Interview with a Ten-Year-Old Author #kidlit #puppylove

Today, I have a special guest, Sadi Belle. Sadi and I (writing under the name of Brenda Sue) collaborate on our children's literature series about a little girl named Sadi and her dog Max. Sadi brought the idea to me last year, and I liked what she had in mind. I hadn't written kidlit before, but she had faith in me. I had faith that with her gigantic imagination, she could create the stories for me to write. We released the first book October 10, 2023. The book is beautifully illustrated by Terri Schultz. sadi and max Have the Best Christmas in the Entire World is an illustrated chapter book for children ages six to ten. Sadi agreed to do an interview for us:

Brenda: Hi Sadi. Tell us, how did you come up with the idea for your first book? 

Sadi: I don’t really know. It just kind of came to me You know I was happy about getting a new puppy and just let my imagination flow. 

Brenda: Max is the special puppy in your book. Tell us two fun facts about the real Max. 

Sadi: Well, first of all he thinks he’s human. He likes to sit on our patio chairs even though we have dog beds outside. And he has this real special toy he loves. It is a little hedgehog that is gray just like him, and he hasn’t destroyed it yet. He definitely thinks that toy is the best toy in the entire world. 

Brenda: What is the main thing you want readers to take away from your book? 

Sadi: Oh, that’s a hard one…but if I have to pick, I would say how breeds of dogs with bad reputations, especially pittys, aren’t all bad. I like to say it depends on the owner. If, take a golden retriever, is put in a bad situation where a person is mean to him or he is taught to be mean, he will be mean because he’s an animal. Pit bulls, the bully mixed breeds, are good protection dogs. They might look scary because they have muscular necks and big, strong looking jaws. But they are good family dogs too. So the next time you see a dog and you think he might be mean, well, don’t judge a book by its cover. 

Brenda: Can you tell us one thing readers can look forward to in book 2? 

Sadi: Max will be growing definitely as a bigger dog and a better dog. And seeing his relationship with his two sisters, Gabby and Xena. He calls them his sisters. You’ll see how Max and Gabby love each other and they play and go on walks. Gabby seems kind of rough, oh, she is a softy for Max. 

(Brenda aside: Max and Sadi have something special happen to them in book two which will cause some amazing adventures. Maybe Sadi didn’t want to give away her latest great idea, but I had to clue you in to be looking for a twist in this story.) 

Brenda: What do your friends and family think about you publishing a book? 

Sadi: My friends did not believe me at first. They said things like “I’ll believe it when I see it” and “your nana is not an author” and boy did I prove them wrong. They are now really happy for me, and my teacher reads the book to the class every day.

 Brenda: You’re in 5^th grade. What’s your favorite thing and your not so favorite thing about school? 

Sadi: My favorite thing…I mean, does anyone really LOVE school? But I have to say science. We always do fun projects. My least favorite thing—that’s easy—HOMEWORK. 

Brenda: What do you like to do when you aren’t creating stories to write about Sadi and Max? 

Sadi: Uh, I like to play video games like Sims 4 and Roblox and obviously play with Max. I also play with my dolls and enjoy basketball and whether I like it or not, HOMEWORK. I mean, I don’t like it, but it has to get done. 

Brenda: Is there anything you’d like to tell us that I didn’t ask? 

Sadi: Oh, yeah, a little more about my dogs. First up, Gabby. Gabby is related to Xena and they are fourteen years old. Gabby loves to follow my mom around and whines when Mom leaves the house. Xena, like I mentioned, she is fourteen and enjoys eating, sleeping, and swimming. Oh, and barking. Max just turned two only a week ago. He enjoys going on rides and anything that involves water. And anything with me even when I don’t want him involved. He loves to play fetch.

Brenda: Thanks for being my guest today, Sadi. Let's tell everyone where they can find our book.

Sadi: It was fun! Our book is on Amazon, and you can get the print book in color or black and white. It's in eBook too. 

You can find the book here: BRENDA SUE'S AMAZON PAGE

You can find us on BookBub: BOOKBUB

BIOS:

Sadi Belle is a young lady of grade school age with an imagination beyond her years. She lives in Arizona with her dad, mom, and three dogs. When she isn’t playing with her dogs or championing their causes, she enjoys drawing, playing basketball, dolls, and world-building computer games.

When Brenda Sue isn’t writing children’s stories, she is Brenda Whiteside, the award-winning author of romantic suspense, romance, and cozy mystery. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart so won't discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes.