Middle Grade Ninja: Little Ninja

Fair warning, Esteemed Reader, I’m going to use just a bit of adult language in this post. I’m emotional today because I’ve just picked up Little Ninja after his school went on lock down following a shooting. I don’t want to be writing this. I want that amazing interview with my hero Louis Sachar, author […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Thoughts on Promotion

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: Music to Write By

For today’s Random Stuff I Found on the Internet post, I wanted to talk about music. One thing movies have going for them that books can’t really duplicate is the ability to play the exact music they want to enhance a scene. We writers have no real control over what readers listen to while they […]

Middle Grade Ninja: NINJA BOOK CLUB: Chapter 6 THE PORTKEY

First Paragraph: Harry felt as though he had barely lain down to sleep in Ron’s room when he was being shaken awake by Mrs. Weasley. Hi there, Esteemed Reader! It’s everyone’s favorite time of the week: Ninja Book Club time! Yay! Wednesday is the day each week when we discuss one and only one chapter from […]

Middle Grade Ninja: NINJA STUFF: Author, Year Two (2015)

Hi there, Esteemed Reader. I hope your holidays were as merry and bright as mine were. All of 2016 lies ahead of us, fresh and clean and ready for us to make of it what we will, but don’t get suckered into an expensive gym membership this year unless you’re actually going to use it […]

Middle Grade Ninja: NINJA STUFF: How I Met my Agent (Part Two)

THIS WEEK IN NINJA-ING: Things are going to be slowing down a bit from here on out. I’m taking a short break from Book of the Week reviews, which means I’m also taking a break from author interviews. Why? I’ve got a great idea for a new book and it’s time for me to roll up my sleeves And […]

Middle Grade Ninja: NINJA STUFF: An Open Letter to Stephen King

Dear Mr. King, Thank you for sharing your gift with the world. We’ve never met, but your work has forever changed me for the better and had a profound impact on the course of my life. Describing you as my favorite author doesn’t quite cover it. Mentor would be a better term, though perhaps disrespectful […]

Middle Grade Ninja: A Pound of Flesh, No More, No Less: A Post About Editing

Note 4/8/19: A second post about editing with information not covered in this first post is now available. Hey there, Esteemed Reader! Are you missing me? I am missing you. Not to worry, though. My sabbatical is only temporary. I shall return on July 5th with all new Book of the Week reviews as well […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Thoughts on the Midwest Writers Workshop

How was your weekend, Esteemed Reader? Mine was wonderful. It didn’t hurt that we had a visit from big time literary agent Daniel Lazar. That was awesome. But I also had the good fortune to attend the Midwest Writers Workshop, which is held every year in Muncie, IN, my old stomping grounds. This was my […]

Middle Grade Ninja: 7 Questions For: Author Andy Weir

ANDY WEIR was first hired as a programmer for a national laboratory at age fifteen and has been working as a software engineer ever since. He is also a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects like relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. The Martian is his first novel. […]

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