The Writing Process-Blog Hop

A couple of weeks ago I was tagged by Jennifer Rumberger for the writing process blog hop. I've been following Jennifer's blog for some time now and got to know her even better when we were on the Cybils Panel for Middle Grade Fiction. To find out more about Jennifer you can head over to her website.

Edited to add that I forgot to add that I will be away for a couple of weeks (holidaying in B.C. with my daughter and family!). Will be checking in and reading blogs and commenting but no new posts until July 21, 2014 when I will be back with a MMGM featuring ALL FOUR STARS author Tara Dairman. Doing an interview and giveaway!

Now, on to the blog hop questions. Thanks to Jennifer for inviting me to join the fun!

What are you currently working on? This summer I am working on a new middle grade novel called MY DAD, THE FROG PRINCE. I keep leaving it and coming back to it. Had an epiphany on POV and am going to experiment with that. Also considering looking back at another book of mine called THE TO DON'T LIST. Wondering on taking a secondary character and giving him a voice. We'll see on that. Plus, there are a couple of picture books that are poking at me so I will see where they go. I have the summer off so have lots of time between visits with family and camping to get writing, writing, writing.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?  With my middle grade, I am experimenting with multiple points of view--that is something does occur in middle grade but not something you see a whole lot of.

Why do I write what I write? I am convinced there is a ten year old alive and well inside of me. Very often went a story comes to me it is middle grade and the MC is ten! This may also have a lot to do with reading middle grade for my work and as part of Middle Grade Mondays. When it comes to picture books, that dates back to my days working the reference desk in Calgary Public Library's children's department downtown. I read a lot of picture books for storytimes, for school visits, for summer reading programs. Fell in love with the genre.

How does my individual writing process work?

I am between a plotter and a pantser. And once I have the story in in place I have been known to write scenes as they come to me. Lately I have been writing in a notebook everyday, just exploring and developing ideas AND...I have been writing outside of the lines trying to really loosen myself up. Here is a part of my writer's process in pictures.

Early morning writer, sometimes around five...so...

Drink some coffee!

Then...

Scribble in notebook to get the creativity flowing.

Then open book's file (Scrivener)

 Stare at computer screen. Visit Youtube, Twitter, Google Hangouts....um, research, connecting with other writers, fellow creatives. You know the drill.

Drink more coffee.

Stare at screen, then....BINGO...the typing begins!

 Use resources of awesome like Writers Helping Writers thesaurus's . These are always with me. I even just sit and read through them to get ideas for new characters.

That's all from me! Next on the blog hop is.  She is a long time friend, haiku poet and writer who lives in New Brunswick, Canada.  You can find out more about her on her blog Ebb and Flow. Her post will be going up on July 7.

MMGM Interview and Giveaway: The 14 Fibs of Gregory K by Greg Pincus

Greg Pincus recently shared on his blog that his book, The Fourteen Fibs of Gregory K, was included in Bank Street's Best Children's Books of the Year, 2014. I say congratulations and well deserved. Certainly one of my favourite reads.

From Goodreads:

Failing math but great at writing, Gregory finds the poetry (and humor) in what's hard.

Gregory K is the middle child in a family of mathematical geniuses. But if he claimed to love math? Well, he'd be fibbing. What he really wants most is to go to Author Camp. But to get his parents' permission he's going to have to pass his math class, which has a probability of 0. THAT much he can understand! To make matters worse, he's been playing fast and loose with the truth: "I LOVE math" he tells his parents. "I've entered a citywide math contest!" he tells his teacher. "We're going to author camp!" he tells his best friend, Kelly. And now, somehow, he's going to have to make good on his promises.

Hilariously it's the "Fibonacci Sequence" -- a famous mathematical formula! -- that comes to the rescue, inspiring Gregory to create a whole new form of poem: the Fib! Maybe Fibs will save the day, and help Gregory find his way back to the truth.

For every kid who equates math with torture but wants his own way to shine, here's a novel that is way more than the sum of its parts.

I shared my thoughts on the book here and today I am going to share an interview I did with the author. Let's begin!

Tells us briefly about your publication journey. I know this was a long one in terms of your book, but so worth the wait. What was the process like, especially being able to work with an editor on the early stages of your book?

The journey began in 2006 so, yes, it was a long-ish one. Still, it began without a manuscript, so from the start Arthur and I were able to discuss what we both wanted the book to be. I had tremendous freedom - so much so that my first draft was actually far from what Arthur had in mind... even though we'd spoken about it in advance! Just goes to show you that there are many different ways to attack the same story. Still, with guidance, I found a stronger way in than my first attempt and that, ultimately, not only made a better book but was a direct outgrowth of working with an editor from the start.

Gregory is a poet, as your are. How did you get into his head space to write the poems from his pov?  

To me, getting in his head for the poetry was not really different than getting in his head for the rest of the story. Once I knew how he saw the world, the rest followed. And there, too, I had an advantage as one thing Arthur and I had discussed early on was that Gregory K.'s point of view was going to be the same one that already appeared in a lot of my poetry. So, it was a process of taking what I already knew and applying it to the book's unique situations.

As part of researching a novel authors will literally put themselves in their characters shoes. Did you, perhaps, eat a lot of pie? Research cafe's? Anything else?

I fear that if I ate as much pie and dessert as Gregory did in the book - even if I spread it out over 7 years - I'd be a highly unhealthy blob. Which isn't to say that I didn't spend time with desserts. I mean, truly, the sign of a good coffee house is good coffee, but the sign of a place I can write is a place with good desserts! I savored a few goodies... and actually did celebrate many landmarks, including the arrival of the ARCs and hardcover, with pie.

What is one of your memorable moments from a school visit, book signing or fan email?

I'll share two sorta-related moments. The first was receiving a piece of fan mail written as a series of Fibs. Now, it's a trip to get fan mail to begin with, but to have it come in the form of poetry that's at the heart of the book? Fantastic and gratifying! Then, at a recent event at the Brentwood School here in LA, a bunch of kids grabbed my "How to write a Fib" handout and - totally on their own - sat down in the middle of a busy gym floor with kids and adults swirling all around them and wrote poetry. That's my kind of people! And while it woulda been great to see them writing anything, it was even more fun for me to see them partaking in some Fibbery.

Can we expect to see more from Gregory, or his family, or friends? Along the lines of what we saw with Lisa Yee's books that began with Millicent Min, Girl Genius? Middle grade readers do love to revisit favourite worlds!

The characters in 14 Fibs were a lot of fun to spend time with, so I'd love to revisit their world. It's all about finding a strong enough story for those characters in their situation... and, truth be told, it's something I'm working on even as I answer your questions!

***

Thanks for this, Greg! You kind find out more about Greg on his blog, Gotta Book. And if you want to treat yourself to some of his poetry--all in one spot (a.k.a a collection)--you can! Just got my copy and am already happily reading. 

Packed with fun and funny poetry for children and their adults (and vice versa), The Late Bird has over 50 poems that will make you laugh, think, and cry (if they make you laugh so hard you drop your reader, that is). 

You'll get to read a Book Report on the Thesaurus, meet interesting friends and family members, and even get the answer to the question "if the early bird gets the worm, what does the late bird get?" (Goodreads)

That's it from me on this Marvelous Middle Grade Monday. Heading back to Shannon Messenger's so I can see what else is being shared!

Good luck on the giveaway! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Greetings and waving to all of you from the Canadian leg of Maureen McQuerry's blog tour for her middle grade fantasy Beyond the Door. EDIT-and TODAY is now Monday. Marvelous Middle Grade Monday to be exact so I am holding this post over for you to have an opportunity to read a bit about the cover art behind this Beyond the Door and the chance to win one of two books. Now...enough from me....read ON!

With his love of learning and the game of Scrabble, Timothy James feels like the only person who understands him is his older sister, Sarah, and he’s fairly certain nothing interesting will ever happen to him. But one night, while his parents and sister are away, the door opens, and mythical creatures appear in his own living room! Soon, a mystery of unparalleled proportions begins to unfold, revealing an age-old battle of Light against Dark, and Timothy must embark on a qu

est to prevent the Dark from controlling the future and changing the past. But he can’t complete the quest alone. Timothy has to team up with his sister and the school bully, Jessica, to face an ancient evil, and in the process, this unlikely trio discover they are each more than meets the eye.(Goodreads)

I am midway through this book and frankly just want to stay home and keep reading. And I love my job so am thinking that says something. Was pulled into the world right away because the MC was pulled into it right away. It works when a writer does that and does it well.  There is great detail and variety of points of view...something is a coming and it is not good.

Yesterday Maureen was at Charlotte's Library. She talked about the backstory and inspiration for her book. Today we have a guest post on cover art for the book with illustrator Victo Ngai. (note: orginally posted in tumblr)

Time out of Time 

Time out of time

the horned man rides

with the forest queen

the greenman Dies.

the Heavens bear witness

the great wolf Flies, and TImothy Hames stands alone.

I have been working on a new book series called Time out of Time by Maureen Doyle McQuerry. Book 1 Beyond the Door has just come out! Time out of Time is an advantage and imagination packed fantasy story which draw inspiration from Celtic mythologies. Our hero is a shy bookish boy named TImothy who is fairly certain nothing interesting will ever happen to him. However, everything changes on one dark spring night. A mystery knocks on his door and starts revealing his role in an ancient prophecy…

Choosing a moment from a book as cover is always a fun challenge. It has be a true representation of the story without spoiling the plot, while being visually stimulating. I decided to go with the Wild Hunt because:

a) There’s a giant golden flying wolf, who wouldn’t like that?

b) We introduce our main character - Timothy.

c) The chase set the stage of adventure and the storm set the mood of danger. (Deb note: yes, yes it does!)

d) It’s a perfect moment to show the parallel existence of Timothy’s ordinary world and the fantastical world “beyond the door”.

This art has been featured on the American Library Association Booklist cover, what a honor!

Big thanks to Maureen for this great story, Ad Chad Beckerman and Editor Howard Reeves for all the great input. I hope you would enjoy the book as much as I do! Don’t forget to decipher the secret code which comes with the book!

Thanks to Victo Ngai for allowing me to share the on doing the cover art for this book.

And a big BIG thanks to Maureen for offering a copy of BOTH of her books for giveaway.  Up for grabs is a hardcover of Beyond the Doors and a paperback of The Peculiars.

All you need to do is leave a comment by next Sunday June 22, midnight MST. One winner for each book will be picked from the comments using Random Org. Good luck everyone! (U.S./Canada)

Speaking of Marvelous Middle Grade Monday here is the link to head on back to find some more great middle grade reads!

Follow the Tour Thread

 June 9-Charlotte's Library -Introduction and Inspiration

June 11-The Book Cellar-What I’ve learned from Myth Part 1

June 12  Haunted Orchid -What I’ve Learned from Myth part 2

June 13 Smack Dab in the Middle -Interview & give away

Read Write Tell & My Library Notebook become one

READ WRITE TELL and My Library Notebook are finally (finally) ready to be combined. A final step then I am, good, good to go!

Middle Grade March and release day for ICE DOGS by Terry Lynn Johnson

Hello everyone, Middle Grade March 2014 is on the way and I must say I am getting all kinds of excited. Have been emailing back and forth with authors and bloggers, booking in guest posts, interviews and doing a whole lot more.We still have some slots to fill and also looking for anyone who might like to offer giveaways. You can fill out this form if you are interested or just drop me a line justdeb AT debamarshall DOT com. Whatever works for you.

One of the authors, Terry Lynn Johnson, I am interviewing has her book coming out today. And I have some mad cover love going on for this. Head on over to her site for more details and enter to win a copy.   

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday Calli Be Gold & The 14 Fibs of Gregory K.

Hello and happy MMGM all! I think I am finally, finally back into the blogging swing for 2014.

I would like to introduce you to two of my new favorite middle grade characters. Calli, who I just met and Gregory, who I got to know via my first round middle grade fiction judging for The Cybils. Both are in families that are, to use Calli's words, lopsided in terms of their dynamics. Calli's family are always going for the gold in sports and school and achieving it. Calli is average, or at least thinks she is. No hidden talent, no gift that is loud and obvious. Gregory's family are all about math. Math. Math. Math. Did I mention math? And they are good at it. Really good. Gregory, however, is not. He doesn't even like math. Now, he does know what he is good at and what he loves. It is writing, but it's something he keeps hidden from his family. Both kids are unique and funny and endearing. They share their families with us in ways that makes you feel like you are sitting down to the dinner table with them. Now, I wonder if there is a way to introduce Calli and Gregory to each other? I am sure they would have a lot to talk about. Calli Be Gold and The 14 Fibs of Gregory K are books I am looking forward to sharing with students.

Calli Be Gold by Michele Weber Hurwitz

Eleven-year-old Calli Gold is the quiet third child in a family of loud overachievers. In fact, the family motto is Be Gold. Calli's sister is on an ice-skating team, and her brother's a basketball star. Her parents are sure she has a hidden gift for something. They just have to figure out what it is! But Calli has flopped at everything she's tried. She sure doesn't feel like a Gold.
 Until a new person enters her life. Second grader Noah Zullo might seem strange to some people, but Calli can't help liking him, and they become partners in their school's Peer Helper Program. When they create a booth for the Friendship Fair, they fill it with secrets and surprises. And as Calli and Noah work and learn together, they even surprise themselves.
Michele Weber Hurwitz's debut is an endearing and gently humorous story about the true meaning of achievement and the important things an "ordinary" kid has to offer.

 

The 14 Fibs of Gregory K. by Greg Pincus


Failing math but great at writing, Gregory finds the poetry (and humor) in what's hard.

Gregory K is the middle child in a family of mathematical geniuses. But if he claimed to love math? Well, he'd be fibbing. What he really wants most is to go to Author Camp. But to get his parents' permission he's going to have to pass his math class, which has a probability of 0. THAT much he can understand! To make matters worse, he's been playing fast and loose with the truth: "I LOVE math" he tells his parents. "I've entered a citywide math contest!" he tells his teacher. "We're going to author camp!" he tells his best friend, Kelly. And now, somehow, he's going to have to make good on his promises.

Head on back to Shannon Messenger's for more MMGM and see you all about in cyberspace.

A couple of notes:

Planning is really coming along for Middle Grade March. Interviews, guest posts and giveaways are being booked. One of the best parts of this is by growing TBR pile, which happened to include Calli Be Gold which I happened to just read. Thinking if I had not been doing MGM this year, this may have been a title I missed! Anyhow....we are still looking for participants, authors, agents, publishers, teachers, librarians, bloggers for interviews, guest posts and giveaways so if you are interested or know someone who might be we have a form on our site OR feel free to email me or leave a comment!

Finally. Can you do a happy dance? I am. Today is THE DAY. THE DAY of Newbery, Caldecott, Printz,  The Odyssey (read aloud), and more.....eek!

Garden of My Imaan and Middle Grade March

The time is approaching for Middle Grade March and we are in the early planning stages. Getting pretty excited by who we have on board already and all the fun I know we will have. It is a big job but so, so worth it. Truly looking forward to celebrating Middle Grade Literature for the entire month of March!

For more details and an opportunity to volunteer to do a post or interview or giveaway or a combo of the three head on over to Middle Grade March!

And what? Another Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is upon us? And I missed last week. Still working out the time kinks I am encountering. To that end I am here to do a quick share of  a Marvelous Middle Grade reads today. These are quick shares. Books I loved because they, in some form combined the best of voice, plot, setting and character. Hit the middle grade sweet spot they do.

Garden of My Imaan by Farhanna Zia-this one had voice in spades and the plot was bang on believable very middle grade concerns. the stand out was the fact that the mc happens to be Muslim so very unique concerns shared in a universal way! 

From Good Reads:

Aliya already struggles with trying to fit in, feeling confident enough to talk to the cute boy or stand up to mean kidsthe fact that shes Muslim is just another thing to deal with. When Marwa, a Moroccan girl who shares her faith if not her culture, comes to Aliyas school, Aliya wonders even more about who she is, what she believes, and where she fits in. Should she fast for Ramadan? Should she wear the hijab? Shes old enough for both, but does she really want to call attention to herself?

Thanks for stopping by and hope you find the time to read and share this one. Head on back to Shannon Messenger's for more Middle Grade Marvelousness!