Wesley King: Hi. I'm Wesley King and I'm the author of Sara and the Search for Normal, the prequel to OCDaniel. I initially wrote OCDaniel as a book for my 12-year-old self. I was dealing with a lot of the same issues as Daniel was -- obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety -- and so I wrote a book to sort of reflect the way that I felt and the book that perhaps I needed when I was 12 years old. Sara was an extremely popular character in the book because she was also dealing with mental issues, but she was so confident, and brilliant, and eccentric, and funny. Readers really took to her and wanted to hear more. So, I set out to write Sara and the Search for Normal, and explore how she became the character that she is in OCDaniel. Whereas I wrote OCDaniel to reflect the kid I was, Sara is the person I wish I had met. I think she's such a great ambassador for what it means to deal with mental illness and also for all of us to see that, to see the internal dialogue, and to connect with the people around us who might be dealing with the same things with empathy and understanding.

I think the challenging part when you're dealing with these sorts of issues is, A, to do it authentically and honestly. That part, I suppose, was easy because I've dealt with so many of these things myself. But it's presenting it in a way that makes sense. I wanted it to reflect young readers and readers all over of all ages, who might be going through similar things. I also wanted to make it understandable and as easy to connect to as possible for people who don't deal with these sorts of issues, because I want them to not only connect with Sara, but as I said, to also connect with the people around them who might be going through these sorts of things and to look at perhaps the quiet people or the people who seem distant, and perhaps instead of just assuming they're shy or that they're weird as many of us are thought or been called in our lives, including myself, to think a little bit more about what's going on inside their heads. That was sort of the purpose and why I set out to write these stories.

Sara is just very, very funny. She's got this really dry, sarcastic sense of humor. I loved going through it and putting her dialogue in and the way that she speaks to the people around her. My favorite part of the story was just, in the same sense, that she's finding her normal and finding how to love herself, despite all of her difficulties. I loved seeing that process and getting to that point where Sara realizes just how special she is. That was great to write and go along with her. I hope readers find that just as satisfying as I did to write it.

This is an excerpt from Sara and the Search for Normal. The book is interspersed with these short notes, which sort of reflect Sara's direct thoughts. I'm going to read you the first note, which is just eleven pages into the novel. So the note goes:

If you ask a blue whale what she thinks about -- if you sing whale, of course -- you might be surprised. Most people would guess it was about krill, or ocean currents, or maybe if she was due for some air. But it could also be about her baby who swam off two years ago and whether he found a girlfriend. Or that dolphins really are silly things. Or maybe that the stars look beautiful tonight, even from underwater. We can't ask her, so we all just kind of assume it's the krill.

Do me a favor, even if it is just for this story: Assume it's the stars.