In this episode, we’re spotlighting bestselling author Aaron Blabey. Aaron visited our New York City headquarters in late 2023 from his home in Australia.

He talked with host Suzanne McCabe about the genesis of Cat on the Run, his latest series for young readers. In Book 1, Cat on the Run in Cat of Death!, Princess Beautiful, the world’s biggest cat video star, is accused of a crime she didn’t commit. Can the most famous feline on the planet avoid capture and prove her innocence? Readers will find out in Aaron’s hilarious new trilogy about the perils of social media and cancel culture. 

You probably know Aaron from The Bad Guys, his mega-bestselling book series. The Bad Guys was made into an animated movie in 2022 by Universal Pictures and DreamWorks. A sequel is on the way next summer.

Aaron is also the author of the popular series Pig the Pug and Thelma the Unicorn. With the 20th and final installment of The Bad Guys due out in November, Aaron says that he’s ready to step away from writing.

“I always wrote my books specifically for my own kids, to make them laugh, but now they’re all grown up,” he told Publishers Weekly. “It was a magical time but it’s over, just like childhood. It’s bittersweet but it’s also beautiful.”

Cat on the Run in Cat of Death!: How do you avoid capture and prove your innocence when you’re the most famous feline on the planet? Princess Beautiful finds out the hard way.

Cat on the Run in Cucumber Madness: Social media star Princess Beautiful has been plunged into a world where danger lurks everywhere, and cucumbers are no laughing matter.

The Bad Guys: In Aaron’s wildly-popular book series, The Bad Guys, a motley collection of wannabe heroes are doing good deeds—whether you like it or not.

Aaron Blabey, bestselling author and illustrator

On creating the character of Princess Beautiful in Cat on the Run: “She was inspired by the world we currently live in, I have to say. My kids are now 15 and 18, and I’ve been watching them navigating social media…. I’ve been watching with interest how that universe is sort of playing out in the world. I also have a really highly strung cat. Those two things . . . and the old movie The Fugitive, they all kind of clicked together in my head, and Cat on the Run popped out.”

On writing The Bad Guys: “I was only trying to make my son laugh, but it seems that the same stuff that makes him laugh has made lots of other kids laugh.”

On writing graphic novels: “We live in a world where kids are just bombarded with visual information, and they’re so visually literate. What I’ve tried to do with The Bad Guys and also certainly with Cat on the Run is do something that feels relevant for them.”

Producer: Maxine Osa

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

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