Category: Uncategorized
Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Saying ‘Yes, and'” by Tara Gilboy
Last year, I started taking improv classes at our local comedy theater. A friend asked me to take one with her, and my initial goal was to find another creative outlet that was NOT writing-related. I love writing, but it’s such a huge part of my professional life, and one that I am constantly working […]
Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Why Mom is Missing From TRUTH OR DARE” by Barbara Dee
Six years ago, author and children’s editor Leila Sales wrote a notable piece in PW about the ubiquitous “dead parent” character in middle grade and YA fiction. She called the “dead parent” storyline “lazy writing” in which the author evokes instant sympathy for the kid protagonist and avoids the difficult task of creating a non-boring […]
Middle Grade Ninja: Afterword
Esteemed Reader, if you haven’t read the Banneker Bones books yet, that’s cool. This is mostly going to be a post about writing that anyone could read as I’ll avoid any major spoilers. But seriously, when you get time, read those books:) I’ll give you the first one free. This afterword will probably mean more […]
Middle Grade Ninja: Joshua Redlich
Josh Redlich is a Publicist for Random House Children’s Books, where he works with authors like Mary Pope Osborne, Louis Sachar, Jay Kristoff, Gennifer Choldenko and Marisha Pessl to promote their works. He formerly worked at Sterling Publishing on titles ranging from children’s picture books to adult nonfiction. Josh is also the Chair of the […]
Middle Grade Ninja: The Prince of Korin
A great way to make your middle grade novel accessible for classroom use is to create a downloadable teacher’s guide. You can easily put this together in a Word doc and save it as a PDF. Look for inspiration: The first thing you want to do is look at guides for other novels to get […]
Middle Grade Ninja: The Midwest Writer’s Conference
Are you going, Esteemed Reader? I am. It’s this Thursday through Saturday at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. I hope to see you there. You’ll recognize me as I’ll be dressed in full ninja garb. Not really. There will be writers and editors and agents, so I’ll be dressed in business casual and be […]
Middle Grade Ninja: NINJA BOOK CLUB: Chapter 3 – THE INVITATION
First Paragraph:By the time Harry arrived in the kitchen, the three Dursleys were already seated around the table. None of them looked up as he entered or sat down. Uncle Vernon’s large red face was hidden behind the morning’s Daily Mail, and Aunt Petunia was cutting a grapefruit into quarters, her lips pursed over her […]
Middle Grade Ninja: NINJA STUFF: Author, Year One (Part One – Fortune and Glory)
This is to be the last post of the year, Esteemed Reader, as I’m shutting down for the holidays. We’ll start up again sometime in January with new guest posts and interviews with writers and publishing professionals and I might even review a book or two or finish that chapter-by-chapter retrospective of Harry Potter and […]
Middle Grade Ninja: NINJA STUFF: Going Indie (Part Two)
Last time on Ninja Stuff: I announced I’ve published my mean and nasty Young ADULT novel All Together Now: A Zombie Story, available here. I also revealed Richard Adams liked something I wrote enough to blurb it and it was all due to the magic of the internets, where I plan to stake out my […]
Middle Grade Ninja: NINJA STUFF: On Heartbreak And Diversity In Traditional Publishing (Part One)
Oh Esteemed Reader, my mind is filled with all the thoughts as I’ve just come from a SCBWI conference where I had a breakthrough moment and also learned odd news of an old nemesis/ex-girlfriend-kinda-sorta, and since I’ve just attended author Skila Brown’s session on compelling openings, I’ll hope to hook you by saying she’s someone […]