RHLSTP with Richard Herring RHLSTP Book Club 173 - Catherine Wilkins
Mar 13, 2026
Catherine Wilkins, author and comedian known for children’s and middle-grade fiction, discusses Café Chaos: The Way the Cookie Crumbles. They talk about making the sequel accessible to new readers. Short scenes cover the too-many-beans plot, adapting adult material for kids, creating an 11-year-old narrator, TV potential, and the audiobook casting.
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Sequel Writing Needs Light Recap
- Writing a sequel should gently recap the first book rather than repeat it outright.
- Catherine Wilkins says the trick is to pepper reminders through the new story so new readers can jump in without annoying returning fans.
Beans Plot Rooted In Real Cafe Chaos
- The thousand-tins-of-beans plot was inspired by real café struggles during lockdown and supply chaos like the stuck canal delaying garden furniture.
- Wilkins researched a friend who ran a café and used margin, ordering and practical constraints to make the beans storyline plausible.
Convert Adult Jokes By Reframing Tone
- Catherine adapts adult comedic ideas into child-appropriate forms by reframing tone and language.
- She transformed a macho-branding bit from her stand-up into playful kid-safe contests like turbo-style names without explicit adult content.
