Ann M. Martin: Hi. This is Ann M. Martin. I'm the author of Rain Reign. I'm going to tell you a bit about how I came to write this book, and then I'll share an excerpt with you.

The story of Rain Reign came to me when I started thinking about a young girl who was fascinated with homophones or homonyms, which are two words that are spelled differently but pronounced the same way. But I didn't have a story for Rose yet, although I knew her name was going to be Rose, because Rose has a homonym, R-o-w-s. Then I started thinking about a dog and a dog who might be a connection to a girl like Rose who is on the autism spectrum. And then I began thinking about storms and superstorms. This was after Hurricane Irene had hit. It was a huge superstorm, and I began to wonder what might happen if Rose and her dog were separated from each other. She lives with her father who is not the best kind of support for Rose and doesn't really understand her.

And I'm going to read a section of the book after the storm has hit, and Rose has just discovered that her dog, Rain, is missing. And this a scene between Rose and her father.

I sit in the chair at the kitchen table. Something has happened to Rain. My father let her outside, and she didn't come back. This is not like her. She may be lost.

I stand at the window again and gaze out at the rushing water, at the fallen trees at the bottom of our yard that now looks like a pond.

"Find her?" I jump. I turn around to see my father. He's standing in the doorway to his bedroom wearing an undershirt and boxer shorts.

"What time did you let her out?" I ask.

"Does that mean you didn't find her?

She doesn't come when I call.

"Why can't you just answer me? Say 'No, I didn't find her."

"No I didn't find her. What time did you let her out?"

My father scratches his neck and sits at the kitchen table. "Power's out," he says.

"Phone too?"

"I have to answer your questions, but you don't have to answer mine?"

I see a mean little smile on my father's mouth, but all he says is, "7:15."