MMGM: Wish by Beth Bracken and Kay Fraser

About The Book:
                      Never wish in the woods.
      With one wish made in Willow Forest, Soli and Lucy are pulled into Faerieground—and into the middle of an ancient battle. In the faerie kingdom, an evil queen searches for her daughter while the palace crumbles. To save her best friend, Soli must find her hidden strength.
      This is a story about friendship, growing up, and the power of wishes. This is a story about faeries and spells, queens and lost princesses, fireflies and four-leaf clovers. But mostly, this is a story about love. —Goodreads

First Line: Long ago, a kingdom was founded in Willow Forest...
  
What Others Are Saying: "These four stories will find a place in a middle or high school setting where very low level books are needed. There is excitement, adventure, magic, and a bit of romance. The series, written by Beth Bracken and Kay Fraser, is done well and will entertain those readers who might not otherwise be able to handle a lot of fantasy. Recommended." — Library Media Connection

 "As an added bonus, the text allows for easy readability for individuals learning English as a second language, reluctant readers, or those with dyslexia. The books are accompanied by vivid pictures throughout, adding to the pleasant layout." —VOYA

Bloggers Weigh In:
"I found this world to be interesting and descriptive. The authors also did a beautiful job of capturing the angst and frustration of the early teen years." —Reading Lark

"I’d recommend Wish to anyone, young and old. Fairy lovers especially, or people who love fairy tale worlds will love this book!" —Caught Between The Pages

"This world created by Bracken and Sawyer is one in which, after reading, you would believe exists in your nearest forest. These tales are charming and leave you waiting for more. I would highly recommend them to the pre-teen girl for an afternoon of losing themselves in a lovely imaginary world." —Bookalicious

What I Thought: When I perused the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon I was disappointed that there were as many negative reviews as there were. Mainly, because I loved the book. The common thread throughout was that the readers wanted more, more character development, more words and more descriptions. All requirements of avid book lovers. This book wasn't written for them. This was designed as a hi-lo book, high interest but low reading level and for that it is perfect. See here for specifics. By creating simple text that doesn't fill the page, white space is abundant, a key attraction to reluctant readers. Add to that the incredible artwork and a poor reader with a sophisticated imagination can find enjoyment and satisfaction. It is a beautiful book that takes basic teen issues of friendship and identity without the reluctant reader getting lost in the details. I highly recommend this to libraries that serve those readers that English is a second language and those with reading challenges!   

About The Authors: 

Website
Facebook

Who: Beth Bracken is a children's book editor. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, Steve, and their son, Sam. When she's not reading, writing, or editing books, Beth spends most of her time knitting endlessly while watching reruns of old TV shows and drinking lots of tea. —Website

Kay Fraser is from Buenos Aires. She left home at eighteen and moved to North Dakota—basically the exact opposite of Argentina. These days, she designs books, writes, makes tea for her husband, and drives her daughters to their dance lessons. —Website

Odessa Sawyer is an illustrator from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She works mainly in digital mixed media, utilizing digital painting, photography, and traditional pen and ink. Odessa's work has graced book covers from many top publishing houses, and she has also done work for various film and television projects, posters, and album covers. Highly influenced by fantasy, fairy tales, fashion, and classic horror, Odessa's work celebrates a whimsical, dreamy, and vibrant quality. —Website

I know, I know, I'm a week late for this review. Sometimes you just have to slow down, come up for air and hang out on the beach. 

Things are much clearer now! LOL

MMGM: Alligators Overhead by C. Lee McKenzie

Date Published: July 1, 2012
ISBN: 1432784730
Genre: Middle grade, fantasy,
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Themes: fantasy, friendship, magic, ecology, mystery, wildlife
Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / Barnes & Noble 

About The Book: Alligators, witches and a spooky mansion aren't your average neighbors unless you live at the edge of the Ornofree swamp in the backwater town of Hadleyville. The town's bad boy, Pete Riley, may only be twelve, but he's up to his eyeballs in big trouble, and this time he isn't the cause. This time the trouble arrives when a legendary hundred-year-old mansion materializes next door and the Ornofree alligators declare war to save their swamp from bulldozers. Things only get worse when Pete's guardian aunt and several of her close friends vanish while trying to restore order using outdated witchcraft. Now Pete must find the witches and stop the war. He might stand a chance if his one friend, Weasel, sticks with him, but even then, they may not have what it takes.

First Line: Pete chewed on what was left of his right thumb nail, stared up at the round-faced clock above Aunt Lizzy's and watched it tick off his last minutes of freedom.

What Others Are Saying:  "McKenzie pens a swampy middle-grade story full of humor, hauntings, quirky characters and a mystery that continues to develop to the very end.

"The folksy diction and lyrical, verb-heavy storytelling will leave readers turning the pages all the way to the end, where big surprises await and the real villains are revealed. A short, fun story that will excite both young and old imaginations." —Kirkus Reviews

Book Bloggers Weigh In:
Annie McMahon
Novellarella
There's A Body In The Library
Teach Mentor Texts

What I Thought: I always like to share when I find a great boys read. The action is very fun with lots of twists and turns. I really liked the messages of environmental responsibility and respecting habitats. It was difficult imagining talking alligators but I believe that is just my own weakness in the imagination department. It was a fun read.

My Analysis:

1. POV: Third-person limited omniscience: participant
2. 210 pages
3. The Hook: Mysterious things begin happening, the crowning incident being a mysterious call telling him that said, "Today is the day, Peter Riley."
4. Inciting event: A mansion appears in the vacant lot.
6. Voice: In spite of the fact it is in third person, Pete's voice comes through in the way he describes things and his thoughts.

About The Author: 
C. Lee McKenzie
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog

Who:  In her other life--the one before she began writing for teens and younger readers--C. Lee was a teacher and administrator at California State University, San Jose. Her field of Linguistics and Inter-cultural Communication has carried her to a lot of places in the world to explore different cultures and languages. She can say, “Where’s the toilet?” and “I’m lost!” in at least five languages and two dialects.

Her idea of a perfect day is one or all of the following: starting a new novel, finishing writing a blockbuster novel, hiking on a misty morning trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains, saying Namaste after a great yoga practice, sipping a cappuccino topped at a bustling café, reading in front of a fire with snow outside, swimming in an ocean someplace.

Check out the other MMGM reviewers in my sidebar!

Next Week: Joy of Apex by Napatsi Folger

Author Interview: Matt Peterson

I'm very excited to today to have Matt Peterson, author of the middle grade book, The Epic Tales of a Misfit Hero, on the blog today. 

Here's a quick blurb about the book: From passing the sacrament with his fly down to failing miserably at capture the flag, Andrew knows he'll never be able to fulfill his duties as a deacon. But when tragedy strikes on his Boy Scout backpacking trip, Andrew's whole troop must become stronger than they ever imagined. —Goodreads

1) Why do you write for children?

Well, probably because I still feel like a child myself. :) I love the energy, excitement, and honesty of kids. If they don't like something, or something doesn't make sense, they'll tell you. But more often than not, they just love to be entertained. They don't care about plot structure or character development (they actually do, but they don't talk about it in those terms). They just yearn for a great STORY. And I love to tell stories.

2) Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a writer.

I have always loved reading...stemming back to the carefree days of sitting in my room and reading Beverly Cleary and Matt Christopher books. In high school, I found that I was pretty good at expository writing, and decided to major in English with the end goal of attending law school. Well, law school wasn't the right choice and I started doing copywriting for a living. I had never been great at creative writing (in fact, I think I got a C in the one creative writing course I took in college), but decided to write this story that was in my head. And now I am forever a writer.

3) What was the inspiration for The Epic Tales of a Misfit Hero?

For the past 12 years I've been involved with the Boy Scout program and other youth organizations, and that alone makes for some pretty interesting fiction material. You can't make up the stuff these boys do on a daily basis. :) But I noticed that there weren't a lot of exciting books for boys that had a good moral message. I wanted to change that. I know so many boys that may not love to read yet and feel I can give them something they will love. Hopefully this is a book that both kids and their parents can get excited about. And by the way, the girls that have read the book like it just as much as the boys...who knew?

4) Tell us about your process.

Wow, I wish I had a great process! Truth is, I kinda have everything jumbled in my head at first, and it takes some effort to coax it out onto paper. Usually I start by writing down some very specific scenes that I'm imagining. Then I try to sketch out the story around those scenes. Once the rough timeline is done, I start writing from the beginning. I'm the type that doesn't like to move on until I nail the chapter or scene I'm working on, but I've been learning to keep moving on and to be okay with coming back to fix things. It's all still fairly new to me, but I love it.

5) What does a typical writing day look like?

I finish work at my "day" job, come home and take care of family responsibilities like baseball practice, kids' homework, yardwork, dinner, and school events, then try to find time to write. If I'm lucky (and I don't get distracted by Netflix), I will write for about an hour in the evening. I tend to write in spurts, too, so I'm trying to get more consistent.


6) Where is your favorite place to write?

Honestly, it's my kitchen table. I have 5 kids so there's always some commotion going on, even late at night when I usually write. Someone's always coming out to get a drink, ask a question, or otherwise stall going to sleep. I like the distractions, actually, and it helps me think of new things.

7) What did or do you find most challenging in creating the story and getting it published? What do you wish you would have known?

The hardest part, bar none, was allowing my manuscript to get out in the "wild." I was (am?) pretty self-conscious, and allowing other people to read it (and perhaps hate it) scared me to death. I only had to send 2 query letters, but the first rejection stung quite a bit. Luckily, I am surrounded by people who believe in me and convinced me to send it out again. I got an offer from the 2nd publisher and here we are. That never would have happened if I just held on to the manuscript like I wanted to.

8) What is the best writing advice you have ever received?

"Rejection always stings, but it's not permanent." I don't know that anyone put it exactly that way, but this thought was key in helping me try new things. I was conditioned to expect "A's" (well, maybe some "B's" too) on my college papers, and it was hard to move into the much more subjective world of creative writing. This quote helped me be okay with rejection, and to know that it happens to everyone. And it's true, the sting always goes away...eventually. :)


9) Are you working on a new project? Can you tell us about it?

YES! I'm writing the second book in the series, where the main character goes to junior high (arguably much more dangerous than a camping trip in the wild). I'm also plotting out a young adult-ish book with a school and time travel and quirky relationships and adventure, so we'll see where that one takes me. Should be fun!

10) What advice would you give others that write for children?

Just have fun with it! The best part of writing for children is hopping in their shoes while you write. It's so fun to live like a child again. Also, don't be afraid to write words and ideas that may seem a little above your target demographic. You'd be surprised at how much they understand if given the chance. Oh, and don't ever give up! :)

Watch for my review sometime in July!

MMGM: Dead End In Norvelt by Jack Gantos [Audio Version]

About the Book: Dead End in Norvelt is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the year's best contribution to children's literature and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction! 

Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a feisty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.

First Line: School was finally out and I was standing on a picnic table in our backyard getting ready for a great summer vacation when my mother walked up to me and ruined it.

  

One Great Line: “...who proved that you don't have to do what your parents want, or what your boyfriend wants, for you to be happy. You just have to be yourself, for there is no love greater than self love”

What Others Are Saying: “This is a brilliant book, full of history, mystery, and laughs. It reminded me of my small-town childhood, although my small town was never as delightfully weird as Norvelt.” —Dave Barry

“A bit of autobiography works its way into all of Gantos’s work, but he one-ups himself in this wildly entertaining meld of truth and fiction by naming the main character… Jack Gantos.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Awards:Newbery Medal (2012), Scott O'Dell Award (2012), Boston Author's Club Young Reader Award Nominee (2012)

What I Thought: The minute I heard Jack Gantos reading his own story I was hooked. It is always interesting to listen to an author read their own work. The descriptions were colorful and incredibly visceral. "...still dazed and bleeding and completely motionless, except for the steady drops of blood ticking off seconds against the dry summer grass."(320) is just one of the lines that bring you to the front and center stage of action. Gantos is adept in presenting bits and pieces of history in snappy, immediately interesting blurbs that foster interest in further research. His voice drips off the page but hearing it gave a certain edge to this semi-autobiographical tale. A great read-aloud with many points that inspire discussion.

About The Author: Jack Gantos
Website

Who: "Jack was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the nearby town of Norvelt. He remembers playing a lot of “pass the chalk” in Mrs. Neiderheizer’s class in first grade. He was in the Bluebird reading group, which he later found out was for the slow readers. To this day he’d rather be called a Bluebird than a slow reader. His favorite game at that time was playing his clothes were on fire and rolling down a hill to save himself.

When he was seven, his family moved to Barbados. He attended British schools, where there was much emphasis on reading and writing. Students were friendly but fiercely competitive, and the teachers made learning a lot of fun. By fifth grade he had managed to learn 90 percent of what he knows to this very day." —Jack Gantos Website

When: "The seeds for Jack’s writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister’s diary and decided he could write better than she could. He begged his mother for a diary and began to collect anecdotes he overheard at school, mostly from standing outside the teachers’ lounge and listening to their lunchtime conversations. Later, he incorporated many of these anecdotes into stories." —Jack Gantos Website

Jack Gantos' desk, with journals at the ready.   

Why: Talking about his sister, Gantos says, "When she left the house I did read her diary. It was an awful, unethical thing to do, but I was compelled. I read it, and it wasn’t terribly interesting to me. I’m not trying to run my sister down, but it seemed to me that she was missing all the good stuff of life—the juicy stuff. Here we were moving from western Pennsylvania to Cape Hatteras to Barbados to St. Lucia to Miami—you know, there was a lot going on! We were bouncing from one neighborhood to another and they all were filled with crazy characters who did the wildest things—but none of that stuff made the diary."I thought, "That’s really peculiar, because the world I’m living with and in is really interesting.” So I got my little red diary and got started." —Jack Gantos Website

Be sure to check out the other MMGM posters listed in my sidebar.

YA Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Every once in a while I read a YA book that I would recommend to capable middle graders.This is definitely a book I can say would have appeal for older middle grade readers. 
About The Book:
 New soul: Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul: Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart: Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all? -Goodreads

First Line: I wasn't reborn.


One Great Line: I yelled until my voice became shards of glass whistling through my throat. (319)

Awesome Character Quote: Sam said, "Clearly this rule was made to keep Ana out of Heart. It's cruel and unfair to exclude her simply because she hasn't been alive for five thousand years." (89) My favorite character!!

What Others Are Saying: INCARNATE has an eerie and intriguing premise and I am looking forward to seeing where Jodi Meadows takes it next. - Robin McKinley, bestselling and Newbery Award winning author of THE HERO AND THE CROWN, SPINDLE'S END, DRAGONHAVEN, and PEGASUS

Lyrical and thought-provoking, INCARNATE is the kind of book that stays with you long after you've turned the last page. I loved it! - Rachel Hawkins, New York Times Bestselling author of HEX HALL and DEMONGLASS

What I Thought: I'd be lying if I didn't admit the incredible cover led me to move this YA to the top of my list. Gorgeous!! But, if that doesn't grab you then the premise surely will: A new soul in a world of incarnated old souls. When I opened the cover, Meadows grabbed my soul and pulled me in. Her narrative, sometimes lyrical, sometimes intense kept me turning the pages. Each chapter ended with a question to be answered which made it incredibly difficult to put the book down. This was my vacation book and it totally transported me to another world. I especially love the nuances of a souls worth, faith and control. She carefully leads you to ponder on these issues as you're swept up in Ana's quest to figure out who she is. Can't wait for the next one in the series!

About The Author: Jodi Meadows

Website

Twitter

Who: Jodi Meadows lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut. -Meadows Website

Join us on May 16th when Jodi will be stopping by the blog for an interview!!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Eddie's War by Carol Fisher Saller

About The Book: "Eddie’s War by Carol Fisher Saller shows us the impact of WWII on a farm boy in the Heartland. True and tender."—Nikki Grimes
World War II. Hitler is threatening to take over the world. Eddie Carl thinks America should stop him-it's just plain right. But Eddie's just a kid, and the farm in Ellisville, Illinois, is a long way from the fighting.

Ellisville: where the big news stories are gophers in the graveyard and the new bank alarm. But then America joins the war and Eddie's brother Thomas goes off to fly a bomber. Suddenly the war doesn't seem so far away. And Eddie faces more grown-up problems at home: A fire at the Strothers' place, and his gypsy friend accused of arson. Grampa Rob, all stubborn and mean. Grama Lucy with her secrets. And that redhead Sarah, who definitely likes him-unless maybe she hates him. Somehow Eddie's in the middle of it all, trying to figure out what's right. Let Thomas fight World War II. Eddie's war is right here in Ellisville.

Eddie's War is a lyrical collection of prose vignettes linking Eddie, his family, and a small-town cast of Ellisvillians. Poignant and funny, this World War II story tells how a distant war affects the life of one boy in the Heartland. —Goodreads


First Line: In town Thomas pulled me by the hand

                       through the books.

One Awesome Passage: 
I shook his hand, stomach churning.
Don't do it. Don't go.
The thought of him going—
my heart hammered,
but somewhere in me 
a thrill
deep as I'd ever known.


What Others Are Saying: “In spare language and remarkably short sketches, carefully selected details effectively portray well-rounded, interesting characters. . . . Much more an emotionally resonant coming-of-age tale than a war story, this will be an easy sell for those seeking a quick, excellent read.” —Kirkus Reviews, Best Children's Books of 2011
     
 “Beautifully phrased and vividly revealing of character . . . an authentic window into the past that recalls the narrative power of Karen Hesse’s verse and the moral debate in Mary Downing Hahn’s Stepping on the Cracks.” —Horn Book

What I Thought: I have thoroughly enjoyed Saller's sensitive story of friendship and growing up during the 1940's. This historical fiction is easy to read, yet it's laced with deep moral issues that bring great appreciation for that time in history. I would highly recommend this as a companion to the study of WW2 because the insight into what middle grade kids were talking about and their thoughts about war. Making comparisons and correlations would lead to some great discussions. It has inspired me to take some time to find out about my father-in-law's childhood. He lost a brother in the war and I would love to be able to share those priceless stories with my children. 

About The Author: Carol Fisher Saller

Website
FacebookTwitter: @CFSaller
Publisher: namelos

The Chronicle Lingua Franca

Who: Carol Fisher Saller grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and as an adult moved around for some years before settling in Chicago. She works as a manuscript editor at the University of Chicago Press, helping to edit and maintain The Chicago Manual of Style and copyediting scholarly books. Her work as editor of the CMOS online led to writing The Subversive Copy Editor.

Interested in learning more about Carol and the creation of this book. Join me for an interview and Giveaway on March 28th! If you have any specific questions for her, leave them in your comments.


Be sure to stop by the other MMGM bloggers in my sidebar.

Artist Turned Writer: Interview with Marianne Malone

ORDER HERE!

Hello Everyone, 

Today on the blog we have Marianne Malone author of The Sixty-Eight Rooms published by Random House in 2010. See my review here. Her second book in the series, Stealing Magic comes out today! Whoo hoo!


About The Book: Chicago sixth graders Ruthie and Jack think their adventures in the Art Institute's sixty-eight Thorne Rooms are over… until miniatures from the rooms start to disappear. Is it the work of the art thief who's on the loose? Or has someone else discovered the secret of the Thorne Rooms' magic? Ruthie and Jack's quest to stop the thief and protect the rooms takes them from modern-day Chicago to 1937 Paris to the time of slavery in Charleston, South Carolina. But as more items disappear, including the key that allows them to shrink and access the past worlds, what was once just an adventure becomes a life and death race against the clock. Can Ruthie and Jack catch the thief – and help the friends they meet along the way – before the magic and the rooms are destroyed forever?

I'd like to thank Marianne for joining us to today. Lets get right to the questions.

1) Why do you write for children?
       I was an art teacher in a middle school for girls, grades 5-8, for a decade or so. I enjoyed working with this age group and realized that even though times have changed so much since I was that age, it seemed to me that what interested my students was very similar to what interested me way back then. I observed how certain books thrilled them and it made me remember my own feelings of getting lost in a book, which I think happens around the time when you first start reading chapter books. That's exciting to tap into.


2) Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a writer.

         I am a mother of three (now grown) children, happily married for over 30 years, and—much like my protagonist, Ruthie —I consider myself a "regular" girl. I was an excellent student, but I had smarter classmates, I had friends, but was never an "it" girl. Not rich, not poor. You get the picture. I had always considered myself a visual artist, not a writer. But one day it dawned on me that one can write anything one wants and I thought that was such a liberating idea that I had to try it. Somehow, I consider writing an extension of the creative work I've always done.

Time Out Chicago Kids 

3) What was the inspiration this series? 

My inspiration for The Sixty-Eight Rooms (and the sequel, Stealing Magic), is simple: The Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago. For those who are unfamiliar with them, they are sixty eight miniature period rooms made in the 1930s by a woman named Narcissa Thorne (they can be seen on the website of the museum). The only word to describe them is extraordinary. I have loved them since I was a little girl growing up in the suburbs, when my mother (an artist), took me on frequent visits to the museum.
4) Tell us about your process.

      How to describe my process - good question! I generally do a lot of puttering around until I have a strong idea of the arc of the story. Characters come easily to me and they help me fill in the details or tell my what to do if my plot gets stuck or runs off the road. It's like having little people whispering in your ear. I never leave a session without giving myself some notes about how to start the next day. After a first draft, I revise. And then revise again, and again (with the help of my great editor, Shana Corey). When the manuscript is finished, I'll take a month off and garden or do something very physical with my time.

5) What does a typical writing day look like?

      A typical day starts with strong coffee, breakfast and reading the local paper. Then I hit the computer. Sometimes I write first, before checking email, sometimes that is switched. I find that sitting is the hardest part of writing - one gets physically stiff and mentally sluggish - so exercise is a must. Everyday! I try and write about three hours a day, most days of the week, while I'm working on a manuscript.

6) Where is your favorite place to write?
      I love my home office, which looks out on a preserved prairie. It is such a blank slate out there, with subtle changes of light throughout the day, and punctuated by wildlife passing by in the mornings and at dusk. Looking out on it, it is easy to have my own thoughts and get lost in my story. I have, on occasion, had to write in hotel rooms, which I find facilitating - you can't get up to go to the kitchen, or be distracted by mundane household chores.

7) What did or do you find most challenging in creating the story and getting it published? What do you wish you would have known?
        I am on my third book now, and each one has presented different challenges. But honestly, I'm glad I started writing before I knew much about the publishing process. I would have been intimidated, overwhelmed, and I might have tried to write for other people, instead of for myself (and my students, who were my very first readers). I simply jumped in, which worked for me.

8) What is the best writing advice you have ever received?
        The best advice I have received is from Shana, who in the margins of the manuscripts very gently reminds me from time to time to "show don't tell".

9) Are you working on a new project? Can you tell us about it?
       Right now I am editing the third book in the Sixty-Eight Rooms series. In it, my characters meet an 18th century pirate in Cape Cod, and help solve a mystery for a classmate who is descended from a slave. I'm in the early stages of a fourth installment. I am still enjoying my characters and feel that the basic premise of their adventures holds more possibilities.

10) What advice would you give others that write for children?
       I think the best piece of advice I can give to anyone who wants to write for kids is to recall the emotions that books stirred in you as a child. Go there. Go to the subjects, stories and characters that you love.

Oh my, there are going to be four books about these fascinating tiny rooms and the adventures with Ruthie?? I can't wait! 

Have you entered the drawing for book one of The Sixty-Eight Rooms yet? If not, enter here. You don't want to get behind!!

Thank You Marianne for taking time out of your busy schedule to stop by and chat. 

Middle School Book Review: Savvy by Ingrid Law

TweetAbout The Book: Savvy is a fast paced ride through a modern tall tale where one family passes special powers , a Savvy, down to their progeny. There is no preparing for your inevitable inheritance on your thirteenth birthday and no way to know what your power will be. For Mibbs she finds her Savvy hard to understand which leads her along with some of her siblings on a wild adventure across country.-See full Synopsis here.

One Great Line: "The itch and scritch of birthday buzz was about all I was feeling on the Thursday before the Friday before the Saturday I turned thirteen."

What Others Are Saying:

"Law's storytelling is rollicking, her language imaginative, and her entire cast of whacky, yet believable characters delightful...wholly engaging and lots of fun." --Booklist

"Law displays both a fertile imagination...dab hand for likable, characters...[a] marvel laden debut" -Kirkus

What I Thought: I was repeatedly wowed by her use of words, strange combinations and long sentences that carried a rhythm that periods would have denied. I truly admire Law's story telling ability that reminds me of sitting down listening to my mother read the tales of Brear Rabbit and Paul Bunyan. It is rare to find a book that tickles your tongue as much as your imagination. It was a wild woolly ride.

First Line: "When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it".

Awards: Newberry Honor Book 2010

My rating: ***** Five stars!!

About the Author:

Website: Ingrid Law Author

Blog: Straight from The Jar

Publisher: Penguin Group

Agent: Daniel Lazar with Writers House LLC

When did you know you wanted to be an author?

"... there have always been stories in my head, and once I found that I could get those stories onto paper, and that my words could be beautiful and fiery and constructive, I knew that I was on the right track and doing something that I love." 

What inspired Savvy?

 "I started with the very first sentence, not even knowing what I was going to write about, simply determined to write the most fun, most off-the-wall sentence I could without thinking too hard about it, and then see where things went from there."

"When I began writing SAVVY, I wanted to create an empowering story about extraordinary kids using my own brand of tall tale, Americana magic…and I didn’t want to use the word magic.

“I use a lot of small towns, and fall back on the tradition of tall tales, stories that are larger than life, with a conquering-the-wilderness idea. It’s an emotional element of becoming a teenager, needing to tame the external and internal.” -Kidsreads, see rest of interview here.

 

Any challenges?

"Law says she found her writerly voice when, after a decade of ill-fated manuscripts, she decided to ignore her doubts and go where her characters took her: “I decided I would pull out all the stops, not judge what I wrote, and push my voice to the limit." BookPage -See rest of interview here.

Newest Book: Scumble

First Line:  "Mom and Dad had known about the wedding at my uncle Autry's ranch for months. But with the date set a mere ten days after my thirteenth birthday, my family's RSVP had remained solidly unconfirmed until the last possible wait-and-see moment." 

 Observations: I'm always interested in how an author ties in the next book in a series. What I like about Scumble is you don't have to of read Savvy to enjoy Scumble. It can stand alone. New and complicated characters to get to know. 

One Great Line: "My vocal cords stretched and snapped over the words like rubber bands pulled too tight."

 

Three reasons writers should hate her. *wink, wink*

1. It took her 4 months to write Savvy, by 10 months the fully edited version was complete.

2. She started with one sentence and just let the writing carry her away.

3. Walden Media has already obtained the option for a movie and the screenplay is already in the works. 

I have to say I am really excited to see what Law does next. According to her, the next book is in a completely different direction. If you've read either of these, what did you think?

Cooking the Perfect Synopsis

So, I've been working on my synopsis for my middle grade novel, which means I've scoured sources for suggestions, formats and instruction on getting it right. 

Why? Three reasons: 

1- It's a vital marketing tool, next to the Query.

2- If it isn't right you may have a flaw in your story. 

3- At some point someone is going to request one.

I've coalesced what I've researched into a basic recipe. 

*****************************************************************

Rockin' Synopsis
Preheat: Present Tense
Serves: Agents, Publishers anyone looking 

1 cup Voice               [Gives a taste of your unique voice.] 

1/3 cup   Who       [Main characters: What do they want?]

1/3 cup   Why       [Why should we care?]

1/3 cup   How       [How is he/she going to get it?]

1/2 cup   What      [What goes wrong, who/what gets in the way?]

1/2  cup  Risk            [What is he/she risk? No risk, no story.]

1/2 cup  Reward    [Do he/she get what they want or version of it?]

Mix well trimming extra words, unnecessary phrases until you have a succinct mix. Set aside for several days. With fresh eyes, revise again perfecting every sentence until you have the exact flavor you want. Then share it with several  CP's or Beta's to see if they see what you see, feel what you want them to feel. If not, revise again. Repeat this until the synopsis has risen to the desired level. 
***************************************************************************

I found several excellent suggestions for how to obtain the perfect ingredients and boiling them down to the exact proportions. Here are a few links you may find helpful!

How to Write A Synopsis
How to Write A Book Synopsis: Tips, Techniques
Writing A Synopsis
Synopsis
Writing a Synopsis That Rocks

I know there are tons more out there! Do you have a post on your blog? Share a link in your comments! 

*Check in next Monday for Middle School Review of Savvy and Scumble by Ingrid Law

What I've Learned About Scene

     I wanted to talk about scene today. I'm working on the first draft of a middle grade novel. (I've had a few false starts.) In the process I have noticed a few things. 1) I keep trying to order things 2) My "beginning" is getting vague as I go deeper into my story.3) I keep reading over my written scenes.  *pulling out hair*

    I've continued to look for all the advice I can about the role scene plays in the novel. The main point idea: scenes are the starting point for story. Usually, scene presents itself long before you have a coherent story. However, we who are control freaks or want to sound "authory" try and explain the scenes instead of just writing them. Don't misunderstand this is not the editor showing its fangs--that comes later. This is our need to order things, understand exactly where we are going, write everything in our minds eye and plan accordingly.

     So, what to do. Well, here it is...*listen up you pantsers your gonna love this*. Story shouldn't be our concern until we have created enough narrative that the "elements themselves begin asking for the coherence of structure" (Vandenburgh, 27). Simply stated: Write our brains out without thinking about order or where it's taking us. As far as this draft is concerned, the writing should suck. Vandenburgh calls this "prewriting" to make it easier to toss later.(Resource: Architecture of a Novel by Jane Vandenburgh.)

    Holly Lyle on her post about scene states,"As the atom is the smallest discrete unit of matter, so the scene is the smallest discrete unit in fiction..." Our scenes are to story what scaffolding is to skyscrapers. It appears we try to manipulate our scenes before we give them a chance to spill out on the page. 

     Kay Kenyon writes,"If you are reading and re-reading your last few pages to get a run-up on your next scene, stop this now. Rereading causes revision blindness later."  She suggests using a tool called a scene list to jot down things that occur to you while you are writing to keep you from going back. I believe this is similar to the process Joyce Carol Oats uses when the story is first being born.

     Linda Clare explains that the most important element of scene is change, something has to happen. We still have the work of choosing, we need not tell everything in our minds eye. The adage..."Enter late, leave early" should be all the order we care about at this point.

     I love Jean Oram's analogy of a scene to a Thanksgiving dinner. What if you sat everyone down, insisted that everyone act a certain way, eat in an order you dictate and not allow any spontaneity. Why? Because, it is your dinner and you have a vision of what it "should" look like. She goes on to explain that this would create a "cardboard cutout of real life". This is what too much pressure to order can do to scene. (Besides, whats Thanksgiving without some drama?)

Bottom line folks...there is a ton of great advice out there. At some point you discover what works for you and I have great faith that I will too.

What helps you to get the story on to the page? What role does scene play in that process?

Discovery Friday

     Today I was thinking about all the cool things I have discovered through my reading, blogging and writing  this week and thought I would share them with you. Maybe you will find something useful that you can use...

Cool books:

XVI  by Julia Karr  Totally enjoying this and will review it in the near future. Suffice it to say it is awesome! 

Hero by Mike Lupika  (I hope he has a sequel) MG  One of his best. A very fast ride!

Diary of a Bad Year by J.M. Coetzee A post modern divisive chapter structure that in the end delivers a coherent plot. Talk about writing outside of the box.


Cool Blogs:  
The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment by Matthew Rush His posts are meaty writing and his blog is loaded with useful links!
A Torch in the Tempest by Christi Goddard Snarky writing with real literary pizazz!
A Writer of Wrongs by Terry Towry Terry unabashedly shares his conference experience in NY. Go Terry!
Writing YA in the Midwest by Julia Karr  Follow the journey of XVI and her other writing projects. Congrats Julia!

What Star Wars and Seseme Street Can Teach Us About Story Structure

   The other day I was looking at an article on Cracked.com entitled "17 Images That Will Ruin Your Childhood". I'll warn you, if you love nostalgia this will definitely crush some memories. 

So, it got me thinking about what I have been learning about story structure and plot. What made our childhood images so powerful was the effort that writers, artists and directors took to "suspend disbelief".  

Wait...isn't that what we are trying to do in our writing? 

Catherine Brady in her book Story Logic and the Craft of Fiction states," to think like an artist is to understand that story structure depends not on baldly advancing a literal conflict but on constructing a plot that articulates the exact parameters at the stories heart."  

Wow! That is a mouthful but think about it. What stories have you read that leave you changed and hungry for more? Why?

When I read a story, I don't want the author to come out and tell me what to think, just like a child I want to discover it myself.  It's how many of us are wired. Would the parables in the New Testament have as much impact if the true message was blatantly laid out?

Think about Faulkner and Munroe, their ability to use literal action to build the tension of the bigger story is epic! There are, of course many more that use this artistic scaffolding, invisible to the reader. It is only at the climax of the story do the questions that the tension aroused make sense. It's magic, a sleight of the hand.

What magic have you read lately?