Cristina Rouvalis had started writing a novel about two Pittsburgh sixth graders — popular cheerleader Ashley and autistic girl Jane who wears cat ears and attracts bullies.After backgrounding the general characters, she called Autism Connection of Pennsylvania seeking details to more accurately shape Jane.“Talking with a staff member, I happened to mention that Jane was cat-obsessed. Without any hesitation she said, ‘I know the perfect person for you.’“The very next day I got an email with the subject line Cat-Obsessed Autistic Girl at Your Service, and there was a beautifully written, lovely note from Lydia Wayman, who became my co-writer.”Mirroring the unlikely friendship of Ashley and Jane, the chance collaboration of two authors with distinctly different writing backgrounds produced “Snoopers & Sneakers,” a 220-page middle grade novel appearing in bookstores Jan. 21.Rouvalis is an award-winning professional journalist who has written for dozens of national newspapers and magazines, including a 24-year stint as a business and feature writer with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Wayman was not officially diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum until college. She has used degrees in education, English and nonfiction writing to develop training programs and professional courses for autism service providers while penning numerous articles on autism and a book, “Living in Technicolor: An Autistic’s Thoughts on Raising a Child with Autism.”The cover of “Snoopers & Sneakers,” out Jan. 21, by Rouvalis and Wayman. Photo courtesy of Orange Blossom Publishing. “Snoopers & Sneakers” is written for the thriving middle grade fiction genre geared to readers age 8-12. The tone is light-hearted but turns serious when the girls try to prove the innocence of a favorite teacher unjustly accused of shoplifting.Set in Aspinwall, the book begins at a class field trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium and abounds with Pittsburgh references including Carnegie Science Center, Rachel Carson, the Mr. Yuk sticker, Eat’n Park smiley cookies and the Steelers.NEXTpittsburgh spoke with Rouvalis and Wayman in the lobby of the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square, with frequent pauses by interviewer and authors to display cherished cat photos from smartphones.*  *  *NEXTpittsburgh:  You both are prolific nonfiction writers but in quite different genres. How did you decide you’d be able to collaborate on a fiction book?Cristina Rouvalis:  After our first email exchange, I went to meet Lydia for the first time. Lydia Wayman:  Originally I was not writing the book; we were just going to talk one time.Rouvalis:  As we spoke, I thought, “She’s a very nice person, but I’m not sure if this is going to work.” Unbeknownst to me, Lydia was sick and just had come out of the hospital.Wayman:  I was sitting there with 103-degree fever and fearing I was going septic again.Rouvalis:  Then she went to the restroom, and when she came back, she says, “I think Jane would have done this, she would have felt this when she was walking through the noisy hallway.”Wayman:  I’m telling her all about the character and what she’s going through. And that’s when you made your decision that — Rouvalis:  I was going to write the book with you.Lydia Wayman, front, with Cristina Rouvalis, back, at Cats N’At. Photo by Alexis Wary.NEXTpittsburgh:  How did the writing process work?Wayman:  Cristina would send me a bit of something and ask what I thought. I started getting more involved because she writes like a journalist, which doesn’t translate as well to middle grade fiction.Rouvalis:  On one hand, writing fiction is very freeing because you don’t have to worry about facts. On the other hand, it’s terrifying. You have way too many choices.Wayman:  I do a lot of writing, but my real happy place is editing. Editing is writing like you’re somebody else. If you’re editing for someone, you’ve got to turn into their voice and their brain, and I just really enjoy that.Rouvalis:  We rewrote the plot many times. I would ask her to look specifically at Jane’s inner experience as well as dialogue.Wayman:  Editing the dialogue Cristina had written was a natural strength for me. Rouvalis:  It was a true collaboration. I provided the big plot, you were there with more specifics. Wayman:  I can confidently say that neither of us ever sat down and wrote part of this book without the other one on the other end of the phone at some point. I always say, she plants the forest and I trim the trees. We just really complement each other that way.Cristina Rouvalis. Photo by Alexis Wary.NEXTpittsburgh:  How hard was it to send your minds back to sixth grade?Rouvalis:  My daughter had gone through some of it, so I lived through her. I could feel all her anguish and the drama happening to the Ashley character.Wayman:  I didn’t really experience everything that happens to the autistic girl in the book. Jane the character is not Lydia the person. She’s certainly not. But one of Jane’s traits is that she gives you a lot of very, very specific facts and references. It’s just the way she thinks. I tend to have a very detailed memory, so all of those specifics are things I knew or thought or would have referenced at that time.Rouvalis:  It is an awkward age. Ashley’s friends are getting more sophisticated, and when she won’t lie about Jane, they turn on her. Wayman:  Her longtime close best friends turn on her. Rouvalis:  Which is such a painful experience for a kid. And unfortunately a pretty common experience at that age.Lydia Wayman wrote an email to Cristina Rouvalis with the subject line “Cat-Obsessed Autistic Girl at Your Service.” That’s how the pair began working together on the book. Photo by Alexis Wary.Wayman:  Jane can’t tie her shoes and doesn’t want people to know that about her. Or that her handwriting is so bad she can’t legibly write her name. And yet Ashley initially thinks of her as Little Miss Perfect who gets extra credit on her extra credit.NEXTpittsburgh:  The narrative alternates between each girl telling the story in first person, almost as a counterpoint.Wayman:  We wanted to show a dual perspective. At the start Jane and Ashley have nothing in common. They’re not opposites, but they have nothing in common. You get to see how they view each other, as well as their internal motivations. And that your internal motivations don’t always align with how you’re seen by others. One of my favorite things about the book is that Jane’s disability—Rouvalis:  Is never specifically stated. Wayman:  Does Ashley know that Jane has an autism diagnosis? You don’t actually know. Or does Ashley think, “Well, she’s just Jane.” Their friendship is not a message that’s easy to put into words.Rouvalis:  It’s a “show, don’t tell” relationship in the way that Ashley treats Jane like a person who’s clearly different from her. Sometimes charming, sometimes totally irritating. They totally irritate each other sometimes. Wayman:  As friends often do.NEXTpittsburgh:  Were there points where the two of you had strongly divergent opinions?Rouvalis:  I would say, “I like this idea, but I’m not married to it.”Wayman:  I often would say, “I don’t have any suggestions, but that one’s a No. But I don’t know what to tell you yet.”Rouvalis:  We always just wait. Something always came about that we would both really feel good about. Cristina Rouvalis wrote for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for 24 years, among other jobs as a journalist. Photo by Alexis Wary.NEXTpittsburgh:  Is there a message to the book? Rouvalis:  We didn’t want it to be preachy. We wanted it to be organic, where these two people who had nothing in common came together and became close friends. It’s about acceptance. Wayman:  The reality is that people don’t walk around with labels on their foreheads that say “I’m autistic.” This story is a chance for both neurodivergent and neurotypical readers to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. It’s what acceptance looks like in real life … letting people be who they are and giving people the benefit of the doubt.Rouvalis:  Within the confines of sixth-grade drama, which can be a little vicious at times. NEXTpittsburgh:  What is a favorite scene in the book?Wayman:  My favorite scene in the whole book, even though it’s the saddest scene, is the one where they have that argument about Jane being a robot.Rouvalis:  Ashley says to Jane, “You think I’m stupid, don’t you? I’m not stupid.” And then she calls Jane a robot.Wayman:  Which is a trigger point for Jane from a past experience.Rouvalis:  It’s a trigger point for Ashley hearing Jane call her stupid. Wayman:  Neither of them are wrong about being offended. They’re both rightfully hurt, and they’re also both being jerks in their response. I like the emotion that comes out in that scene. All of what’s been underneath in their relationship comes to a head. At that point you understand what’s going on internally and externally for both of them.NEXTpittsburgh:  Do you have a new project in mind? Will there be future adventures of Ashley and Jane?Lydia Wayman. Photo by Alexis Wary.Wayman:  We have another idea targeted.Rouvalis:  This could be a series. Wayman:  We do have the bones of the plot. Rouvalis:  And a few chapters. Wayman:  My friend Chloe read “Snoopers & Sneakers,” and her first question was, “What happens next? I want there to be a sequel!” ______________________A book launch for “Snoopers & Sneakers” takes place Saturday, Jan. 25, 2-3:30 p.m., at Spark Books, 101 Brilliant Ave. in Aspinwall.The post New children’s novel ‘Snoopers & Sneakers,’ set in Pittsburgh, explores autism and friendship appeared first on NEXTpittsburgh.