Fabric artist Kay Healy has created and exhibited soft sculptures of engrossed readers and their books, but she hadn’t planned on becoming a children’s book author. Casey, the candy corn–shaped heroine and would-be detective of Healy’s debut graphic novel, Casey’s Cases: The Mysterious New Girl, would call Healy’s creation of the exuberant 11-year-old sleuth a mystery, but Healy has the answers.

With her signature ponytails and red dress, Casey began as sketches on the edges of paper as Healy, an artist and at the time an adjunct art professor, was teaching and developing her solo art exhibitions. A graduate of the now-defunct University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Healy spent time during the pandemic sketching Casey, her family, and friends, with the stories developing around the characters as she kept drawing and writing during her first pregnancy. The cast of characters include Casey’s tie-wearing best friend, Jan (“My Dad says you should dress for the job you want, and I want to be a scientist. And all scientists wear ties.”); Casey’s nemesis, mean girl Dina; Casey’s crush, AJ, who bears a striking resemblance to a pencil; and Mr. Muffin, the feline subject of not one but two of Casey’s successfully completed investigations.

While Healy was working on her drawings of Casey solving minor mysteries and navigating fifth grade, she wasn’t sure if her story would go anywhere or if Scott, who worked at the nearby UPS Store where she printed color copies of her artwork, would be her only audience. But Healy’s husband, author-illustrator Greg Pizzoli, gave it to his agent, Steve Malk at Writers House. Malk then passed it to Hannah Mann, another Writers House agent, who loved Casey and her fervor for solving even the most mundane mysteries. Mann pitched the project to Taylor Norman, now editorial director of Holiday House’s Neal Porter Books; Casey’s Cases was one of Norman’s first acquisitions after joining the imprint in 2022.

When they met, Healy knew at first sight that Norman would be a pleasure to work with. An avid reader, Norman had just come from the local library and had a bag full of children’s books to read for her own pleasure. Healy, a mother of two young children, shares Norman’s passion for ensuring that children have well-written, visually pleasing books.

Surprisingly, Healy’s inspirations for her graphic novel’s style and characters were not Nancy Drew or Harriet the Spy (which Healy only read a few years ago) but the artwork and storytelling of Peanuts and Calvin & Hobbes. Closer to home, Healy picked up pointers about visual storytelling from Pizzoli. A key tip Healy would pass on to others is not to be a perfectionist. “It’s more important,” she says, “for the imagery to look expressive and fun rather than ‘right.’ That said, I’d estimate I drew each panel at least nine times.”

For Healy, an unanticipated pleasure of being a published author-illustrator is the way readers respond to the characters. Parents post photos of themselves reading Casey’s Cases to their children with their reviews. At library and bookstore events, kids ask Healy to draw the soccer-playing AJ for them.

Dina is also a fan favorite—and an author favorite. Healy finds villains, especially female ones, compelling. “When I draw Dina, I make angry faces and my mood changes,” she says. “I pick up the mood of my characters.”

However, the best part of being published for Healy is “the delight of reading a book I created to my two daughters as I’m holding them in my arms.”

In addition to promoting Casey’s Cases and preparing for two exhibitions of her artwork, Healy will attend ALA later this month, wearing a badge proclaiming her to be an author. As for Healy’s growing legion of fans, the mystery of when her next book will be available has been revealed. Casey’s Cases: Everything Is Terrible is due out in September.

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