Featured Interview With Carly Dober
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a 30 year old psychologist from Melbourne, Australia who deeply values our natural world. I love the beach, surfing, hiking, animals and exploring beautiful new pockets of the world.
I write books that focus on sustainability. As a lifelong animal and environmental activist, I thought I would write books for children that champion these values.
I wrote and published my first book, ‘The Beautiful Place’ in 2020 during the covid-19 lockdown we had, which went for many months in Australia. I had always wanted to write a book and thought it would be the perfect time to work on a project like that, my sister helped me out with the illustrations.
I have two adopted cats, one is deaf, both beautiful fluffly white girls with big blue eyes. My family also has an adopted Alaskan Malamute. Did I mention I love animals?
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have loved books as long as I could remember. My parents always had Golden Books where I would ready my favourite Disney stories from age 5, which graduated to me buying all the Goosebumps books and devouring them all, to getting my first library card and spending time through very difficult periods of my life reading. I have always loved to spend time reading a book, and I always will. I started writing this year (2020). I always wanted to, I just never thought I was talented or ‘had it’, which is still up for debate!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Too many to count! I am nowhere near as talented as the following authors, but please check them out:
Gillian Flynn, Steven King, Celeste Ng, J.R.R Tolkien & André Aciman.
Books:
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
I also love psychological thrillers, such as Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson and Room by Emma Donoghue.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Three friends get together for a sleepover at Darius’ house looking to have some serious fun. Darius’ family eat a plant based diet, which is something Miguel and Hina never considered before.Miguel and Hina do not really know how eating plants could be filling, so Darius and his parents go on a road trip to show how the food we eat makes it’s way to our plates.With contemporary food production being largely outsourced, many children are unsure about how the food they eat is made or where it comes from. Making the link between the planet’s resources and how we interact with all species is important to facilitate children’s understanding of eating sustainably. Switching to a plant-based diet not only benefits your health — it can help protect the environment as well. People who follow plant-based diets tend to have smaller environmental footprints. It’s a simple story about some friends going on a journey to understand food production and sustainability.