An Interview With Children’s Book Author/Illustrator, Anita Sachlikidis — Randy’s Chicken Blog

In a clearing in the woods by the school sits a strange apparatus that looks a lot like an old oven. But Archie knows it’s no ordinary appliance—it is a time portal! When he spots a sinister figure manipulating its controls, Archie uncovers the villain’s shocking plan: to unleash dinosaurs from the distant past to cause chaos in the present. But how can Archie stop this evil scheme? He’s just a kid!

Fear not! Archie is a kid, but he’s a kid with a secret weapon! His chickens! Nobody but Archie and his friend Josh know that Archie’s chickens have superpowers. Archie and Josh craft a plan. Then, Archie dons his superhero costume and with his courageous hens at his side, leaps into action!

Archie and his superchickens are the creation of Australian author, Anita Sachlikidis. They made their first appearance in Archie and the Accidental Chicken Heros. Since that book was published there has been a sequel; The Toxic Toads. And Anita reports that there is a third Archie book (The Ranch) in the works.

In addition to the tales of Archie and his chickens, Anita has written four books in her “Dragon Pets” series.

Earlier this year, Anita reached out to me after she ran across my review of her first Archie book in my 2024 end-of-the-year book reviews. We exchanged emails and I was delighted when she agreed to an interview.

Since fellow chicken blogger, Claire Dineen recently posted an interview with Anita over at Bitchin’ Chickens, and since Claire and I have shared material in the past, I decided that it made sense for me to publish Claire’s interview with Anita here, rather than attempt to reinvent the wheel. And, with permission from both Claire and Anita, that’s what I’ve done.

Here are Claire and Anita discussing books, kids, and creating art. And chickens, of course!

Anita started the interview by introducing herself.

Anita Sachlikidis: I’m a children’s book author-illustrator. My professional background is in I.T. but after starting a family I decided to make a career change to writing. I write stories for middle-grade and younger readers and, as of February, have six published works. I live in Cairns, Australia with my wonderful husband, two high-energy kids and a small flock of quirky, free-range chickens.

Bitchin’ Chickens: How does that influence your work?