Melanie Sue Bowles, Author
For authors, sometimes the best thing about having published one novel is getting to visit the characters again in another book. “Originally, I had no intention of a sequel,” says Melanie Sue Bowles, author of Liberty Biscuit, and, now, Little Pearl. “But—and this surprised me—so many people wanted to know more about Uncle Henry, whom we meet in the first book. Readers also wanted more of Kip. And I agreed with them. I truly loved revisiting her life.”
Bowles is the founder and director of Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary, where, besides caring for at-risk horses and other animals, she gets the inspiration for the animal characters in her books. “The horse featured in Little Pearl is based on the real-life Little Pearl who lives at the sanctuary,” says Bowles.
She hopes that readers relate to the book’s smart, curious protagonist. “Kip is an enchanting young lady,” she says. “She loves animals, the nighttime sky, and she loves her blended family, but she’s also a free spirit. She needs the serenity of the woods when she is struggling to calm her mind. Young people reading Kip’s story may see themselves, and I hope this gives them the opportunity to understand that everyone has struggles. Everyone, at times, feels different or perhaps like they don’t belong. And so, I would say to young readers that you are not alone. Your struggles do not define who you are. There is nothing wrong with you—you are an individual with a unique personality.”
Little Pearl, November 2024, YA fiction, paperback, $14.95, by Melanie Sue Bowles, and published by Trafalgar Square Books, Brooklyn, NY. Learn more at HorsesOfProudSpirit.org.
