Middle Grade Ninja: 7 Questions For: Literary Agent Suzie Townsend

Here is Suzie Townsend’s official bio from the Fine Print Literary site: Suzie is actively looking for fiction and non-fiction: specifically Middle Grade and YA novels (all subgenres, but particularly literary projects), adult romance (historical and paranormal), and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). Recent sales include Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers (Tor, […]

Middle Grade Ninja: 7 Questions For: Author Mark Peter Hughes

Mark Peter Hughes is the author of I Am the Wallpaper, and Lemonade Mouth. His latest, A Crack in the Sky (Greenhouse Chronicles), hit bookshelves on Tuesday. Click here to read my review. Here is Mr. Hughes’ official bio: I was born in Liverpool, England in the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, the same hospital as John […]

Middle Grade Ninja: 7 Questions For: Author Stephen Messer

Stephen Messer was born in Maine and grew up there and in lots of other places. As a child he was inspired by the desert skies of Arizona, as well as his many trips to the public library. His debut novel, Windblowne (Random House 2010), is a fantasy adventure about a boy who is blown […]

Middle Grade Ninja: ALL TOGETHER NOW: A ZOMBIE STORY Chapters 6-10

6 I STARED THROUGH ERNIE’S FRONT windows until I was sure nothing was moving inside. “How do you want to do this?” I asked, but Michelle was already opening the double doors. “Hello?” she called into the food mart. No response came, spoken or snarled, so she went inside and let […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Another Pound of Flesh: a Second Post About Editing

In 2011, I wrote an extremely popular post about editing when I thought I was done editing the first Banneker Bones book. Ha, ha, ha, me from the past, you still had ahead of you three years of polishing and notes from multiple agents and editors, some of which were helpful, all of which resulted in rewrites. In […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book of the Week: BEAUTIFUL by Amy Reed

Note: This week’s book is actually edgy YA and it is filled with adult language and adult content. It is absolutely not appropriate for younger readers and adults should view it as the equivalent of an ‘R’ rated movie. All right, so just to be clear: Beautiful by Amy Reed is not appropriate for all […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book Review: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS by Frank Miller

WARNING: This week’s book is actually edgy YA to full-blown adult and is filled with adult content. It’s absolutely not appropriate for younger readers and adults should view it as the equivalent of an ‘R’ rated movie. Also, this review is a discussion of the full novel and contains all kinds of SPOILERS. Oh, Esteemed […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book of the Week: THE GENIUS FILES: MISSION UNSTOPPABLE by Dan Gutman

I promised last week to tell you what I thought of the eighth Harry Potter movie. Mrs. Ninja and I did indeed see it in Imax over the weekend. It’s a good time, but the book was better (of course it was). Mrs. Ninja cried, but I found it to be an odd experience. It’s a […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book of the Week: JUNIPER BERRY: A TALE OF TERROR AND TEMPTATION by M.P. Kozlowsky

Can I confess something? I read books upon books and articles about how to write a great opening for a book, and every last one of them claims you need a hook. I accept this and it’s the reason why of all the things I notice in each week’s book, I’m so often reporting here […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book of the Week: THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE by Beverly Cleary

How about some nice classic middle grade this week, Esteemed Reader? I’m all for these up and coming whippersnappers we’ve had here to face the 7 Questions and I enjoy reading their books every week. But sometimes, you’ve got to go back to your roots and read a work that has endured longer than many of the authors I’ve […]

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