Trina Wiebe received her first typewriter for Christmas when she was eight years old and has been writing stories ever since. She now lives in Invermere, British Columbia, where she spends her time reading and writing, and volunteering. Lobster Press has recently re-published her popular “Abby and Tess” series, and we recently caught up with her, and congratulated her on the continued success and relevance of her work.
The “Abby and Tess” series has been widely praised. What do you think makes this series so appealing?
I think what makes Abby and Tess so appealing is their sister dynamic. These two sisters bicker, they get on each other’s nerves, they get annoyed and embarrassed and sometimes say things they don’t mean…but underneath it all they love each other. In each book they learn all kinds of things about animals, but they always learn a little something about themselves, too. Abby and Tess are both earnest and flawed and I think this makes them likable.
How did the writing of the “Abby and Tess” series compare to your work on the “Max-a-million” series?
With Abby and Tess, I got to do research and learn new and interesting details about the animals they pet-sat. I also got to work with emotions and character growth and watch how the girls learned and changed by the end of each story. Max, on the other hand, was just a hoot. I got to let my hair down a little and have fun and get downright silly. His adventures involved more physical comedy, which was loads of fun to write. It’s always enjoyable to find yourself giggling at the keyboard.Did you have a pet when you were a child? If not, what would have been your ideal pet?
We had lots of land when I was growing up, and over the years that translated into a variety of animals. Pet-wise, we had dogs, who had puppies, who were the cutest and friendliest creatures alive. But we also had a few cows, and some chickens and roosters, which meant milking and egg collecting, which was fun at first, but quickly lost its glamour for us kids.
We dabbled in pheasants and rabbits and geese…not exactly pets but interesting nonetheless. As often happens, some animals on the farm were meant for eating, which was kind of traumatic…and made me oh-so-glad to be a vegetarian!
