The 7th Most Awesome YA Book of 2008 is...

The 7th Most Awesome YA Book of 2008 is

"Where Would Cows Hide?"

by D.C. Stewart

One of the books I was introduced to this year that turned out to be a real treat was "Where Would Cows Hide". It is called a Tweener book and if you don't know what that is, it's for people inbetween children and teenagers :-) So think 8-12 year olds and that sounds all good and fine except for one little thing - I loved this book. My mom read this book and she thought it was great. My 12 year old daughter read this book and loved it so much that she insisted her friends read it as well! So I'm just saying that I think it kind of transcends the age barrier. When I was younger I read The Bobbsey Twins, Happy Hollisters, Boxcar Children, etc... and this book is really in the same vein as all of those with the exception of it having a really good spiritual message as well.

Charlie and Brad are twin boys who want to help out their Grandpa when his cows start getting stolen. They manage to come up with some suspects and then they have to figure out how to actually save the cows before they disappear and their Grandpa goes bankrupt. I just loved the characters and following the mystery as it transpired. This book is worth going out of your way to get your hands on!

Now let's meet Denice (D.C.)...

1) Where Would Cows Hide? reads like a tribute to books such as The Bobbsey Twins and Happy Hollisters and is geared toward that tween age group. My daughter (who happens to be in that tween group) would like to know what your inspiration was for this book?

Well, my inspiration for WWCH is a combination of three influences: I found out I was having twins, and wondered what kind of mischief they would get into as they grew up; my husband is a twin, and I've spent years listening to their tales of terrorizing their mother; and my brother and I are VERY close, I grew up as the proverbial tom-boy, and I remembered all the trouble we got into on our ranch that I didn't dare tell my parents about until I was full grown and unable to be grounded for it!


2) It may be geared for tweens but I really enjoyed this book (and I am so NOT a tween, but that's all I'm saying!) and was wondering how you worked the mystery angle of it... like do you figure it out and write the story backwards from there or do parts of it develop as you go?

As strange as it may seem, I don't even think I knew I was working on a mystery. I guess I always thought of it as an adventure, hopefully funny, but the mystery just sort of developed as I went along. And I didn't think it was so much a question of "Who-Dunnit?", as "Do They Get Caught in the End?" I'm very glad the bad guys were caught.

3) Is this intended to be the first in a series or is it a stand alone book?

Not sure about that. I was hoping this would be the first of a five-book series, but I don't know what the publisher is going to do with the second book. We'll just have to wait and see. But I don't think we'll see the last of Brad and Charlie.

4) How do you get inside the heads of 2 tween boys and their little sister - what kind of research do you do to make these characters come alive?

Well, this book really is close to my heart, because it's so close to home. I grew up in a rural farm community. We didn't live on the ranch, but I spent more of my childhood there than at home. Most of my cousins were boys, all the neighborhood kids were boys, so remembering what they were like wasn't a stretch at all. Not to mention my husband is one of four boys, and they have plenty information to share.

5) What made you decide to target the tween audience, based on this book you could definitely write for adults and keep them interested?

I know it probably sounds strange, but when I started this book, Harry Potter was still flying high. I really enjoyed those books, and realized that kids and adults around the world love them, so why not try to write something for a Christian publisher that appealed to tweens, and older, if they were open to reading it. Not that I think my book qualifies as Harry Potter fabulous, but a girl can dream.

6) How can readers find you online and what can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?

You can visit my website at www.dcstewart.net. Though I don't know if the future books will be published, I am planning to finish the Parker Twins books, and I am also working on my first adult book, a romantic comedy.

Thank you so much for naming my book one of your favorites of 2008. I am truly honored!

Denice Stewart

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Okay, readers Denice has offered a copy of Where Would Cows Hide with some extra goodies for our drawing! You don't want to miss out on a chance for this book - Here is what you do...

Leave me a comment (with your email address or way to reach you) telling me what kind of mystery or suspense you like and you will have 1 entry in the drawing!

If you tell someone else about this interview with Nancy and they enter and put your name in the comment then you will have 3 extra entries

If you link to this interview from your own blog then you will get 2 extra entries -

And if you become a blog follower (left side of my blog) there will be 2 more entries for you! Good luck!