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Interview with Kristin Daly Rens, Executive Editor at Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins

By on November 30, 2018   /   Articles, Editor / Agent Spotlight, Publishing & Promotion, Writing  

Hello Mixed-Up Filers!

We are in for a treat today! We have with us, Executive Editor from Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins, Kristin Daly Rens!

I met Kristin years ago, and I can honestly say that she’s one of the nicest people.  So, if you don’t know her, sit back, relax, and get to know her now!

JR: Hi Kristin, thanks for joining us today!

KDR: I’m so happy to be here—thanks so much for asking!

JR: To start, could you tell us a little bit about your path to becoming an editor in children’s books?

KDR: Sure! My path was a bit roundabout, while also somehow feeling predestined, in a way. I’ve always been a reader, but my interest in publishing as a career really began my freshman year of high school, when I got a job shelving books in my local public library. Nobody else ever wanted to shelve in the children’s room, for one simple reason—skinnier books meant more books per cart, and thus more work—but I found myself drawn there. I loved to flip through the picture books as I shelved…I definitely spent a lot of time hidden in the stacks reading when I should have been shelving! Once I got to college, though, I found myself sidetracked by a love of German literature, so after graduation I actually moved to Germany for several months to learn the language, and then came back to get my Master’s in Comparative Literature. But children’s publishing kept calling to me, and every time I was in a bookstore I always seemed to wind up browsing the children’s section—looking back, I think part of me knew even then that I would “grow up” to work in children’s publishing.

 

JR: Getting to live overseas for any amount of time is an amazing experience. We share that in common. What was the first book you worked on?

KDR: Oh gosh, let’s see, the first books I ever had a hand in editing were two Golden Books Road to Reading titles—the first was Shred It Up! by Craig Carey, a nonfiction book about snowboarding, tied to the Winter Olympics, and the second was Beans Baker, Number Five, by Richard Torrey, which I co-edited with my boss at the time—I actually went on to work with Rich on three picture books after I moved to Harper. The first books I ever acquired on my own were at Harper—an I Can Read Book called The Just-So Woman by Gary Blackwood, and a picture book called My Mom is a Firefighter by Lois Grambling. Both were illustrated—in very different styles!—by Jane Manning, a wonderful, versatile artist who I’ve worked with a number of times over the last fifteen years or so.

JR: That book looks really cute! How did you land at Harper Collins?

KDR: Through luck and the kindness of others, really! Shortly after Golden Books was acquired by Random House, one of my bosses—the editorial director for the Road to Reading line—decided to leave the business side of publishing to write full time. As she was making her phone calls to authors and agents to let them know, she happened to talk to an agent who mentioned that Harper was looking for an associate editor to work on I Can Read Books and picture books—my boss recommended me to the agent, the agent passed it along, and here I am, almost seventeen years later, still at Harper! Though my job has changed a good deal over the years—I now acquire and edit for the Balzer + Bray imprint, and work primarily on YA and middle-grade novels, with a smattering of picture books.

JR: What’s changed in publishing between the time you started and now?

KDR: Everything and nothing! The most obvious change has been the advent of ebooks, which didn’t even exist in 1999 when I got my first job in publishing. And on a related note, there’s no more lugging around of big stacks of novel submissions, as agents now submit projects via email, and most editors read them electronically. There’s also the importance of social media for networking and promotion—both for authors and publishers.

 

JR: What do you enjoy the most about your job?

KDR: There are so many things that I adore about this job—from brainstorming with authors, to collaborating with designers on cover visions, to offering ideas and suggestions to an author that may open up the possibilities of their story or the world they’ve created and help them to see their manuscript in a new and exciting way. Hands down, though, my favorite part of the job is the fact that on any day I could fall in love with a new manuscript and get the chance to work with the author and help them build a career doing what THEY love.

 

JR: What sort of books do you look for?

KDR: B+B is all about publishing bold, creative, groundbreaking books with fresh voices—so that’s always the first thing I’m looking for in a project. Even if a story addresses a universal theme that’s been written about before, we always want to make sure that the project is adding to the conversation in a new way. Genre-wise, I read a little bit of everything so my editorial tastes are also pretty broad—but what really draws me into a story, no matter the genre, are character and heart. In terms of middle grade in particular, there’s so much I love—great magical realism, classic-feeling fantasy or adventure, humorous middle grade stories along the lines of Andrew Clements (I adore Frindle!).  More than anything else, though, I’m an absolute sucker for a heartfelt middle-grade friendship or family story that tugs at my heartstrings.

JR: Are you very hands-on with your authors?

KDR: Yes! I’m sure some of them would say too much so, haha! I work very closely with my authors on revisions for their books—I usually take each manuscript through several rounds of edits with the author, with the edits going in order from large (character, plot, pacing, voice, world-building) to small (word choice, fixing grammar, etc) before we’re ready to send the ms to copy editing. Once the manuscript is off to copy editing, I remain very involved—as do most editors—working with our cover designers, marketing directors, and publicists on every stage of the publishing process.

 

JR: What’s going on in Middle Grade?

KDR: It feels like an exciting time for middle grade! It’s one of the categories that has been experiencing the most growth over the last couple of years, and as a result more agents and editors seem to be looking for great middle-grade manuscripts. Personally, I especially love the fact that these past few years seem to have seen a surge in interest in the kinds of standalone, heartfelt friendship and family stories that are my favorite types of books for this age group.

 

JR: What advice can you give to authors?

KDR: Don’t worry about what is trendy—write what interests YOU. So often at conferences, etc, editors and agents get asked what the current trends are in children’s and teen books, but the truth of the matter is that the best way to make someone—whether that someone is an agent, editor, or reader—care about your book is if the author is writing something they believe in and care about themselves. When an author is passionate about what he or she is writing about, readers can see that passion on the page—and it makes them fall in love with that story as well.

JR: That’s great advice, because I do still see people chasing trends. What books do you have coming up that you’re excited about?

KDR: Well, that’s not really a fair question at all! Editors are excited about all their books—after all, this is a business driven by passion for reading. But here are a couple by new (or new to me) authors I’m excited to be working with:

  • NOCTURNA is the first book in an own voices YA fantasy series by debut author Maya Motayne. Set in a Latinx-inspired kingdom, it’s the story of two very different characters—Finn, who possesses magic that allows her to change her face at will, which comes in handy, since she’s also a talented thief. And Alfie, the kingdom’s crown prince, who’s obsessed with finding a way to bring back his murdered brother, even if it means dabbling in forbidden magic. When Alfie unwittingly unleashes a terrible, ancient power, the two must race to fix his mistake before it leads to the destruction of everything & everyone they love. The world here is so richly, vividly drawn—it positively crackles with life, as do Finn and Alfie themselves! And there’s a magical card game that is one of the most fun scenes I’ve ever read in YA fantasy.
  • SUMMER OF A THOUSAND PIES by Margaret Dilloway is a middle-grade story about a girl who is sent to live with an aunt she’s never met in a quaint mountain town—and, when she learns her aunt’s pie shop is failing, she decides to do everything she can to save the first real home she’s ever known. This book is heartfelt, and moving, and unexpectedly funny in spots—and also includes lots and lots of PIE (with recipes at the back of the book!). Every time I read it, I just want to hug it to my chest, I adore it so much.

 

JR: Those both sound great! Can’t wait to read! What was your favorite book as a child?

KDR: I had so many! Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, the Trixie Belden mysteries, the Chronicles of Prydain—but my FAVORITE favorite books were the Chronicles of Narnia. I was one of those kids who spent half their childhoods knocking on the back wall of every closet in the house, looking for a door to another world.

JR: The Narnia books were among my favorites, as well. I was living overseas when I first read them, and also tried to find a way to another place. And speaking of childhood, before we go, I have one last question. What’s one thing from your childhood that you wish could make a comeback?

KDR: Well, I wouldn’t say no to an amazing YA paranormal romance—while there was definitely a glut in the couple of years after Twilight hit, it’s been a few years now and every once in a while I find myself longing for a great paranormal read. On the flip side, with the current craze for remakes of classic TV shows and movies, there are also a lot of things that I don’t want to come back, or at least don’t want them to be remade. In particular, if anyone ever considers a remake of The Goonies, they’re dead to me—why try to remake perfection?!

JR: Amen to that!

 

Kristin, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today and I hope you have a very Happy Holiday and New Year!

 

You can find Kristin at: 

Twitter and Instagram: 

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Interview with Michele Weber Hurwitz, author of ETHAN MARCUS MAKES HIS MARK!

By on November 29, 2018   /   Articles, Author Interviews, Writing  

Hello Mixed Up Filers!

Have I got a treat for you!

Today, I’m pleased to be joined by a former long-time Mixed-Up Files member, Michele Weber Hurwitz, whose book, Ethan Marcus Makes his Mark, came out this week from Aladdin.

JR: Hi, Michele and thanks for joining us today.

MWH: I’m happy to be back for a visit! I’ve missed you all.

 

JR: Before we begin, can you tell us a little bit about Ethan Marcus Makes his Mark?

MWH: Siblings Ethan and Erin Marcus are invited to attend a prestigious invention camp during winter break of 7th grade. The camp is run by the enigmatic, mysterious tech-entrepreneur sensation, Zak Canzeri, known to the world as Z. Fidgety Ethan wants to finally create a working desk-evator (a device to allow kids to stand at their classroom desks), which he flubbed at his school’s Invention Day, and perfectionist Erin wants to beat her archenemy Marlon Romanov, who’s also invited. Marlon thinks girls aren’t as good as boys at science. But at the camp, both Ethan and Erin question their abilities against a roomful of geniuses. On the last day, they team up with two new friends and think of a spectacular invention – if there’s enough time to create it and present to the judges.

JR: This is a sequel to last year’s highly entertaining Ethan Marcus Stands Up. Did you already have the idea for a sequel, or was this something that happened after the first book came out?

MWH: I worked on the first Ethan book for three years. I kept narrating the story solely in Ethan’s voice and it just wasn’t right, draft after draft. In the eleventh draft, I switched the narration to five different alternating viewpoints and it all came together, then sold quickly to Simon & Schuster/Aladdin. I felt there was more to the story, and asked my agent if we could pitch a second book. I wrote up a synopsis for a sequel, and the editor loved the idea. So the deal was made right from the outset for two books.

JR: That’s amazing! This story takes place in a camp, and I saw on your website that one of your favorite jobs was working as a counselor. I always loved my time working as a counselor, as well. Did you put any of your experiences in the book?

MWH: Not really, because I worked at a day camp in the summer, and this book takes place at a technology-invention camp inside a building during the winter. But I did research maker and invention camps and watch a lot of You Tube videos of them.

JR: Where did the idea for this series first come from?

MWH: I feel that so often, initial germs of ideas come from our kids, or kids we know, or things we experience in our daily lives. My son and several of his friends used to frequently complain about all the sitting they did in school. I listened to them, and couldn’t agree more. We’re seeing a lot of flexible seating now in classrooms, and hearing about the detriments of sitting too much during the day. But the spark of the idea came from a comment my son said while I was helping him review for a test. He needed to walk around our family room while I quizzed him. He told me that his “brain works better when I’m moving around.” I remember thinking, hmm…there’s a story there.

JR: Both books are done in multiple points of view. Was that fun or difficult?

MWH: I absolutely loved writing in multiple POVs. As I mentioned, I didn’t do that at first. But when I got into that rhythm, it felt like how kids talk in a group, or exchange comments on social media posts. It also made me realize how much people see situations and experiences from a different lens, and we need to appreciate that not everyone draws the same conclusions we do.

JR: You’re a multi-published author. How have you found the progression from book to book? Any easier or just as difficult each time?

MWH: Each book presents its own challenges. I thought it would get easier, but honestly, I can’t say that it has! Every time I’ve finished a book, I feel like I’ll never have the energy to write another one, and each time I get the revision notes from my editor, I don’t know how I’m going to possibly pull it all together.

JR: That sounds very familiar. What’s your writing process like?

MWH: I work at home, on my giant screen desktop computer. I’ve tried coffee shops but they’re too noisy and distracting. My office overlooks our tree filled backyard, and it’s only 23 steps to the kitchen pantry, so that can be detrimental at times. I usually write or revise most of the morning, then take a lunch break and walk, then put in a few more hours in the afternoon. As for my process, I think what’s worked for me is that I do a lot of thinking about a story before I start to write. I don’t outline but I have a beginning, middle, and end in mind. Not to mention pages and pages of notes on plot and character. Other than that, I talk to the walls a lot ?

JR: What was your favorite childhood book and who’s your favorite author?

MWH: I read “Island of the Blue Dolphins” by Scott O’Dell over and over. I think mostly, I was enthralled with the concept of living on an island without my annoying two younger brothers to bother me. Now, I’m enamored of Katherine Applegate. Her writing is absolutely brilliant in its simplicity and power.

JR: Something people would be surprised to learn about you?

MWH: I love candy. I mean, borderline obsession. And not Godiva, I’m talking Butterfinger, gummy bears, Caramel Creams, M&Ms. As such, I’ve developed a very specialized palate in the candy department. I’m actually able to tell the difference between pink and white Good ‘n Plentys. My kids think this is an amazing talent. They ask me to close my eyes, then they put one in my mouth, and 95 percent of the time, I can guess the color. It’s a unique gift.

JR: You’re going to have to post a video of you doing that! And btw, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are like Manna from Heaven. But getting back, what’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve received and is there any advice you can give to writers looking to break in?

MWH: I love the Survivor series on the Cynsations blog: http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/  Each post is an interview with a longtime, successful author, and I’m often surprised to find out they still receive rejections and go through ups and downs. I thought that once I published my first book, that was it, I was an “author” and had it made. That wasn’t the case. After my second book was published, I wrote a novel that my agent sent out and it didn’t get an offer. I did a rewrite and it still didn’t sell. It’s hard, I think, to separate out the craft of writing and the business of publishing – they’re very different animals, and it can be easy to compare yourself to others, who seem so successful on social media.

So I’ve learned to put my head down and do the work, to focus on the writing itself – not the reviews, the Goodreads posts, the Amazon ranking. I’ve also learned to accept that this is a long road with many bumps, no matter how many books you’ve published. And much of that road is out of your control, so do what you do best – write. Same advice for writers looking to break in – study craft and learn from books you love before you think about publishing.

 

JR: What are you working on next?

MWH: I just sold my fifth middle grade novel to Wendy Lamb Books at Penguin Random House. It takes place in a small lakeside Wisconsin town and will publish in May 2020.

JR: Congrats, that’s great! Is there anything that else you want to share with our readers or perhaps tell them how they can follow you on social media?

MWH: Visit my website at micheleweberhurwitz.com. I’m on Twitter @MicheleWHurwitz and Instagram @micheleweberhurwitz. Two other lessons I’ve learned is that walking is a great help to my writing. Like too much sitting in the classroom, when I get up and move, I’m invariably able to work out a trouble spot in a story. (My son knew what he was talking about.) And, don’t be afraid to take risks in your writing. I made the leap to multi POV narration with the Ethan books, and it made all the difference.

JR: When you were here, I always said, that you had been my favorite Mixed-Up Files member. Now, in 10,000 words or more, tell me why I’m your favorite.

Ha! I’ve always enjoyed your posts ?

JR: Well, you’re only around 9,995 words short, but according to the text messages I’m receiving from Dorian Cirrone, I’ve gone over my allotted time again, but I sincerely want to thank Michele Weber Hurwitz for agreeing to be interviewed, and best of luck with Ethan Marcus Makes his Mark!

Get Ethan Marcus over at: IndieBound

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What to Give this Holiday Season: The Hotel Between

By on November 28, 2018   /   Articles, Author Interviews  

It’s the holiday season, which means I get to pepper our readers more than usual with book recommendations AND introduce you to the authors! Yay!

Today’s pick is a lovely, lush novel by author Sean Easley: THE HOTEL BETWEEN.

HOTEL weaves the story of Cameron and Cassia, who have never known their parents. Cass thinks their father abandoned them, but Cameron is certain something happened to him. When Cam discovers THE HOTEL BETWEEN, where there are endless doors that open into countries all over the world, his instinct tells him his father’s story is there, in the hotel, and he’s determined to stay long enough to figure out what happened and find his father.

This story has magic and intrigue, international travel and fascinating people,  an intricate plot, and a dash of wry humor. (NOTE: Sean is a former Mixed-Up Files contributor.)

“In the end, people are just people no matter where they’re from and no matter what they look like. It’s how they treat one another that matters.”

One of the things I love about this blog is getting the chance to go behind the scenes with authors, being able to add to the depth and texture of great scenes by seeing them from the writer’s perspective. Here’s what Sean Easley had to say about writing THE HOTEL BETWEEN.

Author Interview: Sean Easley

The Origin Story

MUF: Of course as authors, when we love a book a lot, we always want to know the origin story. How did you come up with this world and with Cam and Cass, Agapios, Nico, Rahki, and everyone else?

SEAN: There were several factors that led to me writing this book, I think. Part of it came from growing up the son of a foreign language teacher and a world-class athlete—my sister and I were always meeting people from all over the world.

Then, one night I had a dream about a place that was a hodgepodge of halls and rooms from all over the world. The next morning I set aside another project I was working on at the time and went to work figuring out how a place like that would work. As for the characters: they’re largely the product of people and friends I’ve known over the years, all mashed up together with bits of myself

MUF: Is it okay to say I see echoes of HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE here? If so …. May I also say, I see so many lovely differences as well. Cam is desperate to unravel the mystery of his father’s disappearance and his mother’s death, so there is definitely a similar relationship theme. But there is also the best friends and chosen family theme with Nico, the moral relativity theme with when do you tell the truth to protect someone—and on that front, I found it much more sophisticated in many ways than HOWL’S. What are other themes in addition to these you hope readers will be affected by?

SEAN: Compared to the amazing Diana Wynne Jones? You flatter me too much, but I’ll take it!

When I started working on the book, I was enamored with this idea that magic—real magic—would be rooted more in the emotional/relational side of the world than in the physical. I didn’t want the kind of magic that plays out like a manipulation of the laws of physics, like fire and ice and all that. I wanted something that would be deeply, inextricably tied into the magic of who we are as human beings.

With that as a base, it just made sense to me that a magic that bonds and connects things together would also be used to bond people and families as well. Out of that came some really strong feelings of friendship and family—something that’s so very important at that age. The family we’re born with determines so much about who we are, and the family we choose determines who we are becoming.

The Magic of Best Friends

MUF: The moment when Cam and Nico bind each other as blood brothers—this was middle-grade perfect. I remember doing that with my BFF back in the day. Do you have a friendship that you modeled this relationship after?

SEAN: That part was one of my favorites when it happened during writing too. And it did just “happen”—when I was drafting I hadn’t originally planned for Nico to do that, and then all of the sudden he starts talking and the next thing I knew they were making up a contract.

I can’t point to any specific friend as the impetus for that scene in particular, but it’s always been a big thing for me to let important people in my life know that I’m not going to “drop” them. I’m typically a pretty intuitive judge of character, and when I find those folks that fit with me I want them to know.

But Nico himself does remind me a lot of a long-time friend who’s always brought a bit of trouble and mischief wherever he goes.

The Antagonist

MUF: The character of Stripe is delicious in ways I won’t reveal so as not to give spoilers. But I have to ask … did you have fun creating him?

SEAN: For sure. Interestingly, Stripe is a character that came out of a different dream way back when I was a kid. In the dream, I was with a bunch of friends when our bus broke down in the middle of nowhere. Of course back then few people had cell phones, so we had to walk somewhere to find a landline telephone. We ended up knocking at the door of this incredible mansion on a hill, where a man in a pinstriped suit and cane opened up. He kinda reminded me of Mr. Peppermint, if you ever saw that show. The man welcomed us into his mansion and said that of course we could use his telephone, but first he wanted to give us the grand tour of his home.

To say much more would be to give away big spoilers for the book, but it’s safe to say that the dream version of Mr. Stripe is very like the one who made it into the manuscript.

The Editing Process

MUF: What parts of the book stayed the same through the editing process?

SEAN: Is it a cop out to say “nothing”? That might be a little dramatic, but it feels that way.

The scene you mentioned above with Nico and Cam might be the only bit that stayed largely the same from the early drafts to the final copy. It’s the hinge-pin of the book for me, and even for the whole series (seeing as how my editor is working on book two with me right now). Aside from that, I think the Budapest scene stayed pretty close to the original, as well as the events at the Monastery, though there were some significant tweaks in both.

A fun tidbit: while working on early versions of this book, I was able to share the manuscript with a group of around fifteen middle school students who told me what they liked and what they didn’t. Kids that age are effusive in both their praise and their criticism, and a lot of how the book ended up is thanks to their brilliant input.

A Great Holiday Gift

MUF: Since I’m recommending this book as a holiday gift, can you tell us what about the book lends itself to the spirit of the season?

SEAN: The Hotel Between takes place over a holiday break from school. Cam even visits a Christmas market in Hungary, and there’s a pivotal scene that happens when New Year’s Eve becomes New Year’s Day.

Aside from that, there’s an undercurrent of togetherness in the book that I think really fits with the holiday season. Of family, and friends, and the important moments that bring us all together—and not just the people we know, but people from all over the globe. It’s all tied up in this idea that we’re all just people, living together across the world. We’re all the same in the ways that matter, and we all deserve to be cared for and connected to those we love.

MUF: What is your favorite part of the book?

I’d love to say it’s one of the poignant moments in the book, but it’s actually the scene at the Hotel pool. I had so much fun imagining what a pool-type area would look like with all the magic of the Hotel at their disposal, and every time I got to editing that piece of the story I ended up smiling.

Congratulations, Sean!

Sean Easley started writing in third grade because he was looking for adventure. He’s worked with kids and teens for well over a decade, listening to their stories, and somehow ended up with a Masters degree in education along the way. Now he’s a full-time writer living with his wife and son in Texas, where he stubbornly refuses to wear cowboy boots. Visit him at seaneasley.com and on Twitter and Instagram @AuthorEasley

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