ANGEL THIEVES took three years and countless hours of research to write even though Kathi grew up on the Houston bayou. Getting the history of the city and the people right and telling the truth as deeply as possible were vital to Kathi as she crafted this complex story. She and Bethany discuss the misrepresentation in history that has shaped us and continues to do so and why Kathi used sensitivity readers to help her represent the characters and world in this novel as honestly as possible. They also discuss the importance of place in fiction and how setting can be the backbone of a story. Both writers share their delight in seeing how children's literature, especially picture books, has expanded to include difficult subjects that, when handled well, can impact children's worldview and teach them empathy. They give a shout-out to friend and fellow author, Kekla Magoon, and her beautiful books and they discuss how the children they write for give them courage to tackle tough topics with honesty as Kekla and many authors do so skillfully in their work. Also, Bethany and Kathi talk about how long stories and ideas can live with us and reassure writers that not every idea has to be written right now. In fact, ANGEL THIEVES was really 25 years in the making rather than just three. Listen today to this inspiring episode with the talented and insightful Kathi Appelt and find out more about Kathi and her work at https://www.kathiappelt.com/