Marvelous Middle Grade Monday...It's a Mystery

Growing the To Be Read Middle Grade Survival Books List

The _best_ part of making recommended reading lists, or helping patrons find books while in the stacks is the back and forth discussions that ensue. You hear of books you're unfamiliar with. Someone mentions a new release coming out that you must keep an eye out for (but put the eye back in when you need to read...bahahahaha!). Or, you are recommended a book that you totally forgot about and that book leads to more "remembered titles."

That's what's happening right here (and as mentioned in yesterday's post) over at From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors. 

SO! My list is growing and looking like this (including some upcoming releases, that I cannot wait to get my hands on)

Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford (this got me thinking it would be a good idea to created an Animal Survival story list, which got me thinking to include non-fiction and I could do the same for kids)

Flutter by Erin E. Moulton (Erin is a fellow blogger whose book is coming out next week, plus she has a post up next week on the subject of kid survival in fiction stories)

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose (she stopped by to let us know about her book coming out in January-YES!-and it sounds, good, good, good. So, I would also encourage any author's reading this or the other post to let us know.

Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry (huh, a good example of books you forgot about, I saw this as I was looking for another one. That's why a lot of the time you need to walk the stacks with your patrons, lol. I have to see the books to get my mind turning and going on what I would recommend.

Diamond Willow by Helen Frost.

So, yeah, the booklist is growing....care to add to it for me either here or over there?

Winner of Maggie L. Wood's Captured is....!

The winner of Maggie L. Wood's book, CAPTURED is....

Steph Burgis! 

Congratulations to Steph and thanks to Maggie for taking part in OH MG YA Canada! You can check out Maggie's interview here.

If you've got some extra time the next interviewee and book give away-er is up here. It's Janet Gurtler and I'M NOT HER.

Three (Writing Reads) and Children's Book Week!

Right now I’m putting the finishing touches on a picture book and working on a new (yes, while revising my middle grade--I find when I take a break during the day from one, I like to check in on the other. Really...I suppose I could do some housework during a break, but my muse won’t let me). Even if you are not taking part in NaPiBoWe, I’d recommend taking some time to read the posts from authors and illustrators. Inspiring and much to be learned. 

Paula Yoo and National Picture Book Writing Week (NaPiBoWriWee) - Inkygirl: An Illustrated Guide For Writers - For Writers, Librarians, Editors and Bibliophiles

Great post on writing the hook for your...book! This is something to think about with picture books, too. Especially in the title. Does the title hook, does it give a sense of what the reader will get when they open it up?  As the patron or book buyer is moving along the shelves, looking at titles what is it about yours that stands out, and if the book buyer in particular is on their own and looking for something specific, what is it about your title that tells them you might have what they are looking for? 

Adventures in Agentland: HOOK 'em in (in three seconds or less)

Some good food for thought on this one....and if you are struggling with that first novel and thinking it will never be done, maybe it has already taught you what it needed to and it’s time to move on to the second novel, taking what you learned with the first on with you. Of course, this isn’t the case for everyone--but, I’d dare say there are a few learning novels tucked away in all of our drawers.

Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent: Will Your First Book Be Published?

And finally...It’s Children’s Book Week! Why not jump in and have some fun.

Book Week Online

Spring Blog Carnival Celebrating Children's Book Week.

Do some blog hopping, read about some great reads--win some books. Sounds like fun to me, so grab your favorite carnival food and head on over to Tundra's blog and find out what it's all about!

Spring Blog Carnival « Talking with Tundra

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday...BOO!

 I love ghost stories. I know kids who love ghost stories. An all time favorite and one I still book talk is Mary Downing Hahn's WAIT TILL HELEN COMES. 


Heather is a brat. Always getting her new step-siblings, Molly and Michael into trouble. A move to a new house doesn't help. Heather is just as bratty and horrible and now she has a new friend, Helen. Only problem is Helen is a hundred year old ghost who is dangerous...and evil. When Heather starts saying, "You just wait till Helen comes" it's not good. It's bad, real bad. 

I also recently read Mary Downing Hahn's latest, THE GHOST OF CRUTCHFIELD HALL. It did not disappoint and one I highly recommend to fans of the classic ghost story. Hahn knows how to write in the creep factor and make you want to read with all the lights on, including the neighbours! If you are wanting to give kids  an Edgar Allen Poe kind of scare-this would be one to use.












To round out the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday fun, I thought I'd share a couple of blogs I like to follow, in general. Cindy's Love of Books hosts a monthly middle grade reading challenge. What I like about it is she rounds up everyone's reviews for our reading pleasure. There's also Charlotte's Library and her Sunday round-up of science fiction and fantasy reviews for Middle Grade. Blogs made of awesome. Do stop by them if you have time and fill up your middle grade reading coffers.

Oh! And take a swing by my other stomping grounds From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors. Drawing the winner for the Bus Tour, plus today's post lists the May realeases for Middle Grade. A rockin' good month is shaping up. Between that and Children's Book Week starting tomorrow,  it's going to be a blast.

Back to business with more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday posters, including Joanne from My Brain on Books (whose blog I lifted the following list from)

Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming
Myrna Foster at The Night Writer
Sherrie Petersen at Write About Now
Brooke Favero at Somewhere in the Middle
Ben Langhinrichs at My Comfy Chair
Ally Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy

If you've got a recent middle grade read, please share it, or if you've got a MMGM post let me know so I can be sure to link to it. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!

Janet Gurtler-Interview and Giveaway for OH (MG & YA) Canada!

I am thrilled to have Janet Gurtler on the blog today for OH (MG & YA Canada). Her second novel for young adults, I’M NOT HER, just came out and her third book, IF I TELL is scheduled for this fall.

All about I'M NOT HER from Good Reads :

Brainy Tess Smith is the younger sibling of the beautiful, popular, volleyball-scholarship-bound Kristina. When Kristina is diagnosed with bone cancer, it drastically changes both sisters' lives. Sometimes the things that annoy us the most about our siblings are the ones we'd miss the most if we lost them.

In this YA literary coming-of-age novel that will appeal to readers who love Jodi Picoult and Sarah Dessen, sisters Tess and Kristina discover not only who they are, but who they can become.


I am telling you now, I agree with the above. I’d also recommend this book to fans of Deb Caletti, Sarah Okler and Gayle Friessen (If I Stay). Tess is a strong, funny character who teens will related to and cheer for, just like the heroines in these other books. And voice? It's there...in spades.

And now...on with the INTERVIEW!


Janet,  I read your book in a couple of sittings. I had to know what was going to happen with the two sisters, especially the younger I loved seeing her get stronger and stronger for
herself and her sister. I think you captured that relationship amazingly
well. You must (well, I know you do, lol) have a sister relationship that
you could use for inspiration?

Thank you for reading my book in a couple of sittings! Magical words! And
yes, I do indeed have a sister, an older sister and while we certainly never
went through anything as traumatic as Kristina and Tess I did draw on some
of the feelings I had about her growing up. There was a bit of worship but
tongue tied shyness on my part when we were teens. She is three years older
than me, which is a lot when you're young, hardly anything now. She seemed
so much cooler and prettier than I felt and she had awesome boyfriends. Plus
she was thin. And tall. With long legs. And I wasn't.

The other thing that captivated me was your ability to paint
moments--especially some very painful ones--the details of the places
(hospital) and the emotions (finding out about cancer, helping a family
member deal with it) were, for me, nailed. I've been there so speak from
experience. How did you research this, or were you drawing from life? (You
don't have to answer that if you'd rather not).

No one really close to me has been affected by cancer, not while I was
growing up anyways. Actually I have been very fortunate with good health for
myself and my family (and quick knock on some wood for me would you?) I did
connect with a wonderful young woman who went through bone cancer and she
helped with some of the medical and some of the physcholgical aspects of the
illness. And, when I was getting ready to write the hospital scene, I went
to the nearest hospital and kind of wandered around the hallways and
different floors, taking mental notes about what I saw and noticed.


As far as the emotions of the family, I just did a lot of deep thinking on
how I thought the characters would react from who they were deep inside. How
would a self centered mom who wants to control everything around her react
to something she couldn't control? How about a father who prefers not to
deal with hardships face on? I tried to stay real to the way I thought the
characters would behave, even if it was sometimes not the way we want people
to behave when someone they love is suffering.


Well, well done. It just goes to show that you can research and interview to gain an experience
you are writing about.

It's a busy time for you with an upcoming book launch. Excited? Nervous?
Care to share some tips for others gearing up for the same thing? (and,
Congratulations!!) You've done this before, with Waiting to Score. Any
experiences you want to repeat? Some, not so much?

A book launch is truly an exciting and nerve wracking time! Ohh look, my
pretty books arrived in a big box from Fed EX. Watch me squeal and hug one
and sniff it and giggle. Ohhhhh. Reviews are coming in, watch me hide under
my covers and cower and tremble until it's all over.


I did publish one book before, but this is a completely different
experience. I'm publishing under my own name this time, with a new publisher
(Sourcebooks) and it's a GIRL BOOK so it definitely feels like a debut (with
some life experience thrown in)


My advice is to others is to try to do as much promotion as you're
comfortable with and then try to ENJOY the rest!!! There are so many
stressors authors could get hung up on, but the best advice is to have some
fun and celebrate what really is a wonderful occasion!


I am having a book launch this time and inviting everyone to come, and doing
a reading and generally making myself feel like a Queen for a night (okay
for two hours). Sort of like a wedding without having to go on a diet to
fit into a pretty white dress. But like a wedding there will be cake. I'm
now thinking I should appoint the equivalent of bridesmaids. I pronounce
you a BOOK MAID, Deb! You and our fabulous lunch crew. But you don't all
have to dress matchy matchy. Unless you want to.


NO! Let's go matchy matchy and we can wear eighties style bridesmaids dresses to feel
all young like again! Who's with me??


I'm asking this of all my guest authors, so now it's your turn, my friend!
Almost everyone of my book club kids , aged 8-13, are also aspiring writers.
Do you have any advice for them? When did you start writing? A possible
crazy bad story in your past where everyone dies? Even the MC? Or?

I was an aspiring writer from the time I was in grade one. I still have my
first short story from that time and remember the praise I got from my
teacher and my mom for how cute and creative it was. It was about a cat.
Falling into a pot of spaghetti. Oh how clever I thought I was!


My advice to your lovely aspiring writers is to do exactly what they love to
do--write! Write journals! Write blogs. Write poems or letters or stories or
whatever it is that you feel compelled to write. Believe in yourself and
your dreams. Write. If you're a writer, you write. And it feeds your soul.
Also. Don't try to follow someone else's path. Some authors are published
when they're 13. Some when they in their 20's. I was older than that.
Everyone has their own journey.

Speaking of my book club kids. I am thrilled to say I will be starting a
teen book club as part of our Summer Reading Programme, even have a few who
are keen to get started now. Any teen reads that you've loved lately? The
kind you can't wait to tell someone about?

I love how enthusiastic you are about kids and reading!! I really do. I
love Young Adult fiction with passion. I am especially drawn to contemporary
stories or gritty urban fantasy. The latest teen read I loved was FIXING DELILAH by Sarah Okler.


Oh boy, yes. That one was good.


AND--speaking of being a writer and a reader. How do you balance that (and
your family and all the other busy that life brings?

Oh that crazy thing called balance. I admit I spend far, far too much time
on my computer. Writing and the lure of social media and online writing
communities. Sometimes it drives my son and my husband a little crazy.
Luckily my son is an avid swimmer and swims 6 days a week, so that gives me
time to either write or exercise (so I can write when I would otherwise be
exercising) And my husband drags me out to the cabin he's building for
periodic escapes from the Internet.


I'm not working at another part time job right now, but probably will be
again and that's when I find it really tough to manage to find writing time.
I'm lucky enough right now to write while my son is in school and hubby is
at work!

Is there a question you were hoping hoping I would ask? Go ahead and answer
it right now.

Just how awesome do I think Just Deb is? Well thanks for asking. I think
she's great! I think she's a talented and passionate lady and she has really
good taste in lunch partners! Thanks for having me on your blog.


Aw, thanks, Janet! Yeah, the lunch pardners are cool bacon sauce (to partially quote Angela). Thanks for being with me today.

Next Up....THE GIVEAWAY!

Comment on this interview and I will enter your name in a giveaway for a hardcover, signed copy of I’m Not Her.

Comment with a recommended contemporary YA book or author and I’l give you another entry.

If you don’t read whole lot of realistic or contemporary YA, then comment with your latest “LOVED IT” YA book, ‘cause my book club kids read all genres.

There's more (lol, again with me sounding like an info-mercial?) Stina of Seeing Creative is hosting Janet today, too and there's a giveaway. Check it out and get some great writing advice from Janet. Kind of a win win, imo!

Finally, you still have a chance to win book one of Maggie L. Wood's series, The Divided Realms.