My character Ava in The Book of Dead Birds may be a bird killer, but she would never do anything this intentionally inhumane. The poor ducks!

When I was in high school, I wrote a letter to editor decrying the mistreatment of ducks I witnessed at a beach in Wilmette, IL. I think I've always felt protective of birds; stories like the one above make me feel sick. The little man-made lake down the street from us is full of muck right now; I worry about the ducks and geese who have to swim through the thick clots of algae and trash. I think I feel another letter to the editor (or at least a letter to the City) brewing...