote this book. I wish I could tell them they were right: I could do anything, if only I worked hard enough. I wish I could thank them for always believing in me, encouraging me to be who I am, and valuing and celebrating the things that mattered to me. I know they would be so proud of me.