Quick Talk Friday Interview Series
A Writer Inspired By His Chickens
An interview with J.R. Spiers
Susan Wheelock says her dogs always seem to know exactly what’s going on in her family.
They’re true empaths.
I learned from Deborah Camp that cats fart, and you can hide 11 cats from your landlords.
And what about chickens?
I discovered that J.R.’s backyard chickens are the inspiration for his middle-grade fiction series entitled, The Dictionary of Curious Words.
So, move over, Little Red Hen. You too Chicken Little. Make way for J.R.’s chickens, Gracie and Bessie, to flap their wings and tell their story.
How much of your story about sixteen-year-old Nate and his chickens is autobiographical?
I did not have pets as a child other than a turtle I found on the road and took home. He ran away. I got my chickens during a difficult time as an adult.
The corporate department where I was a supervisor became outsourced. I was 59 at the time and that was a major life change. But like Nate, the baby chicks gave me hope and a reason to get up in the morning after something unpleasant happened.
