A new book from Wānaka author Kate Gordon-Smith will appeal to young readers who love dogs and have a nose for solving a mystery.
Maddison McQueen and the Cupcake Mystery is the first book in the Red Collie Mysteries series, which is intended for seven to ten year olds.
The fast-paced story is set in Gordon-Smith’s hometown of Wānaka and involves a fictionalised version of the baking competition at the region’s iconic Wanaka A&P Show.
Gordon-Smith says she enjoyed drawing inspiration from her hometown and her own red and white border collie when writing the new book.
“I had an enormous amount of fun writing about Maddie and her red collie Ruby,” says Gordon-Smith. “I want that sense of fun to flow through into the final story as readers get involved in the ups and downs of Maddie’s friendships, her desire to find out who stole her beloved grandmother’s cupcakes, the scary thrills of their late-night adventures and share her passion for dogs.”
Gordon-Smith released her first novel for middle grade readers, Lily and the Unicorn King, in 2019 under the penname Kate Gordon. As well as writing, she runs an independent online bookstore called the Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore and is passionate about supporting New Zealand authors and illustrators creating books for children and teens.
“We have some incredible local authors writing a wide array of children’s fiction and non-fiction. I am constantly in awe of their storytelling abilities and think it’s wonderful that there are a range of local stories available for our children and teens to read. You never know what kind of books or story will appeal to a child who appears to be reluctant to read. Maybe you just haven’t found the right book for them yet.
“With the Red Collie Mysteries, my aim was to create fun, fast-paced stories to entertain children. There’s no great message or theme, simply the pleasure of getting lost in an engaging story trying to figure out who took the cupcakes and why. If we can help our kids find the enjoyment in reading when they’re young, hopefully they’ll continue reading for pleasure as adults.”
Another aspect of the Red Collie Mysteries that’s important to Gordon-Smith is that they are local contemporary fiction. “Growing up through the late ‘60s and ‘70s, I would have loved to read pony stories set in New Zealand, to read ‘our stories’. Most of the books I got from the library were from the United Kingdom and their pony adventures were very different to those I enjoyed as a pre-teen.”
Gordon-Smith is thrilled that early readers of the first Red Collie Mystery enjoyed the story.
One nine-year-old fan said: “I loved the characters. The names, the way they were described, everything. While I was reading it, I felt cool and adventurous on the inside. The story felt amazingly real (although I would NEVER do something like that in real life!).”
“It’s been different and refreshing to write a contemporary novel, rather than a fantasy unicorn book. I’ve asked my friends with children the same age as my characters a lot of questions about mobile phone privileges and how much they’d be allowed to go off by themselves.”
So far, Gordon-Smith has plotted four books in the Red Collie Mysteries. The next one, Maddison McQueen and the Disappearing Dogs, is written and awaiting edits. The following one is partly written, and she plans to release all three, and possibly a fourth, within the next 12 months. She also has rough plots for three more in the series.
Being a staunch supporter of the New Zealand book sector, Gordon-Smith has utilised Kiwi professionals for the editing, cover illustration, cover design and printing of Maddison McQueen and the Cupcake Mystery.
The book is published and distributed by her imprint, Relish Books.
