Olaf and Essex
by Patti Calkosz
Release Date: October 15, 2024
Illustrator: Xiao
Publisher: Pretty Cool
Category: Middle Grade Fantasy
Blurb:A fox and bear take on bumbling witch kidnappers and the NYPD’s Chief Magic Detector to protect a magical baby and the witches of New York.
In an alternate New York City, Olaf, a bear living in Central Park, accidentally scares away two witches. They leave behind a baby, whom they’d kidnapped to force the father—the NYPD’s Chief Magic Detector—to stop harassing the magical community.
Olaf’s mother died when he was just a cub, so his natural instinct is to protect the child. When he and his best friend Essex, a fox, find the presumed parents and attempt to return the baby, they witness the female witch, in a fit of pique, turn her husband into a frog.
Now Olaf and Essex must keep the baby safe, find the real mother, keep the magical baby away from her Magic Detector father, and avoid getting turned into frogs.
Author Interview
Author Interview with Patti Calkosz, author of Olaf and Essex
How did you select your topic?
It sort of picked me. An image came to me—a fox and bear standing with a young girl in a tundra. I changed the girl to a baby, and the tundra to a setting I’m familiar with, New York’s Central Park. Then another image came to me, the bear’s arm reaching through a window to steal the baby out of a crib. I then had to figure out the bear’s motivation and how to get readers to root for him. The story grew organically from there.
Did you get to pick your illustrator? How do you feel about illustrations in children’s books?
I did! I commissioned the amazingly talented Xiao to do some illustrations for my website. We then collaborated on a series of cartoons, which we posted to our social media. When I made the decision to stop querying and publish my novel myself, even though I felt disappointment and disillusionment regarding the publishing industry, I felt overjoyed that I would get to put my work out the way I (and my illustrator) envisioned it. I asked Xiao to illustrate about fifty scenes. (I told a writer friend and she exclaimed, “That’s a lot!”)
I love illustrations in children’s books! I love illustrations in ALL books. I don’t think getting older means you have to stop enjoying illustrations.
Do you have a special connection with your children’s book topic or characters?
I’m sure my subconscious took the bear and fox from my childhood, when my brother and I would sometimes put on puppet shows for family friends with his teddy bear and my plush fox. My bear and fox characters each reflect parts of me. Especially with Olaf thinking of himself as dumb and being called dumb by others—I have some cognitive irregularities and though I’ve graduated from difficult schools, I never really felt I belonged there, and I’ve had people look down on and ridicule me. And not too long after I began writing this story, I realized that the constantly bickering villains, Mabel and Harvey, were influenced by my parents (although my parents weren’t funny).
There’s quite a bit of spirituality in the story. Many years ago my chronic illness led me down the path of “alternative” healing, which also exposed me to spirituality. The good witch sisters, Helga and Hilda, are like parts of me—the one that aspires to be good and kind and compassionate always, like Helga, versus the one who feels victimized and annoyed by others (Hilda). Although Hilda was more fun to write! 🙂
My story also makes fun use of Shakespeare, which I enjoyed taking several times in college. For my second Shakespeare paper, I examined character relationships in the Henry IV plays and the Muppet movies. My professor was flabbergasted but gave me an A/A-. I wish he had told me I was creative and encouraged me to pursue creative writing.
What do you hope to teach or inspire in children reading your book?
I hope my book can aid with kids learning to have compassion for others, to understand that everyone has a point of view that’s evolved from their particular circumstances, even people they don’t like. So many adults seem to see their own point of view as absolute truth and have no tolerance of others; I hope my book will be one of many spurs to future generations becoming kinder.
I also hope it inspires kids to continue to go after their dreams and goals, even when supposed “experts” dismiss them.
Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot, and plan, or is your writing more organic?
Ideas come to me, I write them down and think about them, and that begets more ideas. Ideas often present themselves to me out of order; I feel that a plot is trying to emerge. I start to understand what the story wants to be and then I can give mental space to what’s missing, what scenes are needed to tie everything together.
Describe the book in 10 words or less for people just learning about it.
A bear and fox love and protect a magical baby.
About the Author
Patti Calkosz was born in Manhattan and grew up in Queens. She graduated from Duke University with a degree in English. In search of her creative niche all her adult life, Calkosz spent 27 years moving back and forth between New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Being diagnosed with a chronic illness was a wake-up call that set her on the path to both fiction writing and conscious spirituality. The middle grade fantasy book, Olaf and Essex, is her debut novel, which reflects her current spiritual understanding. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY with her cat, Sweetie.
Leave a Reply