Kathi Appelt: Hi, this is Kathi Appelt, and I'm the co-author with Alison McGhee of Maybe a Fox. 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.

When Alison and I decided that we wanted to write a book together, we began by choosing our characters. I wanted to write from the viewpoint of a sister, and Alison chose to write from the viewpoint of a fox. We really didn't know where the story was gonna go, so we trusted that if we just kept writing, the story itself might show up.

So what we did is, I would take a week to write my chapter. Then I'd send it to Allison, and she would take up to a week to write hers. And we kept going like that, back and forth, 'til we finally figured out where we were going. It took a while, and we did it mostly online, because Alison lives in Minneapolis, and I live in College Station, Texas.

So it wasn't until late in the process that we actually met up face to face, and we spent a long weekend on Alison's front porch to really bring the story into shape. After that, it took another four years, and a lot of revision to work it all out. But I tell you, it was an honor to work with Alison.

So now I wanna read an excerpt to you, and this is from Chapter 24.

Jules was behind in every subject. That was what happened when you stayed out of school for a month, when you quit doing homework, when you couldn't care less about school because something huge and awful happened, something that felt so much bigger than homework ever could. She sat in her classroom and glanced at the wall, lined with books and stacks of paper, and an old clock that was stuck at exactly two eighteen.

At last, the final bell rang, and she stuffed everything into her already stuffed backpack, and stood by her locker, waiting for Sam. He had told her to, so that they could walk to the bus together. That was when Liz Redding, the second fastest girl in school next to Sylvie, walked up. Jules had known Liz since kindergarten. She swung her backpack onto her shoulder, wincing at the weight of it, just as Sam stepped up beside her.

Liz looked directly at Jules. "Still no sign of the body?"

Ka-pow. The shock of Liz's question felt to Jules like another blow. Like seeing the poster in the hallway that morning had felt like a blow. Liz said it again.

"Still no body?"

Her sister. A body? Then Jules realized that all day long, the faces of her friends had been silently asking this question, but no one had spoken it out loud. No one, until Liz. Her words hung in the hallway air. Still no sign of the body?