Briefly tell us about your book.
This the 2nd book in the Itty Bitty Kitty series about a tiny and very brave kitten. In this volume Itty Bitty makes an unlikely new friend, goes on her very first car trip, and does a spring clean of her house. The series is very funny and perfect for early readers (5-7 years) and lovers of cats (0-100 years).
What inspired the idea behind this book?
We are both lifelong cat people, and spend a lot of time wondering what it’s like to be a cat. What are they thinking? Why do they do the funny things they do? And mostly, what do they think of us humans? So we did extensive research on the topic (yep, lots of playing with kittens and watching cat videos) and put our findings onto the page. Hilary has a cat called Itty Bitty Kitty (named after the books, not the other way around!), and Meredith has a ragdoll called Panko – both cats have inspired our writing.
How did you go about developing your characters?
We knew we wanted our main character to be a kitten, so we set about imagining the fears, joys and concerns of a tiny little animal in a big, strange world of humans. We wanted to give Itty Bitty a really wonderful child owner – this is Leo. He understands Itty best, and is the very best sort of human. It was important to us that Leo was a boy so we could mess with any outdated notions that kitten books are only for girls. We also gave Itty a cat friend – this is Ginger, the enormous and lazy cat next door (who spends a lot of time making himself comfy at Itty’s house). Itty idolises Ginger, despite Ginger frequently giving remarkably bad advice.
What are you hoping readers will take away from your book?
That little things can be brave! We hope kids relate to many of Itty’s challenges, but we also want them to see the humour in trying to figure out this funny world that is run by grown ups. We’ve made Itty Bitty Kitty a bit like a child finding her place in an environment that doesn’t always make sense, and a family that doesn’t always understand her. Kids are so often out of their comfort zone, which is the same for Itty (such as when a puppy comes to visit or she’s put into a cat carrier). This can be difficult, but you always learn something from the experience. Kids are also still learning the rules of the world, and this is a big part of Itty’s journey in these stories.
Can you tell us a bit about your writing process?
Our writing process is quite unusual because there are two of us writing under the name Maddy Mara. With Itty Bitty Kitty we start with the story ideas – going on a car trip, or meeting a puppy for the first time, or hearing a strange and scary noise late at night. We divide the ideas up and have a go at writing the stories. We then swap, and work on each other’s stories – either editing them or stealing bits from each other or reworking sections – until each story feels a bit like the other’s. Hilary’s background is more editorial (she worked as a publisher for many years) and Meredith’s is more as a writer (she’s been writing full time for nearly 20 years) so we often default to those roles.
What were your favourite books as a child?
We were both big readers as kids, and loved Enid Blyton and CS Lewis. Hilary was also obsessed with a book called the Porcelain Man about a girl who had grown ‘pale from too much obedience’ (this was never going to be a problem for Hilary), and Meredith still talks about Ballet Shoes (Noel Streatfeild) all the time.
What are you reading right now?
Hilary is reading The Half Brother by Christine Keighery and Meredith is reading Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. But we’re often reading kids and YA too!
What’s next? Do you have any new spectacular stories you’re working on?
Yes! We’re super busy at the moment. In addition to Itty Bitty Kitty, we are writing quite a few series (Dragon Girls and Dragon Games, plus an exciting new series launching in 2023). We also have a new picture book in early production.
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