Hi, Adele! Thanks for coming by to talk about the next book in your Blackberry Farm series, ALL PETS ALLOWED! How does this book differ from the first book in the Blackberry Farm series, THE BECKET LIST?

ALL PETS ALLOWED is more about the siblings. Becket and Nicholas are opposite personality twins, and they each adopt pets that are similarly opposite. I liked paying attention to how the twins act and think so differently, yet they also understand each other—and how that relationship is the key to figuring out their pets. Also I really enjoyed writing about all the farm animals in BECKET LIST, so I doubled-up for ALL PETS. Sheep and chickens everywhere you look!

Why did you decide to make this story the next chapter for Becket and the Branch family?

Le-Uyen Pham’s depiction of Nicholas really entertained and inspired me. She gave him so much expression and joy in BECKET. I wanted to see more of him!

Becket is a strong and outgoing heroine who reminds readers of legendary characters like Ramona or Judy Moody. Who or what is your inspiration for this character?

My family! My husband and my kids are all very live-out-loud Beckets, and I am more like introvert Nicholas, and it’s always fun listening to them and responding to their big outgoing declarations and projects.

Do you have any funny / fun pet experiences or stories that you’d like to share?

We have a dog and a cat who are best friends! They are about the same size, and Toby thinks he’s a dog, while Trudy thinks she’s a cat. We love to watch them play—you can see them do their thing on my Instagram Highlights.

What is one thing you’d like readers to take away from ALL PETS ALLOWED?

I love that Becket and Nicholas, even though they are twins growing up in the same house, are always figuring ways to better understand each other. And still can be surprised by the other!  

What are you working on next?

Courtney Sheinmel and I are writing a middle grade novel called GNOME BUGS. It’s about a family of roly-poly gnome hybrids. We think it’s very funny, we hope other people will love it the way we do.

Where can readers go to find out more about you and your writing?

Head over to my website, adelegriffin.com for booky things. For daily pet content, come find me on Instagram—I’m @adelegriffin.

Adele Griffin is the highly acclaimed author of over thirty books for Young Adult and middle grade readers.

Her works include the National Book Award Finalists Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be, as well as the popular Oodlethunks series for younger readers. Her novel The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone was a YALSA Best Book, an Amazon Best YA Book of the Year, a Booklist Top Ten Arts Books for Youth, a Junior Library Guild selection, a Romantic Times Finalist for Book of the Year, and a School Library Journal Top Fiction pick. Her latest Becket Branch adventure, All Pets Allowed, is publishing in 2021 with Algonquin Books.

She lives with her husband, Erich, their two sons, a cat named Toby and a dog named Gertrude, in Brooklyn Heights, New York.