We’ve recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Kit Rosewater, whose debut novel The Derby Daredevils: Kenzie Kickstarts a Team, a charming #ownvoices middle-grade novel about a bunch of fantastic girls banding together to get into the derby junior league, released in March. Kit answered our burning questions about books, her upcoming projects, and derby!
Hi Kit! Thank you so much for making the time to talk to us! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! It’s a pleasure to chat with The Nerd Daily! I’m a debuting children’s book author with the first book in my series, The Derby Daredevils, out on March 24th, and the second book out on September 15th! Before I was an author, I taught middle school theatre and high school English for five years, then worked as a bookseller at an indie bookstore while balancing writing. I also have a graduate degree in Children’s Literature, though I mostly studied picture books for my thesis. I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and when I’m not writing or reading I’m either running at the park, barking at the neighbors alongside my dog, or cheering on my local roller derby leagues!
People often say that to become a writer, you have to be a reader first! What was the first book you remember reading? And what are some books that shaped the way you approach writing?
That is such a great piece of advice, and one I stand behind! The first book I remember reading and thinking ‘I want to write like this’ was Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary. Authors like Cleary and Judy Blume provided some of the staple books in my childhood. I love the comfortable feeling of settling into a relatable and funny character’s life, especially as that character goes through all the ups and downs and hoops of growing up. When I write now, one of my main goals is to emulate this same comfortable style while updating the contemporary world to be a bit more diverse than it was portrayed in the books I read as a kid.
If you had to describe Kenzie Kickstarts a Team in five words, what would those be?
Fierce female friends on wheels!
Now tell us a bit more about the book!
The fierce female friends are Kenzie and her best friend Shelly, who together make up the Dynamic Duo on the roller skating rink! Kenzie and Shelly learn they have a shot at joining the newly-formed junior derby league together… but only if they can fill out three more slots and form a whole team on their own. Each added player strains the notion of the Dynamic Duo, and while Shelly’s happy to meet new friends, Kenzie starts to worry about all the changes happening around her. And things turn especially complicated when Shelly decides that their final player should be Kenzie’s awesome neighbor… who also just so happens to be Kenzie’s secret crush.
Kenzie’s friends are a bunch of really vivacious characters. Did you draw inspiration for them from your friends?
Thank you! I did, actually! Shelly is based on my childhood best friend Holly, who is as fearless and friendly as her fictional counterpart. Tomoko is based on my adult friend of the same name who I worked alongside at the indie bookstore. Camila is based on a girl I knew from theatre camp who always had the most gorgeous, flowing hair. Jules is based on a wonderfully rowdy kid who I happened to be extremely close to in fifth grade. And Bree is based on a friend of the same name who I know from yoga now!
There is a quiz on your homepage where readers can find out which of Kenzie’s teammates they are the most like! Who do you get when you take the quiz? Follow-up question: beyond the quiz answer, who do you relate to the most out of the Daredevils?
I had to take the quiz again juuuuust to be sure, but I’m definitely Kenzie. The cool thing about the Daredevils is, I relate hardcore to all six girls. I deliberately put a piece of myself in each of them, in part because this is a rotating protagonist series, which means I’ll be telling each other their stories! But I also try to put myself into all of my characters because I want them to be relatable, and I have to start by relating to them myself. With Kenzie, I relate to her worries over losing her best friend with changing dynamics. One of my worst traits growing up was how fiercely I wanted ONE BEST FRIEND, which meant I was sometimes a jerk to new potential friends. I try to be a lot better about that now, but I still get what it’s like to want to be someone’s favorite person. At least I get to be my dog’s favorite person! …I think.
Let’s get to the good stuff! Kenzie and her best friend Shelly want to be on a Derby team more than anything. Can you tell us more about your connection to derby and what you like most about it?
At this stage in my life (I’m currently 33 weeks pregnant and a waddling blimp) I’m more of a bench-warming fan of roller derby than anything else. But when I first got into roller derby in 2017, I trained to be a player and then to be a referee. Training to be a referee was my favorite, because I loved learning about all the rules and specifics of the sport! My personal love and connection to roller derby comes from it being such an empowering sport that challenges the standard notions of who gets to be considered an athlete. Anyone can be an all-star on the derby track. And derby isn’t just about any one physical attribute. It asks its players to be creative and resourceful and wily… all great components for middle grade team shenanigans!
Fantastic illustrations by Sophie Escabasse complement your story about the Derby Daredevils. Can you tell us a bit about the process of working with an illustrator? What did working together entail to get the cast of characters just right? And do you have a favorite illustration of Sophie’s?
Such a great question!! I would say my favorite illustration from Book 1 is the final illustration, when the team is walking out from tryouts together. Though the illustration on page 105 also makes me burst out laughing every time knowing the context. Sophie was and is an absolute dream to work with. I am so grateful to my agent and editor, as well as to Sophie and her agent, for bringing us together on this project. I made a rookie author mistake of falling in love with Sophie’s work before she was officially signed on… and that month or so of negotiations was so stressful! Once everyone had signed contracts, I sent Sophie a short letter about how I thought of the characters… and that was it! 99% of the time her sketches seem right out of my own head. She always captures the exact moments I hope she’ll capture, and presents the characters with so much expression and emotion. I cannot say enough good things about Sophie, and can’t wait for Book 1 of her graphic novel series, The Witches of Brooklyn, which comes out this fall!
Kenzie and her friends’ story continues in Shelly Struggles to Shine (out September 15th!) – what can readers expect from the sequel? And may there be a hint of romance heading Kenzie’s way?
I am so, so excited for Book 2 of the Daredevils series to hit shelves in September! The sequel follows Shelly along with the rest of the Daredevils as they head to their first official derby tournament! Shelly’s story doesn’t have a romantic thread the way Kenzie’s does… but it poses the question of how creativity and art specifically can fit into a sports setting, which is something I’ve been wanting to tackle within the roller derby realm for a long time now! We do get some glimpses at Kenzie’s continuing relationship with a certain someone… but I also have big plans for that thread, hopefully to be revealed later in the series!
Lightning Round: What was the last book, the last movie, and the last song you read/saw/heard?
The last book I read was Nicole Melleby’s upcoming In the Role of Brie Hutchens, which releases on April 21st and is fantastic! The last movie I watched was Into the Spiderverse, which I’ve seen nearly twenty times now because it’s my favorite movie. And the last song I shimmied to this morning was “Start a Riot” by DUCKWRTH & Shaboozey… from the Spiderverse soundtrack!
And last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I probably have too many! But really, one can never have enough books. Loriel Ryon’s MG debut Into the Tall, Tall Grass comes out on April 7th and is phenomenal. Other upcoming MG releases I highly recommend include Nicole Melleby’s In the Role of Brie Hutchens, out on April 21st, Ash Van Otterloo’s Cattywampus, out on August 4th, and A.J. Sass’s Ana on the Edge, out on October 20th!
