We chat with author Dusti Bowling about The Beat I Drum, which sees Connor, beloved best friend of Aven Green from Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, tell his own story in this poignant and heartwarming tale about overcoming the challenges of life with Tourette’s.
Hi, Dusti! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I grew up in Arizona, and people can probably tell that greatly inspires my stories. I live in a small mountain town in Arizona right now with my husband, daughters, and a bunch of farm animals. When I’m not writing, you’ll probably find me working in my yard, cooking, and spending as much time with my family as possible.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I first discovered my love of stories in third grade. Up until then, I’d moved around a lot and was always starting over at schools. I hadn’t learned to read very well, and I didn’t have any books at home. My third-grade teacher was kind and patient with me, and that was the year I finally started reading. We had D.E.A.R. day at school, and I read Little House on the Prairie that day. That was a revelation for me. Stories were amazing! From that moment on, I always had a book in my hand. I wouldn’t even try to write my own stories stories, though, until I was nearly thirty years old because I didn’t believe it was possible to have a book with my name on it among all the books I loved at the library—truly an impossible goal for a kid like me. Then one day I realized if I never even tried, however unlikely I was to succeed, I would regret it forever.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Little House on the Prairie
- The one that made you want to become an author: Where the Red Fern Grows
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Sadie
Your latest novel, The Beat I Drum, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Finding your beat in life
What can readers expect?
My readers who have read the first two books in this series can expect a similar vibe with a lot of heart, hope, and humor as they follow Connor into high school. Starting high school is tough for anyone, but for a kid with tics, it’s brutal. Luckily Connor meets some great friends and an extremely supportive music teacher. But sometimes we’re the biggest obstacle in our own life, so readers can expect a balance of both uplifting and tough stuff.
Where did the inspiration for The Beat I Drum come from?
My readers will likely remember Connor as Aven’s best friend from my other books Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus. When I wrote the second book in that series, Connor had moved to another part of town to be closer to his dad, whom he wanted nothing to do with anymore. Some of my readers were surprised Connor was in the second book so little. I would tell them, “He had a lot going on in his own life!” The more I thought about all that Connor had going on in his life during that time period—starting over at a new school, dealing with his dad, finding new friends, and maybe even having a little romance of his own—the more I realized he needed his own story.
Connor himself was inspired by husband and daughters who have tic disorders. I always wanted to create a character who wasn’t a stereotype, but an authentic representation of what life is like for people with tics. And writing his relationship with his father was personally very meaningful and somewhat painful for me because of a lifetime of conflict with my own father, who hurt me a lot all throughout my life.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really loved writing the new characters in this story, especially Rory, Connor’s crush. I didn’t realize when Rory entered the story how fun, and also heartbreaking, she would be. Writing their journey together was a highlight to me. My young readers really long for a touch of romance in their books (they constantly tell me their favorite part of Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus is Aven and Lando’s relationship and ask me to write more stuff like that), but most middle grade doesn’t have any romance, and romance in young adult books can tend to be too mature for them. I’ve found I really enjoy writing first crushes and first kisses.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Writing is always challenging for me. I think the biggest challenge in writing this story was navigating Connor’s relationship with his father. Connor was definitely justified in being angry and resentful of his father, so I needed to figure out a way that his father could make his way back into Connor’s life while keeping things realistic. I had to get in touch with a lot of my own feelings about my parents, their divorce, and how my father could’ve made his way back into my own life if he’d really wanted to make up for the things he’d done.
What do you hope readers take away from The Beat I Drum?
People are definitely going to hurt us in our lives. We’re going to hurt other people. Do we let those people back in? Will they let us back in? It’s important that we have boundaries, but when the person who has hurt us shows us with their actions that they want to do better, that they want to be better, that’s always something worth considering. And how do we show the people we’ve hurt that we’re sorry and want to be better people?
I always had to keep strict boundaries with my own father because he was never capable of much change, but forgiving him before he died lifted a burden I don’t have to carry now for the rest of my life. There is freedom in forgiveness, so if there is ever a safe and healing path to forgiveness, we should take it.
What’s next for you?
My next middle-grade novel after The Beat I Drum will be Holding on for Dear Life, which is about a boy who is a bull rider. Then I have series called Sir Edmund of the Wild West. But I’m most excited to have my first young adult novel releasing next year. As a lifelong lover of thrillers and murder mysteries, I’m beyond thrilled to finally be writing my own for teens.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m so excited for Chris Baron’s Spark, the next book in Lindsay Currie’s Locked Rooms series, and The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly.
