Goodreads asked Penny Draper:

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

Penny Draper The idea for the very first book in the Disaster Strikes! series came from a friend and fellow storyteller. We were visiting a school and she told the true tale of the Frank Slide, a terrible rockslide that nearly wiped out the town of Frank. My friend's grandfather had moved to Frank shortly after the disaster, so she had lots of interesting anecdotes to share. All the students wanted to know more, so after the performance my friend said, "Penny, you should make this story into a book." So I did.

As for my most recent book, Red River Raging, I wanted to add a flood to the series. Floods are a global force of nature, causing great devastation and great change. But it was a hard book to write. Floods move slowly and in places like the Red River where everyone is prepared, there's no surprise. Writing about a flood was a little like writing a mystery but telling everyone in the first chapter where and when the murder would take place. How could I make that exciting? You'll have to read the book to find out!

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