Vicki Myron's "Dewey" Set to Debut

As a kitten, Dewey Readmore Books found his way to the library and rarely left.  He was beloved by many and captured the interest of reporters as far away as Japan. 

Myron took time out of a very busy schedule to answer a few questions about the book.

Why and when did you decide to write the book about Dewey?  Had you ever considered writing a book before?

"I was told by two college professors that I should write more after they saw my papers but never seriously considered it until this opportunity came along. After Dewey died, I was contacted by three agents. I checked them out and contacted Peter McGuigan since he was a reputable agent. He put me in touch with three ghost authors and I picked Bret Witter since he and I hit it off from the first conversation. He became my co-author since we worked so closely together and had experience."

2)  What was the writing process like?

"The writing process was pretty easy since Bret and I worked so well. He came to Iowa twice to work in person and to get to know Spencer and the people I was talking about. It took about eight months to deliver the manuscript. We went through five  drafts to get the final book right. It was actually fun to do with Bret. We worked a lot by phone and e-mail. We didn't get edits back from the publisher until after we finished the manuscript, but we edited it ourselves many times."

"The writing process for me is bullet points at first, then fleshing out the story by talking it out, and finally writing it down. Bret and I would write a story or chapter and then let it sit for a couple days before we revised it. The hardest part for me was getting the flow right with the different chapters. That took the longest, but when we got the first and last chapter down as we wanted them, the rest followed more easily. Writing for me is just having a conversation on paper. I love telling stories and I have a passion for words---some are pretty, elegant, guttural, and some are just plain ugly. The use of words is great fun for me."

The following are excerpts from a paper Myron and Witter wrote for a publisher.

"Why write about Dewey?  After years of saying no, I finally said yes. Dewey had recently died, and part of me must have known writing a book would keep him in my life. Not that he could ever go away. I loved him for almost twenty years; everything in the library reminded me of him: the copier where he warmed himself, the front desk where he perched, the Western section where he hid, the book cart he used to ride on. Every morning, he sat at the door waiting for me. When he saw me coming, he’d wave. No matter how bad I felt, that wave made me believe the world was wonderful and everything would be alright. How could I ever forget that?

"He was my best friend; he was always there for me. Always. I hope I’ve honored his life by capturing some of his magic.  I hope I’ve also captured something else: the magic of libraries. Libraries aren’t warehouses for books; they are meeting houses for human beings. A good library is less an institution than a home. It has comfortable seats, desks, computers, friendly people and, yes, sometimes even a cat. Libraries are society’s great leveling agent: they offer job listings, financial information, technology, entertainment, any book you want. For free. I hate it when people tip-toe through a library. 'This isn’t a graveyard,' I want to shout.  'It's alive.  So live a little!' "