Bianca with Chris Wieland on The Crabtree Monster: A Kat Dylan Mystery

This episode is brought to you by our guest, award-winning writer
and filmmaker Chris Wieland. He's here to talk about his first
book in the Kat Dylan Mysteries, The Crabtree Monsters. Chris is
the father of two fierce children, including a tough, smart tween
who helped him find the voice of his protagonist, Kat Dylan. He
lives in Southern California with his family.


Order copies of The Crabtree Monsters on Amazon.


Transcription:


You can read the transcription on The Children's Book Review.


Resources:


For more information on the series, visit
https://www.thesmartaleckpress.com.


Discussion Topics:


About The Crabtree Monsters

A look at the character development of siblings Kat and Alec
Dylan

A talk through the funny moments in the book from pre-baby to
parent

The importance of having strong female characters for kids to
identify with

Rewriting a screenplay to become a middle-grade novel

Inspiration from the family-adventure movies of the 80s

Kat's resemblance to Ruth Langmore from Ozark

How reading inspires and influences Chris Wieland's writing

Great mystery writers

Why kids love reading mystery books

What's next for the Kat Dylan Mysteries