MG Spooky books can be funny

Laughter and scares are two sides of the same coin, and spooky middle-grade books shows that wonderfully. One of my favorites is THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF NESTOR LOPEZ by Adrianna Cuevas. This award-winning novel is as hilarious as it is spooky. I’m also excited to read DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR MONSTER by Deke Moulton. Called “humorous and delightfully spooky”, MONSTER was just released a couple months ago.

MG Spooky books can be mysteries or adventures

Many spooky middle-grade books are also mysteries, liked Fleur Bradley’s MIDNIGHT AT THE BARCLAY HOTEL, and Marina Cohen’s THE INN BETWEEN. And Janet Fox’s THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS and Sarah Cannon’s TWIST are both spooky and adventures.

MG Spooky books can deal with tough topics

Young readers are just learning how to deal with tough topics, like grief and depression, and many spooky middle grade books can be guides. Some of my favorites are Kim Ventrella’s SKELETON TREE, Ally Malinenko’s THIS APPEARING HOUSE, THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE by Sarah Allen, and Lora Senf’s THE CLACKITY. Bonus, Lora has a sequel, THE NIGHTHOUSE KEEPER, coming out on Oct. 17.

MG Spooky books have a spectrum of scary

I’ll admit it: I, a grown woman, found HIDE AND SEEKER by Daka Hermon pretty scary. (Of course, I was listening to the audiobook while alone painting a closed powder room with only a flashlight, so that could have contributed.) But I can’t wait to read Daka’s latest, NIGHTMARE KING, which came out on Tuesday. Lindsay Currie’s latest MG horror, IT FOUND US, looks like it’s going to be higher on the scary chart too, judging by the cover. But there are spooky titles that are lighter, like S.A. Larsen’s MOTLEY EDUCATION series, A TOUCH OF RUCKUS by Ash Van Otterloo, and NIGHT OF THE LIVING CUDDLE BUNNIES by Jonathan Rosen.

MG Spooky books can show us different cultures

I mentioned Adrianna Cuevas above, but her books deserve to be in this category as well. Her newest, MARI AND THE CURSE OF EL COCODRILO, weaves Cuban culture and myth into an adventure about breaking a curse and comes out on Oct. 3. One of my favorite spooky books from the past few years is JOSEPHINE AGAINST THE SEA by Shakirah Bourne. In this book, mythology from the Caribbean is written into a story about a mischievous girl in real-world Barbados.

MG Spooky books can be graphic novels

If you haven’t checked out the spooky fun in Ira Marcks’ SHARK SUMMER or Reina Telgemeier’s GHOSTS, you must! Not only are the stories great, but the artwork is fantastic and heightens the spookiness, but in a fun way. You should also read the WARREN THE 13TH series written by Tania Del Rio and illustrated by Will Staehle. They’re not graphic novels, but highly illustrated.

MG Spooky books make great series

Middle-grade readers love a good series, especially ones that also have fun scary worlds. There’s a reason why there are like a thousand Goosebumps books. But I also love the FRIGHT WATCH series by Lorien Lawrence, THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE by Jacqueline West, and Darcy Marks’ series of GROUNDED FOR ALL ETERNITY and the newer THE AFTERLIFE OF THE PARTY. A newer series I’m excited about comes from Rob Renzetti: The first book, THE HORRIBLE BAG OF TERRIBLE THINGS, came out this year and THE TWISTED TOWER OF ENDLESS TORMENT is due in 2024.

MG Spooky books help children build their bravery

Teachers, librarians and students often ask me why spooky middle-grade books are important, and I always tell them the same answer: Spooky MG books help children build their bravery in a safe place. Our real world can be very scary to kids. There are strange noises, zooming cars, tense conversations they don’t understand, dark closets and corners. Kids deal with these and more every day. When kids read books that scare them, however, if they get to a part that’s too scary, they can snap the book closed and walk away until they’re reading to face that fear again. And they will get ready quickly, because they’ll want to see how the story ends. Spooky middle-grade books are places where kids can explore their fears while knowing they’ll always have an exit.

MG Spooky books are great teaching tools

Spooky books encompass so many different types of story-telling, while also giving young readers really fun stories that they love. This makes them great teaching tools for plot, suspense techniques, and even language. My book THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST uses a lot of figurative language and I know teachers who use the book in their classrooms. To help, I developed some creative writing lesson examples from the book and they’re downloadable for free on my website.

MG Spooky books are written and read by awesome people

Yep, I’ve met some of the most wonderful people since my THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST came out. They like to write stories that give our readers goosebumps, but they also like to make readers laugh, be brave and feel. I’m honored to be among them.

What’s your favorite spooky middle-grade book?

The post 10 Reasons I Love Middle Grade Spooky Books appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.

Take it from Lisa Simpson:

via GIPHY

Recently I taught a new class specifically to help with this problem. The class proved so popular, I ended up teaching it twice: once at the Austin SCBWI annual conference and once for the Writers League of Texas. The class was called “How To Write a Novel Without Getting Intimidated” and it got great reviews, with attendees saying they felt more like they could tackle their project. I was excited it helped. When I first started writing middle-grade, I felt VERY intimidated and got lost often. Here are some of the tips I passed on:

START SMALL

I used to read books and think, “How can I do this? This whole thing?” Well, the truth is, you don’t have to do create the whole thing, not immediately. All you need to start is an idea, even the smallest idea of an idea. When I wrote THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, all I started with was a question: What if a boy woke on a deserted beach with no memory of who he was or how he had gotten there? Big trees are grown from a tiny seed, and your book will start with a small idea. You don’t have to know everything when you begin. Discovery is a big part of the fun of writing.

A LITTLE PLANNING GOES A LONG WAY

Many writers start writing as soon as they have their idea. They get excited and want to jump right in. And that’s wonderful! It’s good to be excited. But not knowing much about your story can make you get lost quickly and feel like giving up. I mean, imagine if you got the idea to make pancakes because you read about them in a book. You don’t have a picture or a recipe or anything, you just know they’re going to be great. So you go into your kitchen and… Just like in cooking, a little planning for your novel goes a long way. You don’t have to know everything about your character, your world, or your plot, but the more you do know, the less likely you’re going to get lost.

Some good things to figure out up front are:

• basic info about your character (age, name, home)
• basic info about your setting (rural, city, another planet)
• your main character’s problem/goal (what they’ll solve over the course of the story)
• and the main obstacle (another person, aliens, nature, or the character themself)

There are plenty of other things you can brainstorm before you begin, but if you have at least these ingredients, you’ll be much less likely to get lost and give up.

OUTLINE A LITTLE OR A LOT

I started out as a pantser (writing solely by the seat of my pants and following the story wherever it went), but I quickly learned there are more efficient ways. Now, I can hear some of you saying, “I don’t want to outline. It stifles my creative freedom.” But done right, outlining can help to build your creative freedom! (I wrote about my outlining journey on my blog.)

To keep me from getting lost when I’m writing, I find it useful to have a map, even if I venture away from it. An outline for a novel can be as simple as just a few story highlights or as in-depth as a plan for every scene of the book. I like to think of mine as a GPS. I know where I’m heading, and if I veer off course, I can take a different route. Outlines don’t have to stay the same as you write. Mine change constantly. But having one, even a really basic one, helps me stay the course.

KEEP YOUR FOCUS

Even if you’re not into outlining, there are still tools you can use to keep you focused as you write your whole novel. Your story is about your character trying to achieve their goal, so as you write, keep that goal handy. One way is to write a one-sentence pitch. A one-sentence pitch has your character, their problem, and what they need to do about it. So for my novel ARROW, the one-sentence pitch would be: A boy who grew up in a magically hidden rainforest must figure out how to fix the magic before outsiders from the dry, arid world exploit his home.

Write a one-sentence for your book, then keep it available as you pants through your story. When you get stuck, pull it out and see what you can do to get your character back on track. If a one-sentence pitch is too hard to write right now, this also works with jacket copy. Write the copy that will be on the back or inside flap of your book when it’s published (because it will be if you finish and revise) and use that to keep yourself motivated.

REVISION IS INEVITABLE

I used to compare my first drafts with the already published books I was reading, and I’d get frustrated because I knew mine wasn’t as good. But I was forgetting that all the books on my shelves were revised over and over and over again. First drafts are just that: Firsts. Knowing that I’m allowed as many other drafts as I need freed me up from thinking my first draft had to be perfect.

DON’T RUSH

I get it. You’ve got dreams of walking into your local bookstore and seeing your book on their shelves. You want that day to be tomorrow, even today! But publishing journeys are loooooooooooong, and the best way to get an agent or editor interested in your work is to create great work. So don’t stress. Take your time. Even if you spend five minutes on your novel every day, you will one day end up with a full novel. Then you’ll be like Kermit and beat 97% of other writers.

via GIPHY

Happy writing!

The post How To Write A Novel Without Feeling Lost appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.

Jumping into writing new types of books can be daunting. Children’s books aren’t like writing for adults. As well as genre, we have to consider the ages of our readers, their voice, language, vocabulary and more. And some book categories have specific things that traditional publishers are looking for. Early readers and chapters books are nearly always series, so the story has to be designed to continue in future stand-alone books. In middle-grade, there are younger middle-grade novels that are thinner, much like the AMERICAN HORSE TALES series, of which my HOLLYWOOD is one, and Christina Soontornvat’s new LEGENDS OF LOTUS ISLAND series. But there are also the longer, more complex middle-grade novels too. Analyzing what publishers are publishing, and readers are reading, can help us craft our best stories.

I used this technique a lot when I first started working on chapter books. I had the opportunity to audition for a new unicorn chapter book series. Since I hadn’t written a chapter book at that time (only middle-grade and young adult), I decided to do my homework. I sat in my local bookstore and read chapter book after chapter book. I borrowed a heap of chapter books from the library. Plus I bought a few that I knew I’d refer to again and again. But I didn’t just read them. I took my analysis a step further.

I made a spreadsheet with some of my favorite chapter books, including ones the publisher had suggested as comps. Then I noted things like: the number of chapters, number of words in the books, number of illustrations, on which pages they came, number of characters, number of settings, etc. I outlined the stories too, comparing them to the outlines I did for my middle-grade novels. And I even typed out the opening pages word for word to get a good idea of the voice, pacing and tone. I did this for multiple books in different genres, by different authors. This gave me a good sense of the category as a whole.

I didn’t get that job, but the next time I had the opportunity to audition for a chapter book series, I used that knowledge and analyzing technique again. This time, I won the contract, and I now have four books out in my GEMSTONE DRAGONS series.

I’m about to go out on submission to editors with a graphic novel manuscript, and I used the same analyzing technique when I was writing that too. I read a bunch of graphic novels, noted their page counts, and even wrote out their scripts in the form of:

Page 1 (5 panels)

Panel 1: MC does X

Panel 2…

Through this analysis, I could find the patterns and structures that are unique to graphic novels scripts. That made it a lot easier for me to create my own book, and so far, my agent loves it. (Fingers crossed it’ll have the same reception when it goes to editors.)

You’ve no doubt heard that reading is one of the best ways to learn how to write. I challenge you to take that one step further. You don’t have to type out an entire middle-grade novel, but consider ways that you can do more analyzing of those stories. Type out the first few pages or chapter. Note page counts and chapter numbers. See how your favorite authors start their stories and end them. Observe when they end a chapter. You can even catalog characters, their arcs and how their arcs intertwine.

Learning how to write by analyzing the stories you and millions of other readers already love will give you a key to unlock the tools those authors are using, so you can use them yourself.

The post Learning To Write By Analyzing appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.

Here’s the description from Simon & Schuster:

Judy Blume meets Barbara Dee in this tender and empowering middle grade novel told in journal entries and poetry about a young writer on the verge of becoming a woman whose summer with her estranged father doesn’t turn out the way she’d hoped.

Twelve-year-old Victoria Reeves is all set for her “First Magnificent Summer with Dad,” even though it’s been more than two years since she last saw him. She’s ready to impress him with her wit, her maturity, and her smarts—at least until he shows up for the long road trip to Ohio with his new family, The Replacements, in tow.

But that’s not the only unpleasant surprise in store for Victoria. There are some smaller disappointments, like being forced to eat bologna even though it’s her least favorite food in the world. And then there’s having to sleep outside in a tent while The Replacements rest comfortably inside the family RV. But the worst thing Victoria grapples with is when she begins to suspect that part of the reason Dad always treats her as “less than” is for one simple reason: she’s female.

As Victoria captures every moment of her less than magnificent summer in her journal, she discovers that the odds are stacked against her in the contest-no-one-knows-is-a-contest: Not only does her wit begin to crumble around Dad’s multiple shaming jabs, but she gets her first period. And when Dad does the worst thing yet, she realizes she has a decision to make: will she let a man define her?

R.L. Toalson is the author of two other middle-grade novels: THE COLORS OF THE RAIN and THE WOODS, both published by the Yellow Jacket imprint of Little Bee Books. THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER will be out from Simon & Schuster on May 30.

Samantha: Welcome to From the Mixed Up Files, R.L.! What inspired this book?

R.L. Toalson: There is no simple answer to this question; it has several parts!

A story like this one has been sitting in the back of my mind for several years, but I was always afraid to pursue it. I had a similar experience to the one Victoria (the main character) has in the book—and it is not an easy story to tell. So I didn’t. For such a long time.

And then some questions started building in my head. Why is this the way things are? Why did I feel, as a young girl, like a man had the authority to define who I was and who I would one day be? Who else needs to hear this story?

That last question–who else needs to hear this story?–made me brave enough to pick up my pen (and it was a literal pen–I write all my stories longhand in a Yoobi composition book).

There’s a lot of me in this book. There’s a lot of what I wish I would have done and learned long before I actually did. There’s a lot of hope. And I guess that was the last step of the inspiration process: I wrote hope and love and healing into my own 12-year-old story, and out came Victoria and her journey to define herself.

Samantha: What was the most challenging part of writing it?

R.L. Toalson: Every story an author writes is different; I often feel, when I open my notebook to write, that I’m completely out of my depth for what this story requires. That was especially true for THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER, proven by the many drafts that changed the structure of the story entirely. It started as a prose story. Then I wrote it as a novel in verse. Then I changed it back to prose. And then I experimented with journal entries. That structure stuck, because it felt right for the story. There’s still poetry and some humorous mini-essays that Victoria includes, but the main narrative is told through her own journal entries. Sometimes she breaks the fourth wall, which is fun.

It was also challenging to write in a consistently humorous way. I have experience writing humor, but mostly in essay form. Humor is really difficult to get right. You don’t want to rely on cliches and easy laughs; you want to mine for the unexpected, which takes quite a lot of work and energy. And the daily writing of humor gets a little tedious on the days you don’t feel much like laughing.

And it must be said that writing such a difficult-to-tell story, one that delved some of the depths of my own childhood story, took its toll on me emotionally. I have an amazing therapist who helped me through the tricky bits.

Lastly, I spent a lot of time and care writing the author’s note, so…even if you’re not the type who reads author’s note, read this one.

Samantha: I always read author’s notes, but will definitely be reading this one. What was the most fun part writing this story?

R.L. Toalson: I know I said the humor was one of the most challenging parts, but it was also one of the most fun parts about writing THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER. As I’ve mentioned several times already, this is not an easy story. I felt like it needed humor to lighten places that felt heavy and that give readers important things to think about and consider. And those were some of my favorite places to write.

I also really, really love all the asides Victoria has throughout the narrative. She uses her humor and her melancholy and her personality to process through things that are happening in the narrative, and it was delightful to craft those asides. She has one called “Things I Like About Camping,” a poem comprised of multiple choice answers where she invites the reader to figure out whether (a), (b), (c) or (d) is what she likes about camping–and all of the choices are so sarcastic and grumpy, and then she has the last choice: (d) absolutely nothing. And you know that’s the right answer from all the other answers. It was so much fun to write. I hate camping, too. I empathize with Victoria.

Samantha: Ahh, camping. And that brings us to the wonderful cover. Tell us about it.

R.L. Toalson: This cover was designed by Svetla Radioeva and is absolutely perfect and gorgeous and perfect (it deserves a repeat). Victoria is front-and-center, hiding away in a tent, with a notebook open on her lap. In the background’s tent opening, you can see her father with a little girl next to a grill and a camper, and from the two juxtaposed images you get the sense of her isolation. There are all sorts of little lovely details you’ll only notice if you look closely–like a package of Womanhood Supplies (Victoria’s name for period products) by her left foot. It’s delightful. I spent several long minutes noticing all the little details that make this cover so remarkable, and I really cannot have asked for a better representation of Victoria and her first magnificent summer.

Samantha: Yes, the details are fantastic. And I love that they included them on the whole jacket, not just the front. (Readers, check out the pic.) What else should we know about this book and you?

R.L. Toalson: As the mom of several boys, I have to mention that I don’t believe in books for girls and books for boys. Yes, this book has a female protagonist, and yes she starts her first period in the book, and it’s a big part of her story. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a book for boys, too (and don’t get me started on how if we just talked about periods more it wouldn’t be so taboo in the first place). Girls AND boys watch their parents divorce. Girls AND boys sometimes have a parent who leaves. Girls AND boys feel the hurt and confusion and instability that comes from that, and girls AND boys wonder if their parent left because of them. Girls AND boys need to know that they are magnificent just the way they are. And that’s what this book tries to communicate to its readers: Be your magnificent self.

So I hope boys won’t be afraid to read Victoria’s story, too. We all need to be reminded that we’re magnificent.

Samantha: I love that! And I can’t wait to read this MAGNIFICENT book.

Readers, check out R.L. Toalson’s other books on her website and pre-order THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT SUMMER.

The post Cover Reveal and Interview! The First Magnificent Summer appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.

Before I get to our chat, a few quick notes about chapter books, in case you don’t know what they are:

• While the sweet spot for MG readers is 8 and up, chapter books are generally appropriate for ages 6 and up.
• They’re shorter than middle-grade too. My shortest MG, AMERICAN HORSE TALES: HOLLYWOOD, is 20,000 words. Chapter books, however, are usually between 8,000 to 12,000 words. My GEMSTONE DRAGONS are each around 10,000 words, laid out in the book with lots of spacing between the lines and a bigger font size.
• Also, although MGs sometimes have interior illustrations, chapter books always have them. For example, the first GEMSTONE DRAGONS book has 16 illustrations sprinkled throughout the 111-page story.
• And finally, chapter books are nearly always designed to be series; quick, multiple-read books that hook young readers into becoming lifelong readers.

So, how do you write them? In this post, you’ll hear from the following authors:

Saadia Faruqi, whose brand new MARYA KHAN AND THE INCREDIBLE HENNA PARTY launches from Abrams Kids on October 18, with a second book, MARYA KHAN AND THE FABULOUS JASMINE GARDEN coming out March 28

Kelly Starling Lyons, whose first two books in the MILES LEWIS series, KING OF THE ICE and WHIZ KID, came out from Penguin Workshop in July

Kathryn Holmes, whose CLASS CRITTERS series from Abrams/Amulet added the third book, MADISON MORRIS IS NOT A MOUSE!, on August 16

Jennifer Torres, whose CATALINA INCOGNITO series published by Aladdin, is adding its fourth book, SKATEBOARD STAR, on November 22

Debbi Michiko Florence, whose fifth JASMINE TOGUCHI book, BRAVE EXPLORER, comes out from FSGBYR/Macmillan on October 18

Rie Neal, whose third and fourth books in her ASTRID THE ASTRONAUT series, published by Aladdin, are coming soon: HYDROPONIC HIJINKS on October 11 and ROBOT REBELLION on February 28

Lyla Lee, whose eighth book in her MINDY KIM series, MINDY KIM MAKES A SPLASH, came out this past July from Aladdin/Simon and Schuster

(And by the way, all these authors and two others are offering books in a giant giveaway right now here. Ends Aug. 20.)

Samantha: What did chapter books mean to you as a kid and what were your favorites?

Rie: I loved chapter books as a kid! I think I especially enjoyed the predictability of the setting and characters, the fact that I could read them so quickly, and … they had pictures!! I kept reading chapter books even when I was older, sometimes, when I wanted a quick dose of comfort. My favorites were the Polk Street School Kids and Babysitter’s Little Sister.

Samantha: Same here on the comfort. I loved the illustrations in chapter books and would scour them for every detail that had been in the text. When I saw the illustrations for my GEMSTONE DRAGONS books, I did the same.

Lyla: As an immigrant and child of immigrants who came to the US at a young age, chapter books in English were my first exposure to “American culture.” In order to understand the new country I lived in and also catch up on the stories (fantasy or contemporary) my new friends in the US liked to read, I read a lot and even taught myself English through these books. I had quite a few favorites but I especially loved the Ramona Quimby books and The Magic Tree House series.

Samantha: I love that, Lyla! Why did you all want to write a chapter book series?

Saadia: I have a very popular early reader series called YASMIN, perfect for kids upto second grade. Once those readers grow a little older, they want something more advanced and complicated, but they’re not ready yet for middle grade novels. After several requests from parents and teachers about this gap, I decided to write a series for YASMIN fans who are older now.

Kelly: Growing up, I loved to read, but I didn’t see chapter book series with Black kids as the stars. That invisibility sent a message that our stories didn’t matter. I knew that they did. My mom wrote and acted in Black theater. Our home was filled with books about heroes like Mary McLeod Bethune and Malcolm X. I didn’t realize it then, but a seed was being planted that I could help make a difference through writing books that centered Black children.

It was like coming full circle when my debut, NEATE: EDDIE’S ORDEAL, a chapter book in a series created by Just Us Books was published. I enjoyed coming up with a plot for their wonderful characters and dreamed of one day having a series of my own. A decade later, a Penguin Workshop editor invited me to write an early chapter book. Here was my chance to create the characters I longed to see. At every school and library I visit, there are children who are unsung. They need to know that they’re seen and loved. Toni Morrison famously said, “If there is a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.” My MILES LEWIS and JADA JONES series are tributes to kids who dare to shine by being who they are.

Jennifer: Chapter books meet kids when they are beginning to see themselves as readers. To me, there’s something so special about that moment. Like Kelly, I want children, especially children who are newly devouring words, to see themselves and their stories in books. To be able to picture themselves having magical adventures like Catalina, who reflects my own Mexican-American background and experience.

Samantha: Such great answers. Chapters really are a great bridge between early readers and MG, and as the sweet spot — I think — for helping kids become life-long readers, it is SO important that all children are represented. When you first set out to write a chapter book, what did you do to prepare?

Kelly: My best advice is to read mentor texts. That’s where I started. When I was writing for Just Us Books’ NEATE series, they sent me the first three titles to study. That helped me understand how to draw readers in, the way chapter books are put together, what elements help establish characters and aid in their growth and development through the story. I did the same when writing my JADA JONES and MILES LEWIS series. I read other chapter books to see what styles resonated with me, what innovations I could bring and learn some structural tips. Read the mentor texts for the joy of the story and then take them apart and figure out how the writer made them sing.

Kathryn: Like Kelly, I did a lot of reading of the chapter books that were already on shelves. I’d previously published YA (and had written MG, though my first published MG will not release until 2024), so I needed to get a sense of both the younger voice and the rhythm of a story of this length. Additionally, my daughter was a toddler when I started working on the CLASS CRITTERS series, and when I took her to the playground, I found myself observing young elementary schoolers. How were they interacting with one another? What kinds of conversations were they having? What issues were they dealing with that I could potentially tackle in a story? Being a fly on the wall, so to speak, gave me a lot of inspiration and insight.

Rie: ASTRID isn’t my first chapter book series (I did a write-for-hire series for Little Bee Books before this), but I wanted to put my two cents in for this one! Yes to mentor texts for sure! And in terms of getting into the language level for chapter books, one tool I’ve found really helpful is to use a service that will scan your draft and give you a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score (or any other similar metric). My tendency is to write my first drafts at more of a middle-grade reading level, which is too complex for chapter books. So, after I go through developmental edits, I use the Flesch-Kincaid (it’s available through MS Word in Editor–Document Stats–Insights), and I go through sentence by sentence until I’ve simplified the language down to between a 1.0 and 2.0 grade level rating. It sounds super tedious, I know, but it has really helped me!

Samantha: I analyzed mentor texts too! I bought some and borrowed a bunch more from the library, then I looked at everything from chapter breaks, number of chapters, sentence structures, voice… I broke down some of the stories into outlines so I could see how they were different of the same to my MG. And I did have the problem of making some of my language too MG when I was working on books 3 and 4, which come out on Dec. 27. I’ll have to remember the Flesch-Kincaid tip, Rie! It seems like a lot of us also write MG. Outside of language, how is writing chapter books different from writing MG?

Saadia: In some ways, it’s the same. You still have to write the best possible story, develop your characters, and take care of your craft. But in other ways, writing a chapter book is very different from middle grade novels. The plot has to be much simpler, and the main character takes center stage in a very obvious way. I think it’s so much fun writing chapter books!

Debbi: I agree with Saadia! As a writer, you still need to know and develop the characters just as deeply in chapter books as in novels for older readers. But because chapter books are for newly independent readers, it helps to create characters that have memorable personalities, quirks, and phrases so that the reader can anticipate some things and feel successful. Like how Jasmine Toguchi always says “Wowee zowee” when she’s excited and “Walnuts” when she’s disappointed. And also, chapter books are often part of a series, so it helps to be able to carry those things through all the books.

Samantha: Great tips! Speaking of series, how did you approach that aspect of chapter books, ie. creating characters and a world that would continue?

Kathryn: Because each book in the CLASS CRITTERS series has a different protagonist, I spent a lot of time world-building their classroom. I knew as I wrote book one, TALLY TUTTLE TURNS INTO A TURTLE, that every kid Tally interacted with was a potential protagonist down the line. I took the time to name every child and come up with an animal that they could transform into, as well as a possible reason for the transformation. I made a spreadsheet! With 24 kids in the class, I also had to think about how to introduce them in a way that would make them (and their idiosyncrasies) feel familiar in subsequent books without the number of characters ever becoming overwhelming. David Dixon (narrator of book 2) and Madison Morris (narrator of book 3) both appear in Tally Tuttle’s story, and Tally features in their books—but David and Madison’s stories also introduce kids that aren’t in Tally’s story. So, with each book, the classroom feels a little more fleshed out. No kid is just a side character; they all have the potential to be the hero of their own story one day.

Jennifer: While each of the books stands alone, I knew I wanted the main character, Catalina, to grow and change over the course of the series. So I kept track of the skills she develops from book-to-book and spent a lot of time thinking through how her relationships with others would shift as she learns and responds to challenges. I also had some threads I wanted to pull through all four books: Cat’s Stitch and Share lessons at the library, her best friend’s latest telenovela obsession, a magical disguise. I think that helped create a consistent and familiar world.

Rie: For Astrid, I wanted to use the breadth of the series to especially show how she’s growing as a team player and as a friend. Teamwork is SO important for astronauts (and for so many other professions, and just for life in general! Ha!), and it’s something that Astrid doesn’t really factor into her plan in the beginning–she’s too focused on doing things her way. So while each book has its own plot and character arc for Astrid, the greater arc of the series also shows her friend circle slowly expanding with each book–often with characters only mentioned briefly in previous books later becoming Astrid’s friends (instead of just acquaintances–or in the case of Pearl, enemies!).

Lyla: With MINDY KIM, I wrote books about topics that I myself cared about/found interesting when I was a chapter book reader myself. Getting a puppy for the first time (and proving to my parents that I am responsible enough for one), feeling singled out and sometimes like a downright outcast when I was the new kid at school that packed food from my culture for lunch, trying to find ways to preserve ties to my family and culture as a child from an immigrant household (but still have fun, too!), or even something as seemingly simple as learning how to swim. Even though the series isn’t strictly autobiographical (Mindy’s family and mine are very different, for example), putting myself back into Kid Me’s shoes really helped me develop the series and the world of the books.

Samantha: Wonderful! What’s the biggest thing you have learned from writing this chapter book series so far?

Debbi: Chapter book readers are the best! These are newly independent readers, and there’s nothing like the feeling of pride, success, and joy of reading an entire book yourself, alone, for the first time. And because of this, these readers are extremely loyal and enthusiastic. I get the best reader mail from readers who fall in love with Jasmine Toguchi and I love recommending other chapter book series to them.

Lyla: For me, the biggest lesson I learned was definitely that the most seemingly random and specific experiences in life can actually resonate with a lot of people. For example, when I first wrote the first MINDY KIM book, MINDY KIM AND THE YUMMY SEAWEED BUSINESS, I thought: “Okay, so I had this not-so-good experience in third grade where I was the new kid and the other students made fun of the lunch I brought from home” and for the third book, MINDY KIM AND THE BIRTHDAY PUPPY, I thought: “Well, in third grade I was so obsessed with dogs that getting a dog was all I could think about/was my ultimate goal in life.” These (and other plot points that I didn’t mention here) are seemingly arbitrary things that I pulled from my own life, but I still get emails today from both adults and children telling me they could relate with these parts of the stories.

Samantha: What was the biggest challenge creating this chapter book series?

Kathryn: Writing a series with different protagonists means coming up with a new, distinct voice for each book. It was a challenge to make each protagonist sound like themself—rather than a third-person omniscient narrator telling everyone’s stories. But it’s a challenge I’ve loved! For instance, David Dixon was my first time ever writing a boy narrator, and it was a delight to get inside his head. (I channeled my five nephews…) One of the most satisfying moments in each book’s process has been when I can fully hear the character in my head, speaking in their own unique voice as they experience their adventure.

Samantha: Different voices would be a challenge! For the GEMSTONE DRAGONS, I used third person because it had the classic feel of the chapter books I had grown up with, so that has been easier. But I’d say the biggest challenge has been separating myself from the MG mindset when I’m working on chapter books. As Saadia said earlier, there are a lot of similarities. I plot the stories the same way as my MG, just with fewer subplots. But I have to keep the readers’ age in my head much more when I’m writing and revising for both the language and story. For example, book 3 in the series has spooky elements and it was challenging to find just the right level of spookiness for this age group. What’s your best tip for writers who want to get into chapter books?

Saadia: Read a ton of chapter books! There is a lot of variety in the books already out there, in terms of word count and reading level. You want to make sure you absorb all that variety before making up your mind about where your book will fit.

Jennifer: I agree with Saadia! In developing the CATALINA INCOGNITO series, what most helped me get a feel for the voice, pacing, and plot structure of chapter books, was reading lots of chapter books. Luckily, there are so many good examples (many of my favorites are represented here!) and studying them is a joy. I also think it’s good to spend some time understanding chapter book readers, and who they are developmentally. Many of them are exploring new kinds of independence, discovering strengths and interests, and navigating their roles in friend groups and teams. They’re kind and inquisitive and often hilarious. All of that can inform and enrich your writing.

Samantha: Yes! Great advice. This has been such a fun conversation. Thank you to everyone! And readers, good luck in creating your own chapter books.

The post How To Write Chapter Books with 8 Chapter Book Authors appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.

12-year-old Zack never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open.

The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.

And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.

What was your inspiration for this book?

Xiran Jay Zhao

I was inspired to write this story when my friend Rebecca Schaeffer, author of the NOT EVEN BONES series, encouraged me to try my hand at writing MG, since I’d been hyperfixating on Chinese history and myth, and myth stories make for very good MG novels. Immediately I thought of doing a Chinese take on Yugioh, the most formative anime of my childhood, in which I would combine modern gaming tech with ancient myths and magic. And thus ZACHARY YING was born!

 There’s such intricate detail about the history in China. Tell us about your research.

I didn’t need to do much fresh research since I already had so many historical and mythical stories in my head that I couldn’t wait to tell, so I basically just double-checked that my facts were legit. Whenever I saw an opportunity in the plot to bring up a fun anecdote, I went for it. My first draft was actually stuffed with many more of them, and I had to cut a few out to make the book less overwhelming.

What was the most surprising or interesting thing you discovered in your research, and if you didn’t use it in the book, why not?

The First Emperor was so dramatic of a person that there are a lot of stories about him that didn’t make the cut simply because I couldn’t find a good place to tell them. My favorite is the time he went up on Mount Tai, a sacred mountain in China, to proclaim his supremacy after unifying the seven warring states, then a huge rainstorm hit him on the way down and he had to take shelter under a big tree. Then he proceeded to make that tree an official rank-5 minister?!

Wow! I love the idea of the spirits of these legendary characters staying alive and powerful because of the belief people have in them. What inspired that?

There’s a lot of interconnection between myth and history in Chinese culture, and I’ve always found that fascinating! The Chinese pantheon of gods is very vast; there are basically no rules to who can become a god, as long as a group of people agree and make you a temple. Because of this, many early historical figures have been enshrined as gods, such as Guan Yu of Three Kingdoms fame, who somehow became the god of money. I thought it’d be cool to have magic fueled by legends.

Yes. So cool! I also love that you used a videogame as a way for the spirits to communicate. So fun! Are you gamer? And was Mythrealm inspired by a particular game?

I’m not a gamer myself, but the vast majority of my friends are. Mythrealm is specifically inspired by Pokemon GO (remember those two weeks after it came out, where it felt like we achieved world peace?), but with myth creatures instead of Pokemon.

I could see the similarities to that game! Is there a character who’s most like you? And if so, which one and why?

Zack drew heavily from my awkward, self-conscious 12-year-old self, though nowadays I’d have to say I’m more confident and self-assured like Melissa. It was a long road, going through this transformation!

That’s something a lot of middle schoolers will be able to identify with (not to mention a lot of adults. ). Your debut novel, IRON WIDOW, was for young adult readers. Did you find it challenging to write for a middle-grade readers? How did your process change, if at all?

I actually didn’t have much difficulty transitioning to MG. Writing ZACHARY YING was easier for me, even. I honestly think ZACHARY YING embodies me as a person much better. I got to show the fun side of my personality that didn’t really get a chance to show up during the bleak brutality of IRON WIDOW.

And finally, what can we look forward to next from you?

I’m working hard on the sequel to my YA debut IRON WIDOW, which will hopefully release Summer 2023!

We can’t wait!

Learn more about Xiran Jay Zhao at their website, XiranJayZhao.com. You can also follow them on Twitter @XiranJayZhao for posts about Chinese history, Instagram for cosplay, TikTok for short videos, and YouTube for more information about Chinese history and culture.

The post Interview: Xiran Jay Zhao Talks About Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.

Nancy Tandon

My most recent favorite story like this is from Nancy Tandon. Nancy and I met in 2017 when we were both anticipating our debut books to come out the following year. Mine, THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, came out in June 2018, but Nancy’s, THE WAY I SAY IT, came out from Charlesbridge yesterday!

And the best part is, Nancy now has a double-debut year, since her second middle-grade book, THE GHOST OF SPRUCE POINT, is coming out from Aladdin on Aug. 2.

It’s a very inspiring and a perfect example of why “never give up” is always great advice for writers, so I’m thrilled to have Nancy on From the Mixed Up Files to talk about her journey.

Here’s what her two books are about:

THE WAY I SAY IT:

Rory still can’t say his r’s, but that’s just the beginning of his troubles. First Rory’s ex-best-friend Brent started hanging out with the mean lacrosse kids. But then, a terrible accident takes Brent out of school, and Rory struggles with how to feel.

Rory and his new speech teacher put their heads together on Rory’s r’s (not to mention a serious love of hard rock and boxing legend Muhammad Ali), but nobody seems to be able to solve the problem of Rory’s complicated feelings about Brent. Brent’s accident left him with brain-damage and he’s struggling. Should Rory stand up for his old friend at school–even after Brent failed to do the same for him?

THE GHOST OF SPRUCE POINT:

Twelve-year-old Parker has grown up in his family’s Home Away Inn, nestled on a wooded peninsula in Maine called Spruce Point. His best friend, Frankie, has been staying at the inn every summer for years with her family. Together, they’ve had epic adventures based out of a nearby old treehouse that serves as their official headquarters for Kids Confidential Meetings.

But lately, business at the inn hasn’t been great, and Parker is pretty sure he knows why. It’s long been rumored that Mrs. Gruvlig, one of the few year-rounders on Spruce Point, has unique abilities of the supernatural kind. And Frankie is absolutely sure she saw a ghost on Mrs. Gruvlig’s property! As more and more spooky happenings occur around the Point, Parker and Frankie are convinced Spruce Point has been officially cursed.

Samantha: Welcome to From the Mixed Up Files, Nancy. These books sound so great! Tell us about your inspirations for the two books you’ve got coming out this year.

Nancy: Thank you for having me here on the Mixed Up Files!

My former clinical work as a speech/language pathologist was the inspiration for THE WAY I SAY IT. In the outpatient setting, I worked with several kids with articulation disorders who specifically had trouble saying sounds in their first names. When I began to create my main character, I started with a question: What would middle school be like for a kid whose first name speech-sound difficulties persisted past early childhood?

My second novel, THE GHOST OF SPRUCE POINT, is my attempt to capture the magic and atmosphere of my children’s summer vacations on the coast of Maine. They were together with their cousins, and I watched in awe as the kids grew and changed each year as they explored the gorgeous natural playground of the peninsula where my parents retired. Another inspiration came from a news story I watched about kids with an uncommon allergy to the sun. The resilience of the kids in that interview stayed with me for years and kept coming back to my mind, almost insisting I do something with it! Finally, I did.

Samantha: We were originally in the same debut year, since your debut, THE WAY I SAY IT, was scheduled to come out in 2018 along with mine. What happened that pushed that book back?

Nancy: Ah yes, and I’ll never regret meeting you and the other wonderful 2018 debut authors!

But around that time, the small press that had bought my book was acquired as an imprint of a larger publisher. And the good news was, that new house was willing to take on my manuscript as part of the deal! I was relieved, happy, even excited about this chance to be published by a bigger house.

However, after a year of working to negotiate an addended contract, I still had not heard from my new editor. And the contract negotiations were spinning in circles. (At this point I was un-agented, and I had learned just enough from The Writer’s Legal Guide (a book I highly recommend) to know the offer on the table was not favorable to me). A while later, the second publisher decided not to move forward with my manuscript. My heart sank. I had told everyone I knew about this book deal. I had celebrated with champagne. And now, nothing.

Worse, I had to buy back the rights from the first publisher. (Which is completely on the up and up business-wise, by the way. And in truth, the editing done by that first house was worth the cost. But still, it was painful.) I was embarrassed, disheartened, and very close to giving up all together. I’d had a previous very enriching career as a speech/language pathologist. I began the process of reinstating my license.

Luckily, past me (the one who’d had a book contract and was all excited about kidlit) had signed up for two well-known New England spring conferences that year, NESCBWI and Whispering Pines. I forced myself to attend both.

After the New England conference, I earnestly studied the list of agents and editors who would be open to submissions from conference attendees and sent my work back out there. It felt like I was shouting into the wind, but at least I could still say I hadn’t given up. Not fully, not yet. Even though my heart did very much want me to.

The second conference, Whispering Pines, included a one-on-one consultation with an agent. I reached out with a plea to switch my original submission (the second novel I had been working on) to pages from my first (what I thought of now as failed) novel. The timing was early enough that the agent agreed.

That agent was Rachel Orr from Prospect Agency, who represented (among other amazing authors) a writing friend I’d met through the 2018 debut group: the one and only Samantha M Clark (The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast; Arrow)! You alerted Rachel ahead of time that she’d be meeting me and gave her the head’s up about my manuscript’s twisty past. It was absolutely an essential connection I’ll always be grateful for!

That meeting did not result in an offer of representation from Rachel. (I know! I wanted the story to go that way, too!) But, even better, it resulted in Rachel passing my work to a new agent at Prospect who responded to my work with the enthusiasm needed to take on a new client. I was agented at last!!

Samantha: Yay! I was happy to make that connection, and so glad it led to you signing with your agent. How did THE WAY I SAY IT find its new home with Charlesbridge?

Nancy: Karen Boss, an editor from Charlesbridge, was one of the editors I had submitted to as an NESCBWI attendee. After she reviewed my query and first chapters, she requested the full manuscript. Over the next several weeks, we exchanged emails as she kept me informed of where they were in the process. There were other in-house readers, and a presentation at their acquisitions meeting. Then finally it came. An email that made me shriek and cause a scene in the coffee shop where I was writing with a friend. Re: Offer…

This time, I didn’t have to negotiate the contract on my own, or spend money on a lawyer. My agent at the time, Emma Sector, made sure my interests were represented while also easing the process of getting back my rights to the work.

Everything looked great. Publication was set for 2021. I joined a third debut group. This was happening! But then, due to circumstances at the publishing house, the date of publication got pushed back to 2022. And then of course 2020 and 2021 happened, which weren’t great years to debut anyway (when you can, please show love to writers who did debut in the past two years!!). During this time, I also navigated an in-agency switch as Emma left agenting for a new adventure, and I gratefully landed in Charlotte Wenger’s web. And now: I have held my first novel in my hands. It is winging out into the world to have an adventure all its own. I’m at the copyedit stage of my second novel and am in love with the amazing cover art.

That is my very long answer to your short question! And yes, I can finally say: it was all worth it.

Samantha: So wonderful! Unlike most debut authors, you’re now in the unique position of having two middle-grade novels coming out this year. Tell us how THE GHOST OF SPRUCE POINT found its way to Aladdin.

Nancy: In early 2019, I spent time revising GHOST with my then agent, Emma Sector, who is also a wonderful editor. She really helped me get the manuscript in top shape. She had a very targeted list of editors to submit to, and in fall 2019 THE GHOST OF SPRUCE POINT sold within a week of being on submission, confirming the old adage: publishing is weird!

Samantha: What were the biggest challenges for you over the last few years during this process?

Nancy: The number one biggest challenge for me in all of this was not giving up. I’m usually a “half-full” kind of a gal, but there were times when it just felt like it made no sense to keep going. And it was hard to explain to people outside of publishing what was going on, and at times I honestly felt embarrassed. Where was this book I’d been talking about for years?

But then I’d have a good writing morning. Or my critique group would give me another shot of encouragement. (Or just another shot, haha.) I was also watching the trajectories of my 2018 debut friends, and learning that publication isn’t “the end,” but just a stop on the journey.

Samantha: I love that. So true. Are there any things that have happened that, while difficult at the time, you feel happy about now?

Nancy: In hindsight, I am grateful for the entire string of events that THE WAY I SAY IT had to endure. The book is much stronger than it would have been – in part because I am a stronger and better writer than I was in 2016. And also because of all the talented people who had a hand in helping it and me along the way. I’m so grateful that I got to work with Karen Boss (editor at Charlesbridge) because she pushed me to elevate the work in ways I couldn’t have on my own.

Samantha: Do you have advice for other authors who are going through similar situations?

Nancy: Do. Not. Give. Up. And if you’ve read this far, you can always say to yourself, “well, what’s happening to me isn’t as bad as that one lady who was in four different debut groups. If she can keep going, so can I!”

But seriously, when you are feeling especially disheartened, dig down to the reasons you came to this endeavor in the first place. For me, it boils down to the joy of writing and the incredible people I have met. Once I placed those two things front and center, I knew I could go on forever, whether I was published or not.

Samantha: What are you doing to celebrate your double debut year?

Nancy: I am drinking all the champagne and saying YES to everything that comes my way! I’m also planning a special trip with my husband, who has been an incredible support through it all.

Samantha: Are you working on other future books that you can talk about yet?

Nancy: Nothing I can talk about yet, but I do have a manuscript for a third book that I’m revising. It’s another middle grade and I’m in love with the main character, a girl who is searching for home and finds it in an unexpected place. “Found family” is one of my favorite themes of all time!

Samantha: That sounds wonderful. And finding a home in an unexpected place is exactly what happened with your publishing career. Congratulations on your double-debut year.

The post Interview with Nancy Tandon, author of The Way I Say It appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.

How do you begin the work of creating a story, from your initial idea to writing your first line?

Lorien Lawrence answered this question. Lorien is the author of THE STITCHERS and its sequel THE COLLECTORS.

“For me, all of my books start with a song. I have to make a soundtrack before I begin. That way, I get immersed in the mood of the story, and I can start to choreograph scenes in my head even when I’m not physically writing. I’ve been creating these kinds of playlists since I was a kid, and they really help me to stay inspired.”

Oooh, great idea!

How do you create the world your story will be set in, and while you’re writing, how do you make that world seem spooky?

Victoria Piontek answered this question. Victoria is the author of THE SPIRIT OF CATTAIL COUNTY and her most recent novel, BETTER WITH BUTTER.

“Creating the world where my story will be set is one of my favorite parts of writing. It’s so fun to invent a world that feels authentic enough to be real yet unique enough to be fictional. To get that just-right mix, I use inspiration from real life. If I see a building or a natural feature in my day-to-day life or travels, I try to remember the essence of the place by jotting down sensory details in my writer’s notebook. Later, when I’m drafting, I look back at those details to help me recall what it’s like to stand in front of a crumbling house or a vast ocean vista. To make my worlds scary, I pick the creepiest of those sensory details and turn up the volume, really leaning into the way an eerie place can feel on the darkest nights.”

Jotting down details is fantastic.

What are you best tools for writing scenes that are super spooky and get your readers turning their lights on at night?

Janet Fox answered this question. Janet is the author of THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS and her most book, CARRY ME HOME.

“I think of all the things that scare or scared me. When I was a kid, I was terrified of the dark. I was sure a monster lived in my closet. I would pile all my stuffed animals around me like armor (literally surrounding myself with my stuffies) – it was the only way I could close my eyes. So anything in the dark, anything that makes an unexpected noise, anything that could sneak up and ‘eat’ me, anything that emerges from the shadows…Really, I try to scare myself as I write. If I do that, usually the reader is scared, too.”

Eeep! Yes, using our own fears in spooky stories is useful.

What tools do you use to figure out the arc for the complete story?

Ash Van Otterloo answered this question. Ash is the author of CATTYWAMPUS and the recent A TOUCH OF RUCKUS. And check out their great plotting table, with drink!

Ash Van Otterloo’s plotting organization.

“I’ve tried so many different tools for organizing my plot, but what I keep coming back to is very simple and tactile: a basic outline template or beat sheet that best matches my story, a giant dry erase board, an empty table, and 25-50 sticky notes!

Snacks! Yes, you need snacks to get through puzzling together a good plot. Where is my chocolate?

Pacing is so important in stories. How do you know when to make the action fast and when to give the readers a pause? And what tools do you use to speed up or slow down the story?

Ally Malinenko answered this question. Ally is the author of GHOST GIRL and the upcoming THIS APPEARING HOUSE.

“Pacing, especially in spooky stories is absolutely important. Readers need action of course but too much feels overwhelming. You have to build in a time for everyone to catch their breath. Most of what I learned about pacing comes from reading. I am keenly aware when I’m reading a book when too much is happening and I mark the place where I know I could have used a moment to catch my breath. So when I’m writing, I tend to do a bunch of high action moments back to back and then, when re-reading, determine if I need a pause or a second to catch my breath. For me, it’s something I have learned over time, through trial and error. I think of it like a movie: I want the action to build and build and take it to the top, but then I pull back, regroup my characters and give them a moment to process what just happened. Like in the scary story, when they find a safe room and have a few moments before the hatchet comes through the door. Honestly my best tool for managing pacing is my trust in my beta readers. They always tell me when I’ve fed them too many scares in a row! But it does take some trial and error, as is always the case with writing. So my best advice is read, read, read!”

Beta readers, or critique partners, are so useful for this!

Such great advice from these wonderful authors. It makes me want to get back to my own stories.

Got any tips of your own about these? Share in the comments.

The post Five Writing Tips From Five MG Authors appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.

In a modern mega-city built around dragons, one boy gets caught up in the world of illegal dragon battles and a high-stakes gang war that could tear his family apart.

Once, dragons nearly drove themselves to extinction. But in the city of Drakopolis, humans domesticated them centuries ago. Now dragons haul the city’s cargo, taxi its bustling people between skyscrapers, and advertise its wares in bright, neon displays. Most famously of all, the dragons battle. Different breeds take to the skies in nighttime bouts between the infamous kins―criminal gangs who rule through violence and intimidation.

Abel has always loved dragons, but after a disastrous showing in his dragon rider’s exam, he’s destined never to fly one himself. All that changes the night his sister appears at his window, entrusting him with a secret…and a stolen dragon.

Turns out, his big sister is a dragon thief! Too bad his older brother is a rising star in Drakopolis law enforcement…

To protect his friends and his family, Abel must partner with the stolen beast, riding in kin battles and keeping more secrets than a dragon has scales.

When everyone wants him fighting on their side, can Abel figure out what’s worth fighting for?

Doesn’t it sound awesome? Until you can get your dragon paws on your own copy, let’s go behind the scenes of the book’s creation. And make sure you read to the end to enter the giveaway.

Samantha: Hi Alex! Welcome to From the Mixed Up Files. I loved BATTLE DRAGONS: CITY OF THIEVES. Tell us where you got the idea from?

Alex London | Photo by Gina Clyne Photography

Alex: Thanks so much!  The short pitch is that it’s The Fast and The Furious meets How to Train Your Dragon, except that I hadn’t actually seen those movies or read those books when I began this project. Of course, I’ve corrected that oversight now (and am kind of obsessed with the gleeful story-telling chaos of the Fast and The Furious franchise.

As to my inspirations, there are endless sparks that ignite the ideas in any novel, but this one combined so many influences that fueled my imagination when I was a middle schooler. It combines my love of cyberpunk like Akira and Blade Runner with my love of fantasy, of dragon lore, and ultimately of stories set in that middle school time, when young people start to come into their own and realize how much bigger, complicated, and wonderful the world is than they ever dreamed. I wanted to write a story that would have appealed to me in middle school, but that would’ve also expanded my imagination for what kind of a world was possible.

There are sibling rivalries and new friends and high stakes souped-up dragon riding action. There are also, I hope, a lot of laughs!

Samantha: You’ve incorporated a lot of dragon story lore (with the dragons keeping a hoard, for example), but you’ve also expanded on the roles of dragons, like having them be taxis, school buses and cleaners. How did you decide what to keep and what to add for this story?

Alex: Writing a mash-up of genres gave me the freedom to pick and choose what dragon lore was useful or interesting to me. What of my main concerns was using the lore that would make the dragons feel familiar and recognizable, without being derivative or boxing me in to any narrative corners. So, flying and hoarding and breath weapons were a must, but speaking English to humans, as they do in some wonderful dragon tales, was not something I wanted.

Samantha: I love all the different types of dragons you’ve come up with for the story. What inspired each one?

Alex: I couldn’t possibly go into detail on each one here, but I did develop a basic dragon taxonomy when I began, essentially dividing them into Short-Wing, Medium-Wing, and Long-Wing dragons, each more suited to different jobs for humans, and within each category a wide variety of species, from Infernal Long wings whose fire their hot breath from high in the clouds, the short winged Blue Foot, which are like the Honda Accords of the Drakopolis. Then there are the different Reapers, medium winged dragons who make the best battlers with their wide variety of breath weapons and skills, and the related Wyvers, pulled straight from mythology, but in my story, used mostly by the secret police. It’s a lot of fun researching and inventing dragons and their abilities! I spend a lot of time thinking of it like a card game, Pokemon or Magic: The Gathering. In fact, I even invented a game just like that for the story!

Samantha: Abel and his brother Silas and sister Lina are all very different. Are you closest to one of them or do they all have similarities to you in different ways?

Alex: I’m probably most like Abel, with my ADHD and tendency to catastrophize, though, like Lina, I’m idealist who broke more than a few rules as a teenager, but like Silas, I can slip into an inflated sense of self-righteousness if I’m not careful. This is the first series I’ve written since becoming a parent, however, so I do find myself identifying a lot more with their parents than anyone else! I hope I could stand up the gangsters and the secret police as well his Abel’s parents do!

Samantha: If you were one of your dragons from Drakopolis, which one would it be and what would be your favorite thing to hoard?

Alex: Oh, I would want to be Karak, the Sunrise Reaper, because describing him was just so cool! The scene where he meets Abel and Roa was the first I thought of, even before I starting writing.  And I think I would probably hoard books…because I kind of do already!

Samantha: You’ve written both contemporary and fantasy books, but you said in an interview that the fantasy book Redwall helped you become an avid reader. As a writer, do you enjoy writing one genre more than another?

Alex: I like writing everything! As this fantasy-sci-fi mashup with real themes of middle school probably demonstrates, I can’t confine myself to just one genre. The world is so full of stories, I’d hate to limit myself to just one kind.

Samantha: Do you have any tips for teachers and librarians who are trying to encourage reluctant readers to read more?

Alex: Choice! Letting readers choose their own reading—even if it doesn’t seem like great literature to us—matters. I read far more Calvin and Hobbes as a kid than I did prose novels, and far more illustrated nonfiction magazines than ‘literature’ and far more “trashy novels’ than ‘great books’ and now I’m an avid and critical reader and a fairly prolific writer. People come to it in their own time and in their own ways, and I think we need to model following our interests and knowing when to put books down if they aren’t working for us. Life is too short and there are too many good books to force ourselves to read ones we hate. For every “reluctant reader’ out there, there are books that will feel like their were written just for them. They just need the chance to find them.

Aside from choice, I think removing the stigma from not loving to read could help. We put a lot of moral weight on reading, but I know brilliant people who don’t read much of anything and total monsters who are bookworms. I think reading is a source of great joy, insight, and inspiration, and I want to invite kids into it, but I don’t see any use for shaming them when they aren’t.

Samantha: Finally, can you give us a sneak peek at book 2 in the series? When is it coming out?

Alex: It will be called BATTLE DRAGONS: CITY OF SPEED. I don’t know the publication date, but I do know that there will be high stakes dragon races, new and wonderful breeds of dragons, and new friends and enemies for Abel and his crew. It’s gonna be a high stakes, high speed, high flying romp, that I hope readers love!

Samantha: I can’t wait!

Enter the giveaway below by July 30 for your chance to get one of three copies of BATTLE DRAGONS: CITY OF THIEVES plus a signed bookplate.

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“Write your truth! There’s a reader out there who needs it.” —Mae Respicio, ANY DAY WITH YOU

“All the talent in the world will not get you over the finish line in publishing. Persistence is the true measure of a professional.” —Janet Fox, THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS

“A mistake is never a mistake unless you don’t learn from it.” —S.A. Larsen, MOTLEY EDUCATION

“Half of writing is daydreaming. It’s not putting words on a page, it’s staring out a window waiting for the story to float by.” —Lija Fisher, THE CRYPTID CATCHER

“Writing is an act of empowerment: You’re creating your own world. It’s a place for your individual voice to ring out. So tell the story you need to, and enjoy the process!” —Diane Magras, THE MAD WOLF’S DAUGHTER and THE HUNT FOR THE MAD WOLF’S DAUGHTER

“Nobody writes well in a first draft. I think the reason many writers fail to finish projects is because they are putting too much pressure on themselves to be a ‘good’ writer – whatever that means. I am a firm believer in Anne Lamott’s advice to write crummy rough drafts. The important thing is to get the story on paper so you have the raw material to work with. Then, in revision, that’s when the real work starts, sculpting, shaping, and finding the best way to tell your story.” —Tara Gilboy, UNWRITTEN and REWRITTEN

“Connect with other writers. They are a wonderful source of motivation and support, and will help you to hone your craft.” —Anne O’Brien Carelli, SKYLARK AND WALLCREEPER and ONE LIGHT

The post Writing Advice From MG Women Authors appeared first on From The Mixed Up Files.