1. Congrats on your YA debut! How would you describe your book to readers?
Thank you! Golden Boy is a story about dogs, and football, and science projects gone wrong, and unconditional love. Emma, the science-obsessed teen heroine, tries to save her sick golden retriever Hudson by altering his DNA—turning on the aging genes that dogs share with humans to extend his lifespan.
Things go awry when she accidentally activates too many genes and turns Hudson into a human boy overnight. Before she can make an antidote, Hudson runs off and inadvertently impresses Emma’s father out on the football field. As a struggling head coach, he proposes a wild idea: put Hudson on the team. Gradually, Hudson’s innocence and sweetness transform the lives of everyone he meets. Bullies turn into friends, cranky codgers start dancing, and he even helps bring Emma’s distant family together.
2. What drew you to YA to tell this story?
The material just seemed to fit the struggles everyone goes through at that age—feeling pressure to conform versus being yourself and labeled “weird.” But Hudson, like all dogs, always follows his heart, never feels weird or out of place, and everyone still loves him anyway. I think YA readers can learn a lot from his example, just like Emma does.
