Goodreads asked Kelly Carey:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Kelly Carey How Long Is Forever? is my debut picture book published by Charlesbridge and illustrated by the talented Qing Zhuang (https://www.qingthings.com/ ). I’ve been publishing children’s fiction stories in magazines for over ten years, but this is my first book and I’m excited to share it with readers. I wrote this story in 2013, sold it in 2017, and it will be released in April of 2020. The road to book publication has felt like forever!

The inspiration for this story happened when I was a teenager. My friend and I were in a car when a song we loved came on the radio. I squealed, “Turn it up! This is the best song ever.” My friend’s Dad scoffed and replied, “Really? This is the best song ever?”

That exchange stuck with me and became the kernel that launched the interaction between young Mason and his Grandpa in How Long Is Forever?. Mason is waiting for the first blueberry pie of the season and it’s taking forever. At least that’s what Mason thinks, until Grandpa asks him to prove it and sends Mason searching the family farm to find the meaning of forever. I loved the idea that what can seem like the best song ever to a teenager or what can feel like forever to an eight year old can be very different for an older adult.

By the way, my friend’s father was right. Thomas Dolby’s, She Blinded Me With Science was clearly NOT the best song ever! And Mason is going to find out that waiting for a blueberry pie to bake is not forever.

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