Claire Dean: I'd been a professional writer for many years when my daughter came to me and asked why I hadn't written a book for her. Everything changed for me at that moment. Suddenly writing no longer felt like a job--and a very difficult, unsatisfying one at that--but became the most joyful part of my day. I asked her what kind of book she wanted, and she told me it had to be about good stuff, about nature and fairies and hope and girls. I played with those ideas for a couple of years, starting and stopping and turning over different stories in my mind, until I finally hit upon the tale of Polly and her magical larch grove. In a way, writing GIRLWOOD was like writing a lullaby for my teenager. My main goal was to write a hopeful story, something that would bring strength and solace not only to my daughter, but to all my readers.

ETC: You open each chapter in GIRLWOOD with a description of the edible, medicinal, and even magical properties of different herbs, flowers and trees. Where did you get your knowledge of plants?

Claire Dean: There must be a gene for plant-lovers because a passion for gardening runs in my family. My older brother is a renowned landscape architect in California, my younger brother worked for years as a landscape designer, while I satisfy my need for greenery with a jungle of a garden surrounding my house. It was while writing GIRLWOOD that I discovered another passion of mine: foraging in the woods for edible and medicinal plants. The character of Baba, Polly's life-loving, plant-loving grandmother, must have taken over my spirit because I found myself buying field guides and bushwhacking through brambles and nettle-filled meadows, searching for all the astounding and, yes, sometimes magical herbs that grow in my region. Through that research, I was able to not only infuse GIRLWOOD with wonderful plant lore but to discover that yarrow is a great mosquito repellant, fireweed is delicious eaten raw, and that a sprig of juniper in the pocket is said to give protection from ill-willed fairies and bring the blessing of the nature spirits. Plants are magical things!
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