The Truth Behind my Latest Ferris Adventure
The launch of my first book was absolutely incredible! I received an unbelievable amount of love and support from family and friends, and I am so very grateful to all the readers who purchased it. I hope you all enjoyed reading Ferris and the Family of Skunks as much as I enjoyed writing it! I can’t wait for you to dive into Ferris’s next adventure.
My second book, Ferris and the Gopher Showdown, is set to be released on 7/15/2025. In this new tale, Ferris is having a really bad day. He wakes up to find it’s Tuesday—his least favorite day of the week—and things only go downhill from there. One frustrating moment leads to another, and Ferris struggles to manage his big emotions on what he calls a “Terrible Tuesday.” Just as his anger comes to a head, Ferris meets a wise and friendly gopher who shows him how to slow down, take a breath, and look at things from a new perspective. Join Ferris on this meaningful adventure as he discovers how patience and a positive mindset can turn even the worst day around!
Although I’m thrilled with how the story turned out (I especially love that there’s a section at the end of the book where readers can create their own gratitude list!), the real story behind this adventure features a much more ominous gopher—and a few other comical details.
The real story starts with our curious little puppy encountering a large brown gopher in our backyard while we were living in Jersey City. Picture it: Jersey City, 2019. Ferris was tiny at the time, and this gopher he met by chance was massive. I mean, he literally towered over our poor little pup. I don’t know what rodents eat in the city, but this dude was burly.
As I mentioned in a previous post, the gopher emerged from our half-open garage—just like the skunks had in my first book. The garage was behind our house, and its door was rusted and never able to fully shut. When I moved in with my then-boyfriend and encountered two different kinds of rodents coming out of (and possibly living in) the garage within the first few months, all I could think about was knocking it down.
On this fateful day in July, I was lounging in the yard trying to get some sun. Ferris was lying beside me on the back steps, also sunning himself, when we both spotted the aforementioned giant gopher emerging from the dark garage. Ferris immediately stood at attention, curious. The gopher responded by taunting him (I know I sound like one of those moms who says, “Not my kid!” but I swear Ferris didn’t show any signs of aggression at first). It was unbelievable to witness. The gopher made this clawing motion toward Ferris—who was still on the back steps beside me—and snarled at him, almost daring him to come closer.
So Ferris did.
Just as I jumped up to grab him, he leapt forward off the back steps. I watched him soar through the air in slow motion, knowing what was coming next. He landed his vault (a perfect 10), and he and the gopher began to tussle around in the yard next door. It was literally like a scene out of a cartoon. I was screaming at Ferris to get in the house, but I couldn’t separate them. They were just going around in a circle, in a cloud of dust and dirt, tackling each other.
When I finally got Ferris away from this not-so-gentle giant, I brought him inside to make sure he was okay. He didn’t appear to have any injuries, but I couldn’t get over how daring these city rodents were.
That day, my girlfriends were all coming over to help make decorations for my bridal shower, which was being held the following day. (I guess I should be thankful it was a gopher that came out of the garage this time and not a family of skunks—wouldn’t have smelled great at my shower.) When they arrived, I was still shook up. I told them about Ferris’s fight with the gopher, and they couldn’t believe it.
Then I remembered: our Ring camera had caught the entire thing on video. I showed them the chaos I had endured earlier that morning. They bore witness to this gopher’s taunting antics and bold behavior—as well as my own insanity during the animal scuffle. This is the pattern with so many good Ferris stories: pure chaos and anarchy followed by a whole lot of laughs. I can’t wait to release this next book for everyone to read! It’s the second book I ever wrote and the tale is near and dear to my heart.
Last update for the month: I have a few upcoming author events and local story-times on the horizon!
On 8/15/2025, I’ll be at Symposia Bookstore in Hoboken, NJ.
On 9/4/2025, I’ll be at The Book House in Long Branch. See the blurb for both events below for more info! Be sure to follow me on instagram for all the latest updates!
Author Event: Story Time with Kate C. Galvin! 🎉
Join us for a fun and heartwarming story time and author meet-and-greet with Kate C. Galvin, author of the beloved children’s book series The Adventures of Ferris!
✨ Event Highlights:
🎨 Interactive activity for kids
📖 Live reading of the newest Ferris adventure
🎨 Interactive activity for kids
🎁 Prizes and giveaways
🍪 Light refreshments and snacks
🎁 Prizes and giveaways
🍪 Light refreshments and snacks
Bring the whole family for an evening of storytelling, creativity, and fun!
Perfect for children ages 3–8, but all are welcome!