Behind the Book: The Christmas Rat

Avi writes:

I had been asked by a writer friend of mine to write a short story for a collection of stories. I said I’d give it a try. I tried to think of something and hit upon the notion of a boy teaming up with an exterminator to rid his apartment house of a rat.

The problem was, the short story really engaged me and it got longer and longer. What’s more, I changed the focus of the story. I happen to like Christmas stories and always wanted to write one. Could I, I wondered, write a story that was a real Christmas story and yet have it be creepy, even scary?

The Christmas Rat is the result.