About this episode
Dr. Elisabeth Paige interviews middle grade author Dan Gemeinhart about his writing journey and three of his ten novels: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, Coyote Lost and Found, and Busted. Dan discusses why his stories include grief and death as backstory, how he balances heavy themes with humor, and why animals and friendship are central. They outline Coyote’s road-trip plot to save a buried memory box while Coyote secretly tricks her grieving father, Rodeo, into going home, and describe Coyote Lost and Found as a standalone sequel set in April 2020 during COVID, involving the search for a lost Mary Oliver poetry book that contains the mother’s wishes for scattering her ashes, including masking and an anti-Asian racism incident. They also cover Busted, a comedic intergenerational caper about Oscar, Natasha, and retired mobster Jimmy, and Gemeinhart’s plans to write Midnight Children into a screenplay. He gives advice for kids and aspiring authors.You can find information about Dr. Elisabeth Paige at www.mindfulhappykids.com.
