Author Kizzie Jones lives in Edmonds, WA, with her dachshunds and her partner Thomas Wert. A dachshund lover, Kizzie has been owned by many dachshunds, models for the dynamic dogs in her children’s stories. Her books, some also available in bilingual editions, have won multiple awards; “A Tall Tale about Dachshunds in Costumes: How MORE Dogs Came to Be” (2019) won her most recent award, First in Category, Little Peeps Book Awards from Chanticleer Reviews in September 2020. Kizzie charms young readers via accurate descriptions of dogs and oceanside life, enhanced with illustrations by Bellingham artist Scott Ward. Kizzie Jones is also a contributing author to the 2019 anthology “Writing In Place: Prose and Poetry from the Pacific Northwest.” She is a member of a writers’ group, The Edmonds Writing Sisters; of EPIC (Every Person is Creative) Group Writers, Edmonds, Washington; Skagit Valley Writers, Greater Gig Harbor Literary Society, a founding member and keynote speaker of the First Rockaway Writers Rendezvous Conference, Rockaway Beach, OR; from 2013 through 2020 she did a yearly book reading/writing tour with her children’s books in schools in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico; and she gives readings in local libraries, schools, and bookshops. With Covid curtailing indoor readings, she focused on attending more outdoor dachshund events. When Kizzie doesn’t write, she relishes spending time with her daughter Kizzie Marie Funkhouser, sitting in her backyard garden, taking meandering walks with her dogs, getting refreshed by water-walking at the local pool, and relaxes while listening to audio books.
Which genres do you cover?
Kizzie Jones: Whimsical Tall Tales, Memoir Vignettes.
Which is the latest book you had published, and what is about?
Kizzie Jones: My most recent book was an anthology, “Writing In Place: Prose & Poetry from the Pacific Northwest” (2019), our favorite pieces compiled by the Edmonds Writing Sisters.
At which book events can readers find you?
Kizzie Jones: Edmonds Arts Festival; Beach Crafters and Rockaway Writers Rendezvous Conference, Rockaway Beach, OR; DACHSAND, Seaside, OR; at the Chelan, WA Top Dog St. Patrick’s Day Parade followed by a book signing at Riverwalk Books; Edmonds Bookshop Author Lightning Round Event; Edmonds Holiday Art Market at ArtWorks.
Edmonds Arts Festival; Beach Crafters in Rockaway Beach, OR; DACHSAND at Seaside, OR; at the Chelan, WA, Top Dog St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and at a book signing at Riverwalk Books, on March 16th 2024, 11:30am-2pm.
Which book event connecting you with readers is your favorite and why?
Kizzie Jones: Doxie Events. Dachshund lovers are my greatest fans! And I adore dachshunds and their people!
Do(es) your book(s) have any specific messages to your readers and, if so, which are they?
Kizzie Jones: My professional life as a spiritual care provider influenced my writing in Life’s Third Chapter. By using whimsy and make-believe, I hope to nourish the seeds of compassion, kindness, and inclusivity in the hearts of children and adults alike, starting with my very first tall tale, “How Dachshunds Came to Be.” “A Tall Tale About a Dachshund and a Pelican” emphasizes how we can like without being alike and how we can not only discover our differences but also celebrate them. “A Tall Tale About Dachshunds in Costumes” exemplifies how unbounded imagination can help us with self-discovery and self-acceptance. I hope each time the books are read, seeds are planted to further the cause for a gentleness of spirit for all humanity and nature. Picture a world of friends delighting in the whimsy of life, bringing out the best in one another. I can think of no greater legacy.
Which writer(s) keep(s) inspiring you and why?
Kizzie Jones: Barbara Kingsolver, Amor Towles (A Gentleman in Moscow), Ann Patchett, Bill Bryson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Timothy Eagan, William Kent Krueger, Anne Lamont, Naomi Wark (Wildflowers in Winter), Alice Boatwright. Poets: Mary Oliver, Gerald M Bigelow, Kim McKellar (GO, wake the bear), Mark Boyd, Darlene Dubay, Marcia Cameron McLaughlin.
Do you have any specific writing habits?
Kizzie Jones: Read and re-read my work aloud to help edit. Read as if for a performance.
What are you currently working on?
Kizzie Jones: Marketing for my Dachshund Tall Tales and Anthology – My new frontiers: BookTok and writing memoir vignettes.
Which book are you currently reading simply for entertainment?
Kizzie Jones: “The Bird Hotel” by Joyce Maynard and “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles
What advice would you give any aspiring author?
Kizzie Jones: Just get it down. If written, it can be edited and corrected. Not so much an empty page.
You can find Kizzie Jones’ books, which are also available in in English, Spanish, German, and French, on her website https://kizziejones.com , in bookstores, and on https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kizzie-Elizabeth-Jones/author/B009PEJZPS.
