We're launching the Book Tour for DARLING HEDGEHOG: GOES DOWN A FOXHOLE by Auralee Arkinsly! #DHFPrism

My author friend, Kathy Joy, had been visiting, and for a thank you when she went home, she gave me a card with a little stuffed hedgehog in a pink tutu. Well, I put it on my window ledge and that meant that I saw it there every time I opened my eyes in the morning. It really made me smile. One morning as I was slowly coming awake, the beginning of the story just came to me. I'd never written a children's book, but I thought I'd like to try. Also, it is just in my nature to be a little quirky. I've also been known to give people out-of-the-box advice. All of these elements come to life in this story. 

If you could sum the book up in one sentence, what would you say? 

Be careful out there! (And that is basically how I autograph the front page.) 

What challenged you about writing this story?

Things that I thought were written clearly, but when we talked about the images, I realized that a couple of different things I had written could be imagined in a way that I hadn't expected. So, I had to make sure the story and images were complementary. When I imagined writing this ending, I lay in bed and rolled in laughter until the tears fell down. I knew in my heart that this story wasn't a feel-good look-into-the-sky-and-see-rainbows kind of children's book, but I also felt deeply that it was a valuable teaching tool. Playing a trick in the storyline made me feel naughty and I had to accept the risk that some parents wouldn't appreciate it if I went in that direction. Still, I couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably. My young artist was not as amused as me. She wants to be a vet and became irritated at having to draw caged animals in the fox's pantry. 

What was the illustration process like?

My artist, Julia Swezy, is such a talented gal. She was in ninth grade. Julia's mother agreed to do the layout of the book for us as she is a graphic artist. So, after her mother passed along the general proposal, I went over to Julia's house and offered her a contract without seeing a single image. I'd been her babysitter, and I'd followed her artwork for years, so I felt confident. However, when she sent over the first image, I just fell in love with Darling Hedgehog in a very big way like I'd fallen down the foxhole myself. If I asked her to do an aerial perspective, she did it. If I asked her to make cut-outs of certain images, she did it. Nearly every single picture Julia sent to me was excellent, but she had projects and finals to finish at school, so I had to wait for the finished product. Waiting gave me time to tweak the story and clarify some things. Also, when I changed up the ending, there was a bit of a disagreement, but we made it through. Her mother actually did one of the final proofreads as we were compiling the final layout, and added the chapter headings for me. 

What do you hope readers will take with them after they’ve read it?

Kids seem to take to the story right away. It is a story about opposites with opposite appetites. In our world, we are encouraged to love everybody, and then, we are lectured about being naive. But let's be honest, some people do not have our best interests at heart, so it is better to learn personal boundaries earlier than later in life. In this case, the fox is naturally looking for small rodents to eat, but the little hedgehog's winsome ways catch the fox off guard. They do try to be friends, but folks, this is never really going to work, especially as dinner time approaches. It is the adults who tend to overthink the story and worry about it. I believe children can learn subtle things quite well, and this story is all about using your natural strengths and learning about your limitations by using your own intuition even if you don't know the full extent why. It does have a crazy race to the end and a happy ending is found at that. 

When you’re not writing, what do you enjoy doing?

If alone, I love taking pictures as I take walks. It is especially fun to explore the State of Colorado with my husband. I also love my friends and family and I love to read. I'm involved in a book club, and when my family comes to visit, we cook, eat, and play board games for hours.