Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Sarah Guillory (GUS AND GLORY)!
Meet the Author: Sarah Guillory
Sarah Guillory is a high school English teacher and author of the middle-grade novels Gus and Glory and Nowhere Better Than Here, which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year and earned four starred reviews. She loves walking her dogs, sitting under a tree with a book, or running countless miles before the sun has even come up. Sarah lives in Louisiana with her husband and dogs, who, unlike Gus, are only experts at finding the kitchen.
About the Book: GUS AND GLORY
Perfect for fans of WISH and BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE comes award-winning author Sarah Guillory’s latest middle grade tale of found family and the unshakable bond between a girl and her beloved dog.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
Guillory: Gus and Glory was actually the first middle-grade idea I ever had. I put it off to the side because I was writing YA at the time and wasn’t sure I was a middle-grade writer, but after I wrote Nowhere Better Than Here and fell in love with middle grade, I knew I had to come back to it. I have raised two bloodhounds, and they have such big personalities. I just knew I had to write a book about them. And I’m always drawn to stories about messy families and finding our place in that dynamic.
YABC: What research did you do to write this book?
Guillory: Most of the research didn’t actually make it into the book, as usually happens with research. I did a lot of reading about mothers who leave. I really wanted to understand all that goes into that—even though this story is told from Glory’s point of view. I read up on long haul truck driving as well as bloodhounds, looking back over the books I already owned on training them to track. I’d done some tracking work with my first bloodhound, but I’m always nervous when I’m committing something to paper, so I re-read and re-confirmed what I already knew. I also did some medical research on strokes, not just the effects but also the treatments. Puzzles were already a part of the book, so I was excited to learn that jigsaw puzzles are often used in rehabilitation for strokes. I also researched protocols for broken bones, surgery, and rehabilitation. Sometimes it’s a lot of reading just to ensure one tiny detail mentioned only once is accurate. And I write contemporary stories! I can’t imagine the kind of research that goes into historical fiction.
YABC: What came first, the concept, landscape, characters, or something else?
Guillory: Gus came first. My first bloodhound was a red bloodhound named Gus, and I knew I wanted to write a story where a bloodhound and a girl wander around a small town solving little mysteries and causing a little trouble.
YABC: If you could only write one genre for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Guillory: I believe I’m doing it. I absolutely love what I’m writing right now—contemporary middle grade. I love the heart and the hope in these stories. I’m allowed to combine the tough with the sweet. I have so many more ideas I want to write. I hope they keep letting me do this forever!
YABC: What can readers expect to find in your books?
Guillory: I write a lot about complicated families and small towns. Middle-grade is such a sweet spot where I can tell stories about characters being curious about the world, learning new things about their homes, families, and themselves. I also want a lot of hope in a story. My characters are often going through some really hard things, but I want there to always be a kernel of hope, even if some of the conflict isn’t always resolved in a tidy way.
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
Guillory: Without giving any spoilers, there is a scene toward the end of the book with Gus that had me sobbing. Don’t worry—the dog is unharmed throughout this book—but my own dog Gus died back in 2017 and when I was writing this scene, I kept going back to when I had to say goodbye to him. I don’t normally cry while writing, but that was a very tough scene to get through. It helped that my other bloodhound, Ellie, was usually snoozing right next to me, so when things got really hard, I would stop and go love on her a little bit. Ellie passed away a few months ago. Thankfully, I had already finished work on Gus and Glory, because she is also so present in these pages, and in my grief I don’t know that I could have worked on the book. She was so hilarious, and I’m glad a few of her antics made it into the story.
YABC: What other age group would you consider writing for?
Guillory: I’ve written young adult before, and I think I still have a couple of young adult stories in me. I’ve also always been curious about writing an adult story. Middle grade is my love, and right now it’s the only thing I have time to focus on, but I’m open to writing all sorts of things, so I would never rule anything out.
YABC: What daily thing do you see that brings you joy?
Guillory: My dog. I simply cannot be in a bad mood when I’m around my dog. I have a lab mix, Oscar, whom my husband rescued when a car stopped and tossed out a six-week-old puppy. He is always so happy to see me—even if I’ve just stepped out of the room for a minute. That kind of uncomplicated joy is contagious.
YABC: What is your favorite writing space or routine?
Guillory: My husband is a carpenter, and he built me a library—with a rolling ladder. This is where I write and revise and dream. I keep my routine mostly the same. I write in the afternoons after I get home from my teaching job. I light a coffee-scented candle. I started doing the candle thing a couple of years ago, and now it’s an almost Pavlovian response—when I smell that candle, I want to write. I think it helps on the days I’m not as motivated. If I’m drafting, I write at least a thousand words. If I’m editing, I work by hand in green ink for an hour or two. I’m lucky to have such a beautiful space to work.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
Guillory: My next project hasn’t been announced yet, but I believe it is coming in 2026, and like my other books, is a contemporary middle-grade story set in small-town Louisiana. I can’t wait to be able to talk more about it! I had so much fun writing this main character; she is hungry for the world.
Title: GUS AND GLORY
Author: Sarah Guillory
Release Date: 5/20/25
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group / Roaring Brook Press
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Age Range: 8/12
