Interview + Giveaway with Sarah Cannon, Author of Oddity

Kaitlyn has had the great privilege of getting to know Sarah over the last year and is absolutely enamored with her wonderful middle grade novel, Oddity.

Sarah Cannon has lived all over the U.S., but right now she calls Indiana home. She has a husband, three kids and a misguided dog. Sarah holds a B.S. in Education. She’s a nerdy knitting gardener who drinks a lot of coffee, and eats a lot of raspberries.

She is probably human.

Follow her on:

Twitter, Instagram, Website, Facebook

 

 

Sarah’s debut middle grade fantasy novel, ODDITY, follows the adventures of hometown girl Ada Roundtree as she navigates Oddity, New Mexico, where tiny aliens roam the streets and an invisible monster prowls the edges of town. Like all the local kids, Ada looks forward to the annual Sweepstakes, which has a prize so amazing that no one knows what it is. Winners leave to claim it and never return. But when Ada’s twin sister wins, Ada discovers the Sweepstakes isn’t what it seems. In fact, a rescue mission may be in order!

For a chance to win a signed copy of ODDITY, retweet the following tweet or share our Facebook post!

Talk about one thing that’s making you happy right now.

While the freezing cold weather is NOT making me happy, it has reminded me that I like to knit, and that sometimes doing something very different from writing can actually help me be more creative and productive when I do sit down with my laptop. Right now I’m working on a cowl, because the one I wore last year has gone missing and my neck is cold! I love yarn the way some people love craft beer…there’s a level of artisanship that goes into hand-dyed wool that makes you feel like you’re having a conversation with someone as you work with it.

Where do you love to be?

In my garden, preferably barefoot. I grow a lot of native flowers that provide habitat for pollinators, so my garden is a busy place. My kids and I actually tag Monarch butterflies to help scientists track their migration. I also grow vegetables, herbs and fruit. I love the way gardening activates all my senses, and putting food on the table is a nice bonus. I also have a small flock of chickens. They keep me company while I work, and they attract neighbors, so I often have visitors while I’m gardening.

Which talent do you wish you had?

Honestly, I am so awkward on the dance floor. I would love to be able to dance! When people are watching, I mean. Obviously I’m an amazing dancer when no one is looking.

Share one quirk you have that most people don’t know about.

I am a black licorice aficionado. (I know.) I like the really weird stuff, too, like black licorice with fruit filling, or salted licorice. Actually, let me tell you about an interaction I had with my agent, Brooks Sherman, three manuscripts before I signed with him. I was eating salted licorice at a party after a writing conference, and someone handed a piece to an agent. She put it straight into her mouth before she realized what it was. Turned out she loathed licorice of any kind, and I honestly thought she was choking on it for a minute, her reaction was so strong. I was an unagented baby author, and I was convinced I was going to kill this poor agent with licorice and be blacklisted forever. Brooks saw my embarrassment and made a point of taking a piece, eating it with a totally straight face, and shrugging. Bless the man.

What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?

When I was in college, I worked an assortment of part-time jobs to pay my way. But the weirdest thing I ever did was nanny for a family that lived above their business– a funeral parlor. They were lovely people, but their elementary-aged son quoted cancer statistics at me the entire time I was there. I remember thinking that if I wrote this kid as a character people would tell me he was unbelievable. I’ve always been curious: did he carry on the family business, or veer off into a wildly different career? Other weird places I’ve worked include an amusement park (they had onsite dorms, so I actually lived in the park, too) and a restaurant that was literally called Hole In The Wall.

Author: Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

Kaitlyn Sage Patterson grew up with her nose in a book outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After completing her M.F.A., she moved to South Korea, where she taught English and started writing her debut novel. THE DIMINISHED will be published by HarlequinTEEN in April 2018, followed by its sequel in 2019. When she's not staring off into space and trying to untangle some particularly troublesome plot point, she can be found in her kitchen, perfecting the most difficult recipe she can find; or at the barn, where she rides and trains dressage horses; or with her husband, spoiling their sweet rescue dogs.