Marvelous Middle Grade Monday-Ghost Hunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost by Cornelia Funke

Shannon Whitney Messenger's brain child Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is growing in leaps and bounds and that is such a wonderful thing! I love middle grade. Reading it and writing it. When I was younger I was fascinated with ghosts and scary stories. These days favorite book talks (October or not) for kids include ghost stories. For NANOWRIMO I am working on my middle grade novel HAPPY MEDIUM (I should say I am writing it this month, been researching, note taking, character developing for a bit now).

So, each of my Marvelous Middle Grade Monday's for the month of November will highlight some of my favorite middle grade novels featuring...ghosts!

Starting off with Cornelia Funke's Ghost Hunter series. Quirky, silly, funny, imaginative and...spooky. Even includes a glossary of ghost hunter terms for different kinds of ghosts that is wonderful fun. Often you will find this in the chapter book section of bookstores but these are books I would put into the hands of kids as old as twelve because of the fun of ghost hunting and the crazy good characters and humour. A great quick read for them.

I love it when the dark and scary is mixed with laugh out loud funny. That's why I love these.

Here is the description from Good Read:

The last thing that Tom Tomsky wanted was a ghost in his house. For this nine-year-old klutz, life was already a mess; finding a spook in the cellar seemed like the final straw. Fortunately, Tom has family connections to world-renowned ghost hunter Hetty Camomile. With Hetty's help, Tom turns the tide on this untimely spirit intrusion.


And honestly? If you know someone you think would enjoy these, get the rest while you are at it! Here they are, all descriptions are from Good Reads.

Can Tom and the team “dampen the spirit”–permanently!–of a fiery phantom, or are they about to get burned? 
Boy hero Tom, Hugo the Averagely Spooky Ghost, and famed ghoul hunter Hetty Hyssop have formed an agency dedicated to dealing with difficult apparitions. No spook can defeat them–until their too close encounter with a Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost. 
This superheated specter (or “GILIG,” in ghosthunter-speak) has taken over the penthouse suite of a beachfront hotel, where it’s passing its eternal vacation by turning guests into ghosts themselves! 

Horrifying things are happening at Gloomsburg Castle. To begin with, the creepy place is crawling with Tiny Biting Ghosts (or “TIBIGs,” in official ghosthunter code). And now it appears as if the murderous spirit of a brutal Baroness has taken hold of the land-lady, infecting her with a killer case of hic–hic–hiccups!Of course Hugo the Averagely Spooky Ghost is instantly smitten with Her Hideous Highness, only to find out that love stinks! And it smells something awful, too. Looks like the time has come for Tom to put an end to the “foul” play and concoct a plan that will dispel this decaying royal for good. 

With the fate of the world resting on the outcome of his battle against the mud-dripping minotaur, Tom's final exam is one that is certain to test his combined knowledge in the field and, if he survives, rightfully earn him his Ghosthunting Diploma.

The following are more MMGM bloggers:

Joanne Fritz-My Brain on Books
Shannon Whitney Messenger-Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe 
Shannon O'Donnell-Book Dreaming
Myrna Foster-The Night Writer
Sherrie Petersen- Write About Now 
Natalie Aguirre-Literary Rambles
Brooke Favero-Somewhere in the Middle
Ally Beecher- Kid Lit Frenzy
Barbara Watson-Novel and Nouveau
Anita Laydon Miller-her middle grade blog
Michael G-G-Middle Grade Mafioso
Jessica Lei-her blog  
Pam Torres-So I'm Fifty
Akoss-Nye Louwon – My Spirit | a search for the writer in me
Andrea Mack-That's Another Story

NANO is all about the Spooky Creepy BOO's!

I am working on my middle grade novel HAPPY MEDIUM.


The research I have been doing includes watching shows like Paranormal Cops, Paranormal State,  Pyschic Kids. Researching people like The Fox Sisters. Wandering about and absorbing the feel and vibe of sites like TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) , A.G.H.O.S.T (Advanced Ghost Hunters of Seattle-Tacoma) and Paranormal Studies and Investigations Canada.

Sommer Leigh of Tell Great Stories is sharing some great pictures of abandoned places.  Inspiration all over the place. Including where I live. The hubby and I are renovating at old church. Huge lot, big trees. Next door is an very old white house-creeky and creepy when you walk by it at night.



I have an outline that I have worked out based on two different methods. Spent weekend working through the Plot Whisperer Series Part One and also have, on my ipad, the Save the Cat App. Just a way of thinking through and sinking into my story.


And of course I love THE BOOKSHELF for setting, mood, character traits, personalities--it is a must have. I've linked to the appropriate sections and added them to Scrivener (my writing tool of choice when I am on the computer and writing out a book.

Like Danika over on the Accidental Novelist I also have a notebook filled with notes and thoughts and stuffs related to HAPPY MEDIUM.



Feel like I am preparing the soil--filling it with nutrients and richness so I can grow the story. Two more days and it will be time to start planting one word at a time.

I am also doing this Be Champion. 

Happy Writing this November!

Getting Ready for NANO!

Elana Johnson has some gearing up thoughts. Particularly like her idea of have a buddy email group that shares daily word counts and last lines written!

YA Author Elana Johnson: How To Gear Up For NaNoWriMo:

And as I noted in a previous post, Danika Dinsmore (The Accidental Novelist) is taking the NANO plunge and inviting us to follow along on her blog. She has some great advice and thoughts up already.

Weekend Workout: PrepWork, NaNoWriMo, and an Invite to Join the Insanity « The Accidental Novelist (Writes Again)

And, of course, there is the National Novel Writing Month website itself!

National Novel Writing Month

MonsterFest 2011-Griffin (and another character possibility?)

I am so enjoying taking part in this MonsterFest hosted by Sommer Leigh at Tell Great Stories. And today I'm taking a quick look a The Griffin, a creature I have always been fascinated with. And have to say I am also reading Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone . Talk about taking a mythical creature (monster, maybe not so much depending on your point of view) and spinning it (and whole lot more) into a marvelous urban fantasy! Highly recommending this book to teens and adults who are fans of the genre. The characters, the setting---it all sucks you in.

AnyWHO! On to some quick Griffin facts and places you can go to hunt down more if you are so interested. As I read more about it and pulled myself away from the very little knew that made me think of them as a monster (half lion, half eagle--scary to the kid me) I realized there may be more to admire than fear.

-guard treasures
-mate for life
-not always a lion and eagle
-feed their young (with horses and, er, humans...okay, that's kind of scary)
-known to dig for gold (still working on researching why the interest in doing that)
-sometimes known to have the tale of a snake
-deadly enemy of the horse

I particularly like this from  Mythical Creatures Meanings & Fantasy Animals in World Traditions :

"The griffin is a symbol meaning one who refuses to be taken captive at all costs. The griffin is a mythical creature with a lion's body and the wings and head of an eagle. The griffin is a symbol of both dominion and destruction. In christian symbolism, Christ is compared to both the lion and the eagle. Thus, the griffin became a symbol of Christ, particularly used by Dante. In medieval scripture, however, the griffin symbolized the devil due to its purported ability to swoop down and carry off animals and humans. Eventually the griffin became a symbol of valor and magnanimity due to the inherent characteristics of the lion and the eagle. The griffin became an emblem of nobility and was depicted in the coat of arms of many noble families in Europe."


And even though I don't illustrate (I am more of a doodle and thinker...watching the following vid made me want to try and learn to draw the griffin as I think on him or her as a possible character in a future books.






Sources and more reading for you:

Griffin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medieval Bestiary : Griffin


Greek and Roman World Mythology: Mythical Creature Griffin

Happy Hunting!

Three Writing Reads and three GIVEAWAYS!

Each writer is different, as we know. Some use writing exercises, some don’t. I used to use them all the time, they kept the flow going for me and helped me develop ideas. Trying to get back into the habit. Find them very handy for taking advantage of bits of writing time here and there.

Weekend Workout: Handy Dandy Fallback Exercise « The Accidental Novelist (Writes Again)

Love this post that rounds up some writing devices you can and maybe already do use! Most excellent.

QueryTracker.net: Spice It Up!

And I am rounding this out with an interview with AJ Hartley. He wrote DARWEN ARKWRIGHT AND THE PEREGRINE PACT. Not only is he a TOTALLY cool person, reading him talking about the process of writing this book was great. He talks about finding his inner child, capturing and relaxing into a middle grade voice, going from being pantser to an outliner (and why). In other…most excellent. Go. read it!

Interview with A.J. Hartley | From the Mixed-Up Files...

And finally…I have a crazy number of giveaways going on right now, love for you to check out the books, the authors, the post…and enter to win, too!

Just Deb: Judith Graves Interview & GIVEAWAY of UNDER MY SKIN!

Just Deb: Spooktacular Giveaway Hop- Take your pick-Mary Downing Hahn

Just Deb: Marvelous Middle Grade Monday-Tuesdays at the Castle ARC Giveaway

Judith Graves Interview & GIVEAWAY of UNDER MY SKIN!

It's time for another Oh MG YA Canada and I am thrilled to have Judith Graves, author of the SKINNED series, on the blog. We have been planning this for a while now so very excited the time is here! And not only that, Judith is providing a giveaway of her first book UNDER MY SKIN (a fun, smart, scary, sassy read). 

Judith agreed to a some questions. I asked...she answered. Enjoy!

What has the publishing journey been like for you so far. Do you feel like a veteran now that your second book is coming out and the third is on the way (love the cover btw!)? 

It’s been a wicked ride. From six months pre-release of Under My Skin in March 2010 I’ve been immersed in publishing - either writing for the SKINNED series or other projects, blogging, or promoting fellow authors. While I feel I have a handle on certain aspects, I’m far from a veteran. There’s just so much to learn.

Second Skin was originally set to release October 31^st and has been pushed back to December 1^st. However, I do have a short story in Spirited: 13 Haunting Tales which DOES have an October 31^st release date and it’s perfect for this project – bestselling authors like Maria V. Snyder, Candace Havens, Shannon Delany, as well as wicked debuts. Three of the Spirited authors are from Alberta. YEAH! Myself, Dawn Dalton and Halli Dee Lilburn. Quite the honour for us to be on the author roster and promoting such a worthy cause. Proceeds of Spirited go to 826 National, a literacy-based charity.

Favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite? Anything major change now that you are writing to deadlines? More coffee in your diet?

My approach has definitely evolved. I’ve always been a plotter, but now I have specific plotting strategies, not just general jotting the plot down. I use bulletin boards, white boards and the storyboard feature in Scrivener to work through plots. I divide stories into acts, acts into scenes and characters into their related development arcs. Whoa…that sounds so anal and nerdy…lol…but the process of establishing all these factors is my way of eliminating plot threads, characters, and scenes that lessen the impact of the overall story.

Coffee…yes. Chocolate too. ;)

In my book club there are some keen readers (of course!), but also some keen writers. They range in age from 8 to 15. Do you have any advice for them?

Invest in a good pen and many coil notebooks. Keep handy at all times. Write every day - words, phrases, poems, lyrics, plot ideas, anything that rings true for you in some way. Read. Everything. Ignore anyone who tells you to only write what you know. That’s bunk. The trick is to tap into what you know or have experienced, sure, but dare to write what you dream.

And on the topic of book clubs. Any recent reads you'd recommend for middle graders and or teens? An all time favorite read from when you were a kid?

For MG and YA readers with a yen for dark and sarcastic, I’d recommend:

Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy

Monster Squad series by Laura Dover

Ghosthunters series by Cornelia Funke

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

And any titles from ANY authors who joined me this October for the Crossroads Blog Tour ........................................................>

All time fav read? 


Anne of Green Gables, of course. Anne is smart, sassy and a kick-ass female lead – she puts many characters written today to shame.

And of course when you aren't reading, you're writing-what's your writing space like? All spooky and howly, close to graveyards? Which leads me to wonder if you scare yourself when you write.  

I do collect Halloween decorations, pop culture horror figurines, etc. I’m a geek and proud of it – my Buffy figures are still in their packages. ;) Wherever my husband and I travel, I do drag him to old graveyards. There are some amazing ones in Quebec and eastern Canada (can’t beat tombstones from the 1700s for macabre beauty), however this summer we visited Europe and the medieval graveyards of France and Germany were to DIE for.

I’ve had the odd shiver go down my spine while writing a suspenseful scene, and, okay, maybe I only work on my laptop as long as my back is to a wall…hmmm….I guess I do freak myself out a smidge sometimes. That’s part of the fun. Bwahhahhaaa….

Thanks so much for having me, Deb!


It was my pleasure! Have fun on your Crossroads Tour and thanks for the giveaway~! 


Learn even more about Judith on her website.  More about her books here.

AND--the give away is for UNDER MY SKIN, the first in her Skinned series 

From Good Reads-All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life...

Redgrave had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets, missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief's son and Redgrave High's resident hottie, warns her the Delacroix are dangerous. But then so is Eryn--in fact, she's lethal.

But she can't help falling for one of the Delacroix boys, dark, brooding--human Alec. And then her world falls apart. A normal life? Now that's the real fairytale.



If you would like to win a copy of this book, comment by midnight MST October 31. Make sure I have a way to contact you please. US and Canada Only.

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop- Take your pick-Mary Downing Hahn

Thanks for stopping by in your Spooktacular Giveaway Hopping. I'm sharing one of my favorite middle grade authors with you. Once you are done here all you need to do is click on the icon

<<<<<< right there

and it will take you back to the original post and the massive (YAY!) list of blogs taking part!

Big thanks to I Am A Reader, Not a Writer & The Diary of a Book Worm for organizing this (and us!).

I love Mary Downing Hahn and have for many, many years. Dating back to 1986 when I was a newbie at doing school visits for the library, WAIT TILL HELEN COMES was one of my go to books for book talking. A few months ago I talked about that book, along with GHOSTS OF CRUTCHFIELD HALL in a previous Marvelous  Middle Grade Monday post.  Mary Downing Hahn weaves a darn good ghost story.

So! 

Take your pick of anyone of her ghost stories (or, honestly if another one of hers is high on your list to read, pick that) and I will send a copy your way if random org picks your name. All you need to do is comment and let me know which on you would like. Open internationally, until midnight MST Oct. 31, 2011

Happy Hopping..................BOO!  AND-here is another one for you to enter if you like-Interview and giveaway with Judith Graves author of UNDER MY SKIN. Judith's an author of YA paranormal with bite!