Authors share tales of their world

In this episode, we’re pairing authors Kris Spisak and Daniel Kim to talk about their books. Thanks to Books Forward PR for arranging these interviews!

 

Kris Spisak takes on a tour of her family’s history with her debut fiction novel, “The Baba Yaga Mask.” When their Ukrainian grandmother is lost on a trans-Atlantic flight, sisters Larissa and Ira are swept into a quest across eastern Europe to find the woman who had always told more tales than truths. Kris talks about the real-life events that factor into the book, which has two intertwined stories—one in the past and the other in the here and now. We talk about the extensive research and the unexpected error that was caught. This novel also has an audiobook version and Kris shares how this changed the story in a great way.

 

Daniel Kim, at only 14, has published six books with his brother Benjamin on the environment, the animals who call it home and our role to make things better. They’ve made waves in Korea and on June 8, the books make their U.S. debut with “The Whale Who Refused to Poo.” In this interview, we talk about how the brothers discovered their love for the environment and what inspired them to become activists. We look at the book series and how they work together on the writing and illustrations. Dan also shares his hopes for the series.