Susie Spikol is a naturalist, writer, and communities program director at the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, New Hampshire. She is the recipient of New Hampshire’s Environmental Educator Award and has written for Northern Woodlands. Her first book, The Animal Adventurer’s Guide: How to Prowl for an Owl, Make Snail Slime, and Catch a Frog Bare-Handed, was published by Roost Books in 2022 and reviewed in Northern Woodlands magazine.
Why do you write?
I write because I love how story and language connect us to place and each other. Writing, words, and language help me make sense of this world and remain hopeful.
What inspired you to write The Animal Adventurer’s Guide?
I wanted to help families connect to the everyday wild creatures that share this planet with us and, as a naturalist and educator, to share my “bag of tricks” for helping them do so. I hope The Animal Adventurer’s Guide touches readers’ hearts and encourages them to be caretakers of this planet.
If your 10-year-old self could comment on the fact that you’re a published author, what would she say? What would she think of your chapters on “owl barf” and “the power of poop”?
This question cracks me up. I wrote the book because I’m still a 10-year-old at my very core. That is why I still love things like “owl barf” and can still find wonder and excitement in the “power of poop.”
My 10-year-old self would also say, “Way to go! You did it! You made your dream come true!” I’ve always wanted to write. It might have taken me a long time, but I always kept this dream in my heart and worked hard to make it come true. I think my 10-year-old self would give me a big hug and then ask me to go outside and look for fireflies!
Do you have another book in you? If so, which topic would you most like to write about?
I have a thousand books in me! I just need time.
In 2025, I have two books coming out. Forest Magic, which is about the imaginative space nature offers us. Think gnome homes, flower fairies, secret forts, wild potions, little mice and moles with big adventures. I’m so excited about this book because, I was more of a dreamy nature kid than a scientific nature kid.
The other book takes this idea of nature and deep, playful imagination even further. It is A First Field Guide to Fairies! Set up a bit like a beginner’s field guide to birds, this little delight is all about fairies from around the world and what you might find outside your door if you’re brave enough to let your imagination go wild.
I’m currently working on two more books for kids, one on the power and magic of spittlebugs, the other about trees as homes to all types of wildlife.
How did you end up in New Hampshire?
I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and spent much of my childhood searching for the bits of wildness I could find in the city. Sidewalk cracks, vacant lots, and city parks fueled my love of everyday wild animals, like worms, snails, squirrels, and ants.
I was lucky because my parents were teachers and had summers off. We had a tiny, sweet old farmhouse in Vermont where we spent time in the summers and where I really grew my love of nature.
I knew early on that I preferred Vermont to Brooklyn. Between my junior and senior year at Barnard College in New York City, I had the opportunity to work for Mass Audubon at their Wildwood sleep-away camp in Greenfield, New Hampshire. I fell completely in love with the Monadnock Region and working as a naturalist. After I graduated, I moved up to the area and have never left!
What’s the best job you’ve ever had? The worst?
I think the best job I’ve ever had is the one I have right now. I’ve been with the Harris Center as a naturalist since 1994. I love my work. I get to share my passion for the natural world and tell its stories with people of all ages and from all backgrounds in the Monadnock Region.
The worst job I ever had was working the meat case at a small grocery store. It was a bad idea right from the start. I was a vigilant vegetarian at the time, and the first day they showed me how to grind up meat to make hamburger. I threw up! I think the guy who hired me regretted hiring me as much as I regretted taking the job. Needless to say, I didn’t last long!
Are you reading or listening to anything great right now?
I love listening to Alie Ward’s Ologies podcast. She has the best guests on the best topics. I learn so much from her conversations.
And I am currently reading World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. This book speaks my language. I love her lyrical writing and astute insights.
In your opinion, what’s the most fascinating animal in New England?
I’m a huge fan of animals with “bad reputations” and animals that are overlooked or unseen. Animals like fisher, skunks, and weasels, that might be seen as dangerous, blood thirsty, or stinky. As well as small creatures like star-nosed moles, slugs, and my favorite, the only venomous mammal in North America, the short-tailed shrew. I guess I’ve always rooted for the underdogs in our world!
What’s in your coat pockets today?
I love this question! My coat pockets are just like a kid’s. I’m always stuffing them with little rocks I fall in love with, bits of bones, acorns chewed by rodents, snake skins, shells. I can’t help it. I am forever curious and inspired by the natural world around me and often bring things home to take a closer look.
What are your top tips for those heading out to look for animals?
- Have patience.
- Train yourself to observe and notice.
- Use all your senses.
- Spend as much time as possible outside in all types of habitats, in all seasons, and at all hours of the day and night!
What is your writing process?
I have to be very efficient and focused with my writing time because I don’t have enough of it. Having a fulltime job and being a single mom, I have learned to make the most of the slivers of writing time I have. I write primarily on the weekends, and I’m a work horse, sometimes writing for 12 to 15 hours at a time. Those large chunks of mostly uninterrupted time allow me to submerse myself in my topic. The days I’m not writing, I’m thinking about my writing, often jotting down notes, recording voice memos and reminders, reading, and dreaming of when I can write again.
What’s your favorite forest activity?
One of my favorite things to do is spend a winter day following the tracks of a mammal, letting it guide me through the landscape. My favorite mammal to follow is the fisher. They investigate every nook and cranny in the woods. I only wish I could smell what they are smelling!
What’s your most memorable moment in the forest?
When I was 13, I went on a backpacking trip in the Green Mountains of Vermont with a camp. We slept on top of a mountain, and my friend Beth and I decided to sleep under the stars without a tent. We woke up as the fog was lifting off the mountain and pulled our sleeping bags to the edge of the cliff. Up through the fog, a red-tailed hawk emerged, and for a moment we were eye to eye. I think a bit of that hawk went right into my heart. I still think about it every time I hike a mountain or sleep under the stars.
What excites you most about the forest?
I love the hidden layers of the forest, like the subnivean zone or the cracks between bark. I like to imagine all that is happen just out of my view or the idea that I might be standing on top of a pile of snow but under my feet there are little mice making their living all winter long. These spaces ignite my imagination. And yes, I might even be thinking there could be a little red hatted gnome sitting down to have a cup of tea with a star-nosed mole.
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