An Inside Look with Kate Albus
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Dory?
In many ways, Dory is based on my beloved grandmother. Some of her escapades are even stolen directly from the stories my grandmother told me about her childhood. While my grandmother wasn’t prickly like Dory, they share the same sense of adventure, the same wry humor, and the same tenacious commitment to family. So I suppose I got to know Dory by picturing my grandma as a child and imagining a historical world around her.
What do you think is her most admirable quality?
I admire Dory’s courage. She’s not afraid to do difficult things, whether it’s getting into a creaky old dumbwaiter nobody else has been brave enough to get into in 30 years, or being the first couple on the dance floor at the 6th grade dance, or figuring out how to get along without her beloved Pop. That bravery is a quality I wish I had more of myself.
Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
For her own sake – and Fish’s – I wish she’d come around earlier on her brother. I wish she’d realized that he was doing his very best (which, in my opinion, was actually really good) under impossible circumstances. But I suppose Dory’s recognition of her brother’s heroism is a major part of her journey, so I’m not sure it could have happened any earlier than it did.
What do you think Dory can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
As the title suggests, Nothing Else But Miracles is about the little miracles that surround us, whether it’s a kind word from a friend, a free pass to Coney Island, or a neighbor who volunteers to do something really big for us, without even asking. I hope that, through Dory’s story, young readers will spot some tiny miracles in their own worlds… the gifts of kindness and support that a community (teachers, neighbors, friends, family, and strangers) can provide.
How did you research Dory and the circumstances she found herself in?
The seed for the book really was the actual ‘secret old hotel’ where the book takes place. I read about it in an old New Yorker article and was thrilled to discover that it still exists, lovingly administered by the dear and wonderful folks at New York’s South Street Seaport Museum. I adore stories about secret spaces that only kids know about, so the book took off from there. I also love the research side of historical fiction, so spending time in 1940s New York City – the New York of my grandmother and my father – was an absolute joy. I read a lot of non-fiction about New York in wartime, and also listened to recorded oral histories from the time. But the biggest gift, by far, in getting to know Dory’s world, was getting to visit the actual old hotel. That was a dream come true.
Do you and Dory share any similarities?
For the most part, Dory and I are very, very different. She’s rather prickly; I hope I’m not prickly that way. She doesn’t much like hugs and feelings and other ‘squishy’ things; I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, and I’m a hugger. But I think the thing Dory and I do share quite strongly is a deep love and loyalty to family. Like Dory, I am also a big fan of crullers.
What was the hardest scene to write about her?
Honestly, the toughest scene for me to write wasn’t so much about Dory. It was the first-chapter flashback, where we get a glimpse of Pop’s decision to go off and fight in the war. I’m hugely grateful to my editor, Margaret Ferguson, for pushing me to work on that scene. I think it’s an important one, because we need to understand how a man could have been a good father and still have made the choice to leave his children. So explaining the ways that Pop felt pressured by the traditional idea of ‘duty’ as a man in 1940 felt critical, as did the idea that by going, himself, he was saving his son from doing so.
Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
Throughout the book, I think Fish is Dory’s biggest supporter (though a close second would go to Vincent Morello). Fish is essentially a kid who has been forced into the role of father, and his ‘kid’ is not exactly making it easy for him. Not only does she disobey him, she also reminds him all the time that she blames him for their father not being there. The fact that Fish manages to understand that about his sister, and to love her and keep on trying his best, makes him the most important support in her life.
Why do you think some young people can show such resilience, strength, and courage during difficult life situations; sometimes even more than the adults in their lives?
Oh gosh… as a former child psychologist, I’ve spent my whole life being awestruck by children’s extraordinary resilience. It’s one of the things I love about writing for children – getting to live in those amazing heads for a while. I think most kids are idealists by nature. They see the good in the world, even when it’s really hard to see. And when they don’t see that good, they want to create it. In that sense, I think children have a stronger core than adults do. That spirit of resilience is also something I’ve loved about writing two novels set during World War II, an era when I think people were especially renowned for their resilience and strength. I find it endlessly inspiring.
What do you think Dory is doing at the present time?
What a fun question. And one I’d love to explore in a future book… I’d love to figure out what happened to Dory and her family after 1944! In real time, Dory would currently be 92 years old. I like to think she was a trailblazer who bucked every unreasonable limitation put on women of her era, and that she’s currently snuggled up with her great grandkids, introducing them to 1940s horror films.
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)
Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)
Interview #124 with Tae Keller (Author of When You Trap a Tiger)
Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)
Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)
Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)
Interview #128 with Leslie Connor (Author of A Home for Goddesses and Dogs)
Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)
Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)
Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)
Interview #132 with Kaela Noel (Author of Coo)
Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)
Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)
Interview #135 with Emily Blejwas (Author of Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened)
Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)
Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)
Interview #138 with Erin Entrada Kelly (Author of We Dream of Space)
Interview #139 with Jess Redman (Author of Quintessence)
Interview #140 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Every Missing Piece)
Interview #141 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Brave Like That)
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Interview #159 with John David Anderson (Author of One Last Shot)
Interview #160 with Tracy Holczer (Author of Brave in the Woods)
Interview #161 with James Bird (Author of The Brave)
Interview #162 with Marcella Pixley (Author of Trowbridge Road)
Interview #163 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Halfway to Harmony)
Interview #164 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ground Zero)
Interview #165 with Lisa Fipps (Author of Starfish)
Interview #166 with Ann Braden (Author of Flight of the Puffin)
Interview #167 with Kimberly Willis Holt (Author of The Ambassador of NoWhere Texas)
Interview #168 with Elana K. Arnold (Author of The House That Wasn't There)
Interview #169 with Erin Soderberg (Author of The Great Peach Experiment)
Interview #170 with Donna Gephart (Author of Abby, Tried, and True)
Interview #171 with M. Evan Wolkenstein (Author of Turtle Boy)
Interview #172 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Bea is for Blended)
Interview #173 with Jess Redman (Author of The Adventure is Now)
Interview #174 with David Levithan (Author of The Mysterious Disappearance of Aiden)
Interview #175 with Chris Grabenstein (Author of The Smartest Kid in the Universe)
Interview #176 with Ali Standish (Author of The Mending Summer)
Interview #177 with Holly Goldberg Sloan (Author of The Elephant in the Room)
Interview #178 with Jeff Zentner (Author of In the Wild Light)
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Interview #179 with Katherine Applegate (Author of Willow)
Interview #180 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of Born Behind Bars)
Interview #181 with R.J. Palacio (Author of Pony)
Interview #182 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Too Bright to See)
Interview #183 with Barbara Dee (Author of Violets are Blue)
Interview #184 with Anne Ursu (Author of The Troubled Girls of Dragonmir Academy)
Interview #185 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of We Could Be Heroes)
Interview #186 with Jasmine Warga (Author of Shape of Thunder)
Interview #187 with Joseph Bruchac (Author of Rez Dogs)
Interview #188 with Kathryn Erskine (Author of Lily's Promise)
Interview #189 with Elly Swartz (Author of Dear Student)
Interview #190 with Heather Clark (Author of Lemon Drop Falls)
Interview #191 with Veera Hiranandani (Author of How to Find What You're Not Looking For)
Interview #192 with Elizabeth Eulberg (Author of The Best Worst Summer)
Interview #193 with Cathy Carr (Author of 365 Days to Alaska)
Interview #194 with Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard (Authors of REAL)
Interview #195 with Gillian McDunn (Author of These Lucky Stars)
Interview #196 with Alyssa Colman (Author of The Gilded Girl)
Interview #197 with E.L. Chen (Author of The Comeback)
Interview #198 with J.M.M. Nuanez (Author of Birdie and Me)
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Interview #199 with Jamie Sumner (Author of One Kid's Trash)
Interview #200 with Chad Lucas (Author of Thanks a Lot, Universe)
Interview #201 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Where We Used to Roam)
Interview #202 with Rebecca Caprara (Author of Worst-Case Collin)
Interview #203 with Leslie Connor (Author of Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?)
Interview #204 with Caroline Gertler (Author of Many Points of Me)
Interview #205 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of Susie B. Won't Back Down)
Interview #206 with Shawn Peters (Author of The Unforgettable Logan Foster)
Interview #207 with Aisha Saeed (Author of Omar Rising)
Interview #208 with Adrianna Cuevas (Author of Cuba in my Pocket)
Interview #209 with Jennifer Swender (Author of Stuck)
Interview #210 with Brenda Woods (Author of When Winter Robeson Came)
Interview #211 with Danya Lorentz (Author of the Book Of a Feather)
Interview #212 with Saadia Faruqi (Author of Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero)
Interview #213 with Ellen Hopkins (Author of What About Will)
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Interview #214 with Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner (Authors of What About the Octopus)
Interview #215 with Lauren Wolk (Author of My Own Lightning)
Interview #216 with Rebekah Lowell (Author of the Road to After)
Interview #217 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Honestly Elliott)
Interview #218 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Midnight Children)
Interview #219 with Melanie Conklin (Author of A Perfect Mistake)
Interview #220 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Different Kinds of Fruit)
Interview #221 with Tracy Edward Wymer (Author of The Great and Mighty Benjamin Teller)
Interview #222 with Louise Hawes (Author of Big Rig)
Interview #223 with Paul Acampora (Author of In Honor of Broken Things)
Interview #224 with Shannon Doleski (Author of Gabe in the After)
Interview #225 with Jennifer Ziegler (Author of Worser)
Interview #226 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of Hummingbird)
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Interview #227 with Celia C. Perez (Author of Tumble
Interview #228 with Greg Howard (Author of The Visitors)
Interview #229 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Daredevils)
Interview #230 with Sashi Kaufman (Author of Sardines)
Interview #231 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of The Real Deal)
Interview #232 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of New Kids and Underdogs)
Interterview #233 with Amanda Rawson Hill (Author of The Hope of Elephants)
Interview #234 with Jasmine Warga (Author of A Rover's Story)
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Interview #235 with Varsha Bajaj (Author of Thirst)
Interview #236 with Torrey Maldonado (Author of Hands)
Interview #237 with C.C. Harrington (Author of Wildoak)
Interview #238 with Margi Preus (Author of Windswept)
Interview #239 with Dayna Lorentz (Author of Wayward Creatures)
Interview #240 with Katrina Nannestad (Author of We are Wolves)
Interview #241 with Anika Fajardo (Author of Meet Me Halfway)
Interview #250 with Sally J. Pla (Author of The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn)
Interview #251 with Chris Baron (Author of The Gray)
Interview #252 with Dusti Bowling (Author of DUST)
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Interview #253 with Sarah Everett (Author of The Probability of Everything)
Interview #254 with Andrea Beatriz Arango (Author of Something Like Home)
Interview #255 with H.M. Bouwman (Author of Gossamer Summer)
Interview #256 with Kaija Langley (Author of The Order of Things)
Interview #257 with Elaine Vickers (Author of Half Moon Summer)
Interview #258 with John Gaspard (Author of The Curious Mysteries of Eli Marks)
Interview #259 with Dana Kramaroff (Author of The Do More Club)
Interview #260 with Jessica Vitalis (Author of Coyote Queen)
Interview #261 with Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko (Authors of Dog Town)
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Interview #262 with Chad Morris and Shelly Brown (Authors of The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry)
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