November Featured Title: Darcy and Daisy the Christmas Puppy
“It was such a fun, true story and I immediately thought it would make a great children’s book.”
Our November featured title is Darcy and Daisy the Christmas Puppy! We chatted with author Karin Hoving about her inspiration behind the book, Darcy & Daisy’s extremely popular Instagram account, and whether she herself is more like Darcy or Daisy. 
1. You lead a very interesting career. As a TV Producer, you’ve done everything from holding baby chimps to filming on the site of an active volcano. What made you want to embark on a new journey and write a children’s book?
I love collaborating with people to tell unique stories and I have been lucky enough to work on a lot of fun, kid-friendly shows. I also have a 13-year-old daughter and we used to spend hours a day reading and telling stories to each other, so it seemed very natural for me to segue into writing a children’s book.
2. This book follows the adorable true story of when you added Daisy to the family. When did you realize that Darcy needed a new furry friend? What inspired you to tell the story?
Darcy really was quite depressed when the foster kittens left-I actually minimize in the book how sad he was! We even took him to the vet because he seemed so gloomy and he had stopped eating. We realized then that we either needed more foster kittens or we should get him a puppy sibling. It was Christmastime and my husband and I quite spontaneously brought in a new puppy. My daughter couldn’t believe it. It was such a fun, true story and I immediately thought it would make a great children’s book. I just did a video about making the book that has a lot of adorable footage of Darcy as a puppy, the actual foster kittens, and Daisy as a puppy when she entered the scene. Here is the video, which I hope makes you smile:
3. Darcy and Daisy have a very large following on Instagram (follow them @darcyanddaisy). When did you first start this account? What was your goal in creating it?
I’ve always loved photography and had tons of photos on my phone of the dogs. I would dress them up in holiday attire and take fun pictures, but the photos would just sit on my phone or in a photo album. I decided to start this Instagram in the summer of 2016 because I wanted to connect with people in a way that was purely positive, joyous, and fun. It has been such a delight to share the images and I’ve made friends with people around the world!
4. The back of the book features an “are you more like Darcy or Daisy?” quiz. Are you personally more like Darcy or Daisy?
Haha! That depends on the day. Right now I’m feeling more like Darcy because I’m in a friendly mood and just took a long walk. There are days when I’m more of a Daisy. We included the quiz because my daughter and I had two books with interactive quizzes and those were always our favorites. So far kids love it!
5. What would be your advice to people who are thinking about writing their own children’s book for the first time?
Just do it! I’m a big believer in actually doing what you want to do as opposed to talking about doing what you want to do. I would also do a lot of research and look at hundreds of children’s books. The most important thing is to find good people to collaborate with and then trust them to do their jobs. I loved working with the editor and the graphic designer and with the artist Alycia Pace. They all really helped elevate the story. It was such a rewarding process and I’m so thrilled to have written my first book!
Click here to get your copy of Darcy and Daisy the Christmas Puppy.