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More Free Middle-grade Books – Happy MUFiversary, Part 2!

By on June 15, 2017   /   Giveaways  

Last week, as we blasted our way into a month-long MUFiversary to celebrate 7 years of the MUF blog, we gave you a chance to be one of seven different winners of an author-signed book . Well, this week brings another great opportunity for free middle-grade books. But this time, there’s a catch.

As middle-grade writers, all of us MUF folks have a special place in our hearts for middle-grade readers. And where is it easy to find a load of middle-grade readers? . . .

At school!

(Okay. I know this is bad timing. Most of our middle-grade readers are not at school right now. They’re busy sleeping-in and luxuriating in the early stages of summer vacation. But you get the idea.)

Anyway, over the past year, we’ve squirreled away a variety of new releases and Advanced Readers’ Copies (ARCs) of middle-grade books*. Now, we’re ready to do a giveaway of a whole bunch of those books to one lucky school!

*Major shout-out to Simon & Schuster and Candlewick Press for sending us copies of so many great books we can feature on MUF and use in giveaways!

Here’s the scoop:

>You can leave a comment on this post, nominating an elementary school or middle school to receive approximately a dozen new middle-grade books for its library. Just tell us the NAME OF THE SCHOOL and the CITY AND STATE where it’s located. By leaving a comment with this information, you’ve automatically given the school a chance to win.

>Then you can earn extra entries for the school by sharing about our giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can further improve the school’s odds of winning by having other parents, teachers, and friends nominate the same school.

>Next Wednesday, June 21st, 2017, we’ll randomly select the winning school and ship an assortment of middle-grade books to add to the school’s library! (The winning school will receive about half of the stash pictured above. The remaining books will be used in our final MUFiversary giveaway on Thursday, June 29th.)

The giveaway closes at midnight (ET) on Tuesday, June 20th. Be sure to check back next Thursday, June 22nd, for our next MUFiversary giveaway!

NOTE: Due to shipping costs, this week’s giveaway is only open to elementary schools and middle schools in the United States.

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Writing and Yoga

By on June 14, 2017   /   For Writers, Writing  

Last month, I took a one-night workshop on yoga and writing with middle grade author Jenny Meyerhoff. Jenny is an avid yogi and says her practice has helped immensely with her writing. I was intrigued (which is why I went) but I admit, also a little skeptical. Breathing and stretching? How could that help with my writing?

But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the concept! During the workshop, we did yoga poses and breathing exercises for stress relief, creativity, and focus. We also did some poses to relieve back strain from constant butts in chairs!

When I got home, I looked up ‘yoga and writing’ online and thousands of matches came up! I didn’t know this was a thing, but there are countless yoga retreats, classes, and groups specifically meant for writers.

The philosophy behind the connection makes great sense, actually — that the stillness and calm (hopefully) achieved during yoga can help writers quiet the noise and tune in to their inner clarity and thoughts. While in a yoga pose, breathing, or meditating, you concentrate on clearing away worries of what’s on your to-do list or the pile on your desk, allowing your mind to be open to ideas and inspiration. This is essential for the dig-deep kind of writing, where you’re truly “in” the work.

There are many times I’ve shoved my overfilled calendar into a drawer and put my phone on silent, yet I still find my mind drifting to those nagging little tasks while I’m writing. Since the workshop, I’ve been trying to practice yoga breathing when that happens, and I’ve found it does help bring me back to the work.

Another benefit and connection between yoga and writing is learning to take things at your own pace. And not compare! In yoga, it’s not important what the person next to you is doing (even if it’s the most amazing eagle pose you’ve ever seen), you just focus on what you can do.  Same goes for writing. When you compare yourself to another (undoubtedly more successful) writer, we all know that never turns out well.

Yoga also can help writers learn to move on when a manuscript needs to be put aside or doesn’t sell, as the practice teaches acceptance.

Yoga also perfects your posture, increases your blood flow, and improves balance. On top of all that, it boosts creativity! Hard to argue with those benefits for us writerly people who often sit for hours, wracking our brains and wrecking our backs 🙂

I plan to incorporate yoga into my writing this summer, and I’m excited to see what happens. Wish me luck. Namaste!

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Interview with Author Mike Lowery — and a Giveway of a set of Doodle Adventure Books!

By on June 12, 2017   /   Author Interviews, Book Lists, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, New Releases  

I’m so excited to welcome the awesome Mike Lowery to the MUF blog today!

He is celebrating the release of his new book:

The Rise of the Rusty Robo-Cat! by Workman Publishing.

A little bit about the book: Carl the Duck is back and needs help on the very important mission of discovering why the cats around town are acting like jerks. Can you track them down and break the spell they are under? (And maybe draw a space vampire along the way?)    Each page combines hand-lettered text, delightful illustrations, plus prompts and plenty of space for the reader’s own contributions. The book is sturdy paper over board with high-quality cream paper that’s a pleasure to draw on. Kids will love using their imaginations to complete the story, then reading it over and over again.

“Perfect for a summer birthday gift, a travel distraction, or for gathering out on the porch and enjoying a warm evening together.” — Geek Dad

Thanks for joining us today, Mike! Here are a few questions for you

Why do you write graphic novels/illustrated stories for middle grade readers?

I really got into comics and reading when I was around 9.  Later, when I was given the chance to pitch my own ideas for books, I tried to make something that 9-14 year old me would’ve loved.  Also, I like making jokes about pizza and pirates and slugs and silly stuff.

What comes first—the art idea or the book idea? 

All of my projects are usually based on something that I came up with in my sketchbook, so I guess I’d say art idea comes first.

You seem to love random facts—why is that? Why do you think these appeal to kids? 

We used to take a LOT of road trips when I was a kid.  My dad would get audio books on tape, and we’d listen to lots of stand up comedy…and sometimes we would listen to non-fiction interesting facts books.    You could say I started collecting weird facts at a very young age, and never really stopped.  So, it made sense years later to start drawing some of the stuff that I found particularly interesting.

How long does it take you to do the illustrations for a book?

It really depends on the book.  For some stuff it might be just a few months, but the random facts book that I’m working on has taken almost two years!

Where do you come up with your wacky and fun characters? 

Every morning,  before I start drawing for projects that I’m working on, I spend some time just making doodles and sketches in my sketchbook.  Sometimes these doodles turn into funny looking characters and I develop them to have personalities that might be funny in a book.

Why did you decide to invite kids to write in your book?

Again, I wanted something that I would’ve liked as a kid.  I loved drawing, but I didn’t always know what to draw.  I wanted a book for kids that needed a little push to help with drawing, and I’ve gotten to see some really crazy and awesome ideas from the folks who have been filling out the books.

Do you have a  favorite of all of your books?

That’s tough.  I’ll say I’ve had a lot of fun drawing the Doodle Adventures series because I get to draw a grumpy duck named Carl.

Can you give us a hint about the next book you are working on?

Yes!  But just a little hint.  One book is a collection of drawings of random facts, one is about an evil character (who turns out to be not-so-evil).

That sounds really cool! Thanks for being with us today, Mike.

If you want to learn more, please check out this information :

Mike Lowery is the creator of the Doodle Adventures series and The Kid’s Awesome Activity Calendar. He lives with his wife and daughter in Atlanta, GA. Mike shares daily sketches on Instagram @mikelowerystudio. Find out more about him and his work at www.mikelowery.com.

Workman Publishing is offering a FREE SET of Doodle Adventure Series books!

Just leave a comment below to be entered.

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