Introducing Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up!

I am beyond thrilled to announce that my third picture book, Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up will be hurry hurry hurrying onto bookstore shelves March 1, 2019!

Charmingly illustrated by Emma Pedersen and published by Pajama Press, Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up tells the story of a little quail who just can’t ever seem to keep up. While the rest of her family hurry hurry hurry like proper quails should, Queenie always seems to get distracted by all the wonderful things there are to see and experience in her forest home. When danger strikes, though, it’s Queenie’s eye for detail that saves the day!

Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up is a particularly special book for me for a number of reasons. Firstly, of course, is the fact that Queenie is very much an autobiographical character – I am the first the admit that I have the attention span of a gnat, and I am constantly being distracted by shiny things in my peripheral vision. I wanted to create in Queenie a character who is also very easily distracted, but who finds great joy her limited attention span, and who in the end is recognized and in fact celebrated because of it!

Also, this book was very much inspired by my much-missed late father, who enjoyed watching little quail families scurry across his backyard, and who challenged me to write about his beloved feathered neighbours, who he felt were more than deserving of the picture book treatment. Sadly my father wasn’t able to see Queenie Quail and her family come to life, but I know he would have been thrilled to bits to see his quails captured so beautifully.

I really hope that you all enjoy Queenie and her story as much as I enjoyed writing them, and I am certain that you’ll adore Emma’s illustrations as much as I do! She’s an exceptionally talented artist at the beginning of her illustration career, and I’m sure she’s destined for great things.

You can preorder Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up now through Indigo, Book Warehouse, Kidsbooks, Book Depository and of course, Amazon. Preorders are extremely important for authors and publishers, and your support is, as always, deeply appreciated and never taken for granted. A million and one thanks!

Stay tuned in the coming months for more Queenie Quail posts, sneak peaks and other fun goodies! I’m so excited to share my little feathered friend with the world in 2019!