Q&A with Katy Grant
Q: Geocaching plays an important role in the plot of Hide and Seek. Can you tell us a little bit about it and how you got into it?
A: Geocaching is a kind of treasure hunting activity where people hide caches for others to find later. The cache is a small container with various trinkets inside. There’s also some paper and a pen for logging a record of everyone who has found the cache.
The person who hides the cache marks the location with a GPS and then enters the coordinates on a geocaching website. Sometimes he or she will leave clues, riddles, or verses on the website to make things interesting for the prospective treasure hunters.
If you want to find geocaches in your area, you first log on to a geocaching website and enter your location (that is, your coordinates from your GPS) to get a list of nearby caches. Once you’ve entered the coordinates of nearby caches, you’re ready to start your search.
Caches can be anywhere—in busy cities with crowds of people nearby or out on a remote hiking trail. When you’re searching, you try to be a little secretive. Non-geocachersare are called "muggles," and if you’ve hidden a cache, you don’t want muggles to accidentally find it. If you’re searching, you don’t want muggles to know what you’re up to. Once you find a cache, you can take one or two of the items inside, as long as you leave something in exchange.
Q: How did you get the idea for Hide and Seek? What made you want to write this book?
A: Two things, really. Ever since my family and I tried geocaching, I kept thinking it would make a great backdrop for a novel. You’re outdoors, using a GPS, looking for "hidden treasure" that no one else knows about. That was the first inspiration.
The second was when my family and I spent a long weekend in the White Mountains of Arizona. We did a few geocaches, one quite late in the afternoon in a remote area. I realized we hadn’t brought along flashlights. We were concerned about being out in the wilderness after dark, but fortunately we made it back to our car without incident. That weekend we saw elk, deer, and Canada geese.
I came home and could not stop thinking about writing a novel featuring geocaching, but it’s such a benign activity. There’s no danger involved, just fun, so what would the conflict be? Then I got the idea that the protagonist would find mysterious messages in the cache. And it just started falling into place. Quite a few events from that weekend made their way into the novel.
Q: While Chase, the main character in Hide and Seek, uses his GPS to find a geocache, it is just the beginning of what this book is really about. Can you explain a little bit about what Chase finds and how it starts his adventure?
A: On his first geocache, Chase finds a cryptic message, "WE NE", written in the logbook. He can’t figure out what it means, so he goes back to the cache and leaves a message of his own. Then to his surprise, he finds a response to his message indicating that someone needs food. With the thought that someone is stranded in the wilderness without food, Chase begins his adventure of finding out who needs his help.
Q: What inspired the storyline with the missing kids? Did you read a news article, or was it simply out of your imagination?
A: It really just came from my imagination. I came up with the idea of strange messages being left in the geocache logbook, and then I asked myself, who would be leaving messages? Why would they be in the wilderness alone? What would the messages say? And the idea grew from there.
Q: What is the coolest thing you ever found while geocaching? What do you think the best thing you have left is?
A: We have found a few micro caches–very small containers that don’t contain any items for exchange, but they do have a logbook, usually just a piece of paper inside. We once found an Altoids box that had been painted black and had a magnet attached to it hidden under a footbridge. That was a particularly challenging cache to find, so we were really excited when we finally came across it.
We have done several caches when we were camping, and when you’re camping out, you invariably forget to bring along something you need. So we have left small pocket knives behind because we figured other campers out geocaching would find those useful.
Contributor: Peachtree Publishers
Reviews
Hide and Seek
Katy Grant
Chase is a reasonably intelligent and mature young man. A bit of a loner, Chase enjoys taking long bike rides to do some geocaching. Using his GPS and information found on the Internet, he hunts for strategically placed metal boxes that contain a note log and small trinkets left by other geocachers. Following geocaching guidelines, he updates the note log and swaps trinkets for something that he brought. Imagine his concern when he finds an uprooted geocaching box that contains a mysterious message. It almost seems as if someone is in danger and they left an unfinished note begging for help. Chase is determined to help even if he is uncertain how to proceed. He replies to the note and then stakes out the area. It is not long before two odd young boys appear. Chase quickly befriends these young boys and his journey to help them begins. This is an exciting story, and as the boys’ secrets unravel, Chase puts himself into an increasingly dangerous situation. Will he be able to help them without getting hurt himself? 2010, Peachtree Publishers, $15.95. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Denise Daley (Children’s Literature).
ISBN: 9781561455423
Summer Camp Secrets: Acting Out
Katy Grant
Girls who go to summer camp, and especially those who would like to, will enjoy this book. Camp activities and schedules are explained in Judy’s, the protagonist’s, daily diary. Judith decides to change her personality and even her name. At camp she is known as "J.D." and she tells fellow campers that J.D. stands for Juvenile Delinquent. To Judith’s amazement, she becomes the life of the party and the most popular girl in her cabin. Judith refers to a home problem, but doesn’t reveal what it is until the last day of camp. She confides her story to one of the counselors. The girls at the camp are described realistically and their personalities are expertly drawn. The ups and downs the girls experience at camp are true to life. Judith acts up in swimming class and is asked to leave in spite of the fact that she is the best swimmer. At a dance, she violates the rules by walking off the porch with a boy from a nearby camp. Another faux pas occurs when Judith is instrumental in getting girls together for a dancing group. The counselor tells her the dance is too risqué for the younger girls at camp. Judith finally complies with the counselor’s wishes. This is a fun book and most girls will enjoy it; however, it may not be the book boys will choose to read. This book is part of a trilogy "Summer Camp Secrets" with different girls assuming the heroine role at summer camp. 2008, Aladdin Paperbacks/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, $5.99. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Jennie DeGenaro (Children’s Literature).
ISBN: 9781416935773
Summer Camp Secrets: Rumors
Katy Grant
Two sisters, Kayla and Samantha, are on their way to summer camp for four weeks. While they are gone, their parents will be moving to a new house in Florida. Upon arriving, Samantha is excited, instantly meets girls her age, and they all take off to go to their camping lodge for younger children. Kayla is not so sure that she is going to like it there and notices that all the girls her age already know each other. By the end of the day, Kayla decides it would be better to have an earache and be fed lima beans instead of being at camp. As the days go on, Samantha is having the time of her life, whereas Kayla has a horrible time. She does not know whom to trust as most of the girls gossip, make fun of others, and they do not include her in anything. Finally she makes friends with Shelby who confides in her and explains that her mother had died last year and that is why she cries at night. This disclosure seems to bring the two of them closer together. The kids go on overnight hikes, dances, and other camp activities before a surprise ending. The theme throughout seems to be how gossip can hurt others, and we never really know someone until something major happens. This well-written book will hold the reader’s interest, but it might cast a poor shadow on camp life. It is definitely a girl’s book that will enable some readers to identify with Kayla’s feelings. This installment in the "Summer Camp Secrets" series can certainly be read alone. Although the girls have problems throughout, they manage to make the best of them and learn from the experience. 2010, Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, $6.99 Ages 10 to 12. Reviewer: Kathie M. Josephs (Children’s Literature).
ISBN: 9781416991632
Added 4/27/11
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