Kate Gordon-Smith spent ninety percent of her childhood reading books about ponies. The other ten, she galloped around the garden with her family's pet Beagle. Now she’s penning fantasy adventure and fun mystery stories about brave friends, ponies and unicorns, and much-loved family dogs for readers aged 7 to 12. She lives near Wānaka with her husband, their red and white collie Kenzie and rescue dog Snow, a retired racehorse called Tony, and a fluffy, demanding cat named Bob. Find out more Kate’s publishing imprint, Relish Books, at www.kategordonauthor.com.
She is also a passionate supporter of New Zealand authors writing for children and teens through her independent, online bookshop, the Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore.
(The image shows Kate with Kenzie and Snow, photo by Tracey Morrow)
Tell us a little about your novel.
Maddison McQueen and the Disappearing Dogs is the second book in the Red Collie Mystery series where ten-year-old Maddie, assisted by her red-and-white collie Ruby, is determined to find out who stole her best friend’s puppies. Then other dogs are stolen, including her policeman uncle’s beloved Harvey, but Uncle Adam is busy investigating other burglaries. An awful idea occurs to Maddie and her friends: what if someone’s setting up a puppy farm? They put the word out around school, seeking clues on the dogs’ whereabouts. Maddie won’t stop looking for the pups, even if it means boring stakeouts and searching where they’re not meant to be…
What inspired you to write this book?
The main inspiration lies on the bed with me each morning when I’m writing or working on book marketing. Her name’s Kenzie and she’s our goofy, delightful red-and-white collie. The fictional Ruby is a combination of Kenzie and our first collie, who was black-and-white and called Ruby, and a much more sensible and very clever collie. In this book, I’ve enjoyed weaving our rescue dog Snow into the story through a fictional Wanaka Dog Rescue. I won’t spoil the story, but there is a happy ending for Snow :)
The other main inspiration is to create the sort of dog-filled adventure story I would have enjoyed as the ten-year-old, book-mad dog lover I once was. A sensitive, emotional child, I needed happy stories – books like White Fang and Black Beauty were too grim and sad for me. With the Red Collie Mysteries, I try to write from my heart with the simple, joyful goal of creating a story to entertain and engage young readers.
What research was involved?
There’s not a lot of detailed research to do but it’s fun deciding which aspects of the real Wānaka to fictionalise to suit the story. I’ve also read a couple of other books by NZ authors which deal with puppy farms. As my readers are younger than theirs, I was mindful to keep my characters some distance from anything too serious or confronting while still letting them drive the action forward.
What was your routine or process when writing this book?
I wrote this book over my Christmas break from the bookstore and my other marketing work – kind of a busman’s holiday, right? I sat up in bed each morning with tea and the dogs, and write the first draft in about four weeks. I have an iPad with a keyboard and Scrivener writing software that syncs to my computer. Most importantly, I leave my phone in another room and don’t have email or social media on my iPad to stop me getting distracted from writing. That works most of the time…
What did you enjoy the most about writing this novel?
That the Red Collie Mysteries are fun to write! I let myself have fun writing the all-important first draft, knowing that there’s plenty of hard work ahead to polish the book to a publishable standard. My aim is to create a book that’s fun to read and relatable for today’s seven to ten year olds. If the comments from my nine-year-old beta reader are anything to go by, I’ve done okay on that front. Here’s what she said about the first Red Collie Mystery: “While I was reading it, I felt… cool and adventurous on the inside. The story felt AMAZINGLY REAL (although I would NEVER do something like that in real life 😂)”
What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?
My husband and I shared a bottle of very special Central Otago bubbles with good friends, and I shouted myself a rare copy of a Monica Edwards book I needed to complete my collection of her Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm books.
What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?
Gosh, as the owner of the Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore, I’ve read some great books this year and always have many more I mean to read! Nine Girls by Stacy Gregg kind of felt like the quintessential NZ children’s novel, seamlessly blending magical realism, Maoritanga and history of the Waikato Land Wars into a contemporary novel. A deserving winner in the NZ Children’s and YA Book Awards. Below by David Hill was an incredible adventure story, with just the right amount of scary. The 10pm Question by Kate de Goldi is an older title which I’d love to find for my bookstore. It’s a beautiful and complex story of family and friendship, it’s stayed with me for months.
What’s next on the agenda for you?
Several different books are calling to be written but I can’t wait for some kind of muse to turn up. Based on reader feedback, they’re keen on the next Red Collie Mystery before too long, so I’ll crack on with Maddison McQueen and the Forest Search very soon.