An Indies Introduce Q&A with Kathy MacLeod

Kathy MacLeod is the author of Continental Drifter, a Winter/Spring 2024 Indies Introduce middle grade selection. 

MacLeod is an illustrator and cartoonist whose work has appeared in The Believer, Catapult, The Hairpin, and Lucky Peach. After spending most of her life in Bangkok, Thailand (with a four-year interlude at Wesleyan University), she is currently living in Berlin, Germany.

Ann Branson of Beach Books in Seaside, Oregon, served on the panel that selected this title for Indies Introduce.

“I love this book with my whole heart," said Branson. "Kathy’s memoir is tender and touching, filled with the hopes and disappointments of looking for a place to belong. There is so much heart in these pages! A true gem of a book.”

Here, MacLeod and Branson discuss Continental Drifter.

Ann Branson: Congratulations on your debut! What inspired you to write a graphic memoir for a younger audience?

Kathy MacLeod: Thank you! The memoir is based on a shorter comic essay I wrote in 2019, as part of a collection intended for older audiences. It was the suggestion of my editor Robyn Chapman to expand that story into a memoir tailored to younger readers. Having only written for adult audiences at that point, I loved the idea and saw it as a fun challenge. I took it as an opportunity to let my inner child express herself, and found the whole process healing in a way. I tend to be very hard on myself, but writing the memoir for a younger audience allowed me to tap into something softer and gentler while still being honest and relatable. Whenever the process got hard, the thought of young readers reading my story and connecting to it kept me going. I wrote the book that I would have liked to read when I was eleven (the age I am in the story), but I hope that it resonates with people of all ages.

AB: One of the many things I enjoy about this book is your nuanced approach to family. There’s so much love yet so much loneliness, and you allow space for both of these feelings to exist together. What are your hopes for readers who also find themselves with complex feelings about their families?

KM: When I was growing up, there didn’t seem to be a lot of families in fiction that were like mine. All I had to compare it to were the happy families in sitcoms and books, and so I thought there was something wrong about the way my family interacted — it was sometimes hard, as a kid, to see all the love amidst the loneliness. What I know now is that parents are human, and they’re products of their own parents. My parents expressed their love in the ways they knew how, and like all of us, they were figuring things out as they went along. But as a kid, it was easy to jump to the conclusion that maybe I was unlovable in some way. My biggest hope is that the book will allow readers with complex family dynamics to feel less alone, and to see the dynamic in a bigger context rather than internalizing it like I did.

AB: I love your illustrations! The style of the book created an immersive reading experience, making me feel like I was seeing the world through an 11-year-old’s eyes. Who or what are some of your artistic influences?

KM: Thank you! I wanted to keep the characters simple enough so that the reader could insert themselves into the story, while filling the pages with enough visual details to make the world feel real and specific. Lynda Barry’s art and writing has been really influential in terms of encouraging me to play and find my own artistic style. I also love the work of Jillian Tamaki, Kate Beaton, and Marjane Satrapi.

AB: While reading the book, I was struck by how emotionally resonant it is. While going along I could feel young Kathy’s hope, disappointment, and joy along with her. How did you connect with your 11-year-old self, and what was it like to re-examine those feelings?

KM: Before I started writing the book, I read through all my childhood diaries to pull out as many details as possible and get myself used to writing in my 11-year-old voice. There were some days, though, when I got too submerged in the past and some of those difficult childhood feelings started to leak into the present — my inner critic had a tendency to get really loud. I made sure to keep checking in with my present-day self in the form of journaling, therapy, and daily sketchbook drawing, because it was important to stay grounded and process the feelings that were arising. Practicing self-care throughout the experience was crucial, because it was a form of nurturing my childhood self as well, and allowing her to express herself on the page.

AB: Has your family gotten to read your book yet? If so, what were their reactions?

KM: My family has not read the whole book yet, but they’ve seen snippets of the parts that take place in Maine. Maine was a special place for all of us and I was happy to hear that my family thought I did our memories justice. As for the rest of the book, their advance copies are on the way!

Find the author on Instagram at @kathy_macleod.

ABA member stores are invited to use this interview or any others in our series of Q&As with Indies Introduce debut authors in newsletters and social media and in online and in-store promotions. Please let us know if you do.