Usually when people ask me where I got the idea for a story I hem and haw. It’s a hard question to answer. But in the case of DEAR TABBY I can say definitively that I got the idea from my friend Esther Hershenhorn. The two of us were driving to a conference in my Volkswagen Bug. We had lots of time to talk, and Esther was telling me about a problem she was having. I don’t recall what the problem was, but I do remember that we got very, very lost. The next day Esther wrote me a thank you note for her “therapy session,” as she called it. She said that as soon as she wrote the note she had the idea for my next book. It would be about an alley cat who gives advice to all the animals in the neighborhood. Esther graciously gave me the idea instead of using it herself. What a friend! I should clarify, though, that I am absolutely horrible at giving advice. I think in Esther’s case I simply listened, but usually my advice goes something like this:

Friend In Need Of Advice (or “FINOA”):I’d really like to go to on vacation.
ME: You should go.
FINOA: I can’t really afford it, though.
ME: You probably shouldn’t go.
FINOA: But I’ve worked so hard, I think I deserve it, don’t you?
ME: You should do whatever “feels” right.
FINOA: So I should go?
ME: You should trust your gut.

And on and on…. I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be taking
Dear Abby’s job away from her anytime soon. This is an
epistolary book, which is a fancy way of saying that it’s written
in letters. I had way too much fun writing it and the illustrations by David Roberts are a dream
! I hope everyone loves this book as much as I do!

Harper, 2011, Illustrated by David Robets.