Hello, friends! Guess what today is?

It’s the pub day of THE INFAMOUS RATSOS, also known as its book birthday!!!

I can’t believe this day has finally come (I’m sure you can’t, either, since I’ve been talking so much about the book lately), and that it comes on the heels of my delivery of the revision of the second book in The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters trilogy (more on that later). It feels SO GREAT to have that revision off my plate for so many reasons, especially because I can now spend more time celebrating the Ratsos!

To that end, check out these rat-related tidbits:

• If you haven’t seen it already, check out this *STARRED REVIEW* of the book in Publisher’s Weekly.
• The Infamous Ratsos was named an Amazon Best Book of the Month for August!

Of course, I haven’t forgotten my INFAMOUS RATSOS Kindness Contest. (Have YOU??) This will be the final day, and I will be choosing TWO WINNERS. As previously mentioned, feel free to share how you’ve been nice or thoughtful or generous or helpful (or all of the above!) in the comments section here. I’ll choose two names at random at the end of the day; each winner will get a signed book, a bookmark, and some INFAMOUS RATSOS “Hang Tough” tattoos (aka “rattoos”). Of course, you’re all winners just for playing (and being awesome), but even if you don’t snag a signed book, you’ll be eligible for some nifty Ratsos swag (more on this later). I’ll post the names of the winners tomorrow. NB: One post per entrant, please!

So, I’ve been telling you about some of the experiences and people that inspired me to write THE INFAMOUS RATSOS. Over the past few days, I ‘ve told you all about the people who inspired Mrs. Porcupini and Mr. O’Hare; Miss Beavers; Tiny, Chad, and Fluffy; and Big Lou. Today, I thought I’d talk about my inspiration for the Infamous Ratsos themselves, Louie and Ralphie!

As I mentioned yesterday, Louie and Ralphie were inspired by my own grandfather, Ralph, and his older brother, Louie. My grandfather passed away about six years ago, just after my cancer diagnosis (he never knew, thank goodness), and his absence is felt in my family every day. Like the Ratsos, he was nice and thoughtful and generous and helpful, among many other wonderful traits. But he had a really rough childhood; he grew up during the Great Depression, his father was cruel, and when he died, my great-grandmother was left to care for my grandfather and his brother and their two younger sisters. I’ve been told that my grandfather and my Uncle Louie earned reputations in their neighborhood as being “troublemakers,” though no one ever seems willing to elaborate! I can only imagine the sorts of mischief they managed together, and that’s pretty much what I did when I conceived of THE INFAMOUS RATSOS.

My grandfather, Ralph (right) and his older brother, Louie (left).

When you’re a good kid faced with rotten circumstances, there’s a chance you could end up making some bad choices, unless you have the right guidance; in my grandfather’s case, he was shipped off to the CCC by my great-grandmother, and that seems to have straightened him out. Also, he met my grandmother soon after, and they were married fairly young; it seems as if my grandfather spent his life trying to be the father and husband his own father never was. He more than succeeded.

My grandparents, early on in their romance. (FYI, my grandmother just turned 95 a few weeks ago!)

Originally, I wrote the Ratso Brothers as minor characters in a longer story. That story never quite panned out (though one day, I might go back to it), but those two little rats kept pestering me to write a story about them! My grandfather’s last name was Rizzo, which I then filtered through “Ratso Rizzo,” the character Dustin Hoffman plays in Midnight Cowboy. Voila! The Ratsos were born.

Illustration copyright 2016 by Matt Myers.

The way Matt Myers has brought Louie and Ralphie to life is pretty much how I’ve always seen them in my head. I especially love that he’s given Ralphie those thick glasses, since they look exactly like the ones my grandfather used to wear!

The original “Ralphie,” wearing his trademark glasses.

Thanks so much for following me through this journey of my creative inspirations over the past week, and a big thumbs-up to those of you who participated in my Kindness Contest. I didn’t write THE INFAMOUS RATSOS until after my grandfather passed away, so he never got to see my tribute to him. I can only hope I’ve done his “troublemaker” spirit justice, and that his legacy of kindness might live on in my words.

One of my favorite photos of my grandfather and me, at our town parade.

Hello, friends, and welcome to the third day of the INFAMOUS RATSOS Kindness Contest!

Unfortunately, we don’t have a winner for yesterday, since no one submitted an entry. (WHAT?) Does no one like free signed books and fun swag? Well, good news for those who enter today: I will be picking TWO winners this time!

As previously mentioned, feel free to share how you’ve been nice or thoughtful or generous or helpful (or all of the above!) in the comments section here. I’ll choose two names at random at the end of the day; the winner will get a signed book, a bookmark, and some INFAMOUS RATSOS “Hang Tough” tattoos (aka “rattoos”). Of course, you’re all winners just for playing (and being awesome), but even if you don’t snag a signed book, you’ll be eligible for some nifty Ratsos swag (more on this later). Today’s winners will be announced on Monday. NB: One post per entrant per day, please!

So, I’ve been telling you about some of the experiences and people that inspired me to write THE INFAMOUS RATSOS. Over the past couple of days, I ‘ve told you all about the people who inspired Mrs. Porcupini and Mr. O’Hare and Miss Beavers. Today, I thought I’d talk about my inspiration for Louie and Ralphie’s classmates: Tiny Crawley, Chad Badgerton, and Fluffy Rabbitski.

I was always kind of a weird, funny, smartypants kid, so it’s no surprise that I’ve always had weird, funny, smartypants friends. (Also, most of my friends back then were boys, since they seemed to be the only ones who could tolerate my singular brand of gross-out humor.) Yesterday, I talked about a kid named Rob, who (temporarily) sat next to me in third grade. Eventually, Rob and I became best friends. We’re still friends today; we were both in each other’s weddings — he actually officiated at mine! — and our kids now play together. I think his son and daughter are about Louie and Ralphie’s ages at this point!

On my wedding day, with Rob (top left) as my officiant, and my other BFF, Jeff (lower left), as one of my attendants. (Jeff was also in Ms. Willis’ class, in the photo I posted yesterday in the top row on the left. Sadly, he passed away three years ago.) My grandfather is also pictured here — he was our ringbearer! More on him later.

When I thought about Louie and Ralphie’s friends, I imagined they would be a weird, funny group, too. I wanted them to look funny together, which is why Tiny is so small and Chad is so big. (FYI, Chad seems like a bully in this first book, but he redeems himself later on.)

Illustration copyright 2016 by Matt Myers.

For now, Fluffy is the only girl in the group, just like I was. Louie and Ralphie think they’re going to gross her out with their pickled vegetable sandwich, but it turns out she loves it, just as I would have. I should also mention that my grandfather used to pickle his own vegetables, so we’d always have a jar or two in the refrigerator. I still love that briny, vinegary flavor to this day; I know it can be an acquired taste, which is why I thought it would be fun to attribute it to someone as seemingly-ordinary as Fluffy.

Of course, I love the way Matt Myers has portrayed Tiny and Chad and Fluffy. I especially love Fluffy’s glasses; they look a lot like mine!

Illustration copyright 2016 by Matt Myers.

Next week, look forward to more stories about the people and things that inspired me as I wrote THE INFAMOUS RATSOS. In the meantime, hope you’ll enter my Kindness Contest — and spread the word about it to others!

Hello, friends, and welcome to the second day of the INFAMOUS RATSOS Kindness Contest!

The winner of yesterday’s contest is…Patrice Jackson! Congrats, Patrice, and thanks so much to those who participated.

As previously mentioned, feel free to share how you’ve been nice or thoughtful or generous or helpful (or all of the above!) in the comments section here. I’ll choose a name at random at the end of the day; the winner will get a signed book, a bookmark, and some INFAMOUS RATSOS “Hang Tough” tattoos (aka “rattoos”). Of course, you’re all winners just for playing (and being awesome), but even if you don’t snag a signed book, you might just be eligible for some nifty Ratsos swag (details to come). The winner will be announced tomorrow. NB: One post per entrant per day, please!

So, I’ve been telling you about some of the experiences and people that inspired me to write THE INFAMOUS RATSOS. Yesterday, I told you all about the people who inspired Mrs. Porcupini and Mr. O’Hare. Today, I thought I’d talk about my inspiration for Miss Beavers, Ralphie’s third-grade teacher.

I must admit, I didn’t always have the nicest teachers when I was in elementary school. Some of them were actually pretty mean! But those are stories for another time. Today, I’m going to talk about my third-grade teacher, Ms. Willis. (I can’t remember if she was married or not, so for today’s purpose, I will address her as “Ms.”) Ms. Willis was my favorite teacher in elementary school; she was not only the prettiest, she was also very kind, and pretty clever.

In elementary school, I was not what you would call a well-behaved student. I like to think it was because I was easily bored, due to my above-average intelligence (ha ha). It might also be because I liked making jokes, especially with the kid who sat next to me, whose name was Rob (more on him later). Before long, Ms. Willis clearly reached her breaking point, because she took me aside and told me it was time to make a change. Rob and I couldn’t sit next to each other anymore, because we distracted each other too much. But instead of Ms. Willis choosing my new seat herself, she let ME make the decision. I chose to sit next to the quietest person in our class, a girl named Amy. This decision seemed to please Ms. Willis…until Amy started laughing at all my jokes. (Could I help it that I had impeccable comic timing, even then?) In any case, I am grateful for Ms. Willis for putting up with me, and for giving me a little taste of autonomy — a rare thing in elementary school, especially back then.

My third grade class, circa 1978. Ms. Willis is on the right, of course, and I’m in the first row, far left. Rob is in the second row in the red tie, and Amy is in the top row in the red blouse-blue jumper combo.

Ms. Willis was definitely in my head when I created Miss Beavers. I love how Matt Myers has portrayed her, especially that log-print motif on her dress. It’s got a bit of a 70s vibe to it, I think!

Illustration copyright 2016 by Matt Myers.

In the days to come, look forward to more stories about the people and things that inspired me as I wrote THE INFAMOUS RATSOS. In the meantime, hope you’ll enter my Kindness Contest — and spread the word about it to others!

Hello, friends, and welcome to the first day of the INFAMOUS RATSOS Kindness Contest!

As previously mentioned, feel free to share how you’ve been nice or thoughtful or generous or helpful (or all of the above!) in the comments section here. I’ll choose a name at random at the end of the day; the winner will get a signed book, a bookmark, and some INFAMOUS RATSOS “Hang Tough” tattoos (aka “rattoos”). Of course, you’re all winners just for playing (and being awesome), but even if you don’t snag a signed book, you might just be eligible for some nifty Ratsos swag (more on this later). The winner will be announced tomorrow morning. NB: One post per entrant per day, please!

So, I promised I’d tell you about some of the experiences and people that inspired me to write THE INFAMOUS RATSOS. I’ll start with the Ratsos’ neighbors, Mrs. Porcupini and Mr. O’Hare. When I was growing up, we had a neighbor who lived across the street named Mrs. Dowling. Her husband passed away shortly after we moved in, so she lived by herself with her cat, Alice Peterson (who was a male cat, and was evidently named after an old-time actor, though I can’t seem to find any info about him anywhere). Alice Peterson was always getting into fights with other cats in the neighborhood, so he always looked beat-up and bloody.

Mrs. Dowling was a very sweet old lady, but she was also terribly nosy. I’m sure this was because she was also terribly lonely. After her husband passed away, she got into the habit of sitting at her picture window and just staring at our house All. Day. Long. Often, she’d remark to my mother about the number of cars parked in and near our driveway, or even how affectionate my mom and dad were (evidently, she could see them kissing goodbye in our living room before my dad went to work every morning). Sometimes, her observations were not quite as innocent — once, I was sitting on my front stoop waiting for a high school friend to pick me up, and she called 911 and told them a “strange man” was lurking outside our house! As Mrs. Dowling got older, and her senses grew less keen, my mother would stop by regularly and do odd jobs for her. When I came up with the character of Mrs. Porcupini, I remembered Mrs. Dowling staring out of that picture window. Matt Myers added those hilarious curlers in his rendering of her for the book; I never told him, but Mrs. Dowling also wore curlers sometimes!

Illustration copyright 2016 by Matt Myers.

Now that we are also homeowners, my husband and I do whatever we can to be good neighbors. In the winters, my husband doesn’t just snowblow our own (painfully long!) driveway — while he’s out there, he makes sure to take care of other neighbors’ driveways as well. When we take our son out for trick-or-treating, I always make sure we have bags of homemade cookies to give our neighbors in return for their Halloween hospitality. At the holidays, we go door-to-door with gifts of gingerbread, and this past year we welcomed our neighbors to a New Year’s Day open house brunch. We also have everyone’s emails and phone numbers, so we’re happy to know when our neighbors are out of town, so we can pull in their garbage cans on trash day or keep an eye on their houses in general. It’s really nice to feel like we’re part of a caring community on our little street.

We’re lucky our street is within walking distance to a quaint and quirky district of stores and restaurants in our neighborhood. We’ve made sure to learn all the names of the shopkeepers, and we patronize their stores and eateries as often as we can. When I came up with the character of Mr. O’Hare, I thought about the friendly proprietors in our own neighborhood — I love the signage Matt put in Mr. O’Hare’s store in the book, especially the welcoming “HOP IN WE’RE OPEN” sign!

Illustration copyright 2016 by Matt Myers.

In the days to come, look forward to more stories about the people and things that inspired me as I wrote THE INFAMOUS RATSOS. In the meantime, hope you’ll enter my Kindness Contest — and spread the word about it to others!