Following the advice from his favorite guide, How to Write a Story , Leo decided to look for a "spark". He looked out the window. A stray cat was balancing on a fence. What if that cat wasn't just a cat? he wondered. What if it was a scout for a kingdom of backyard tigers?

Barnaby scaled the "Mountain of Thorns" (the rosebushes) and crossed the "Sea of Glass" (the patio table). The tension rose as the Winged Shadow let out a piercing squawk. Leo’s pencil flew across the page, capturing the rustle of feathers and the twitch of whiskers.

Leo sat at his desk, staring at a white rectangle that felt as vast and empty as a desert. He had his tools ready—a sharpened yellow pencil and a notebook with a blue spiral—but the "Great Idea" was hiding.