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5 Questions for Hillary Homzie

By on October 3, 2018   /   Articles, MUF Contributor Books  

Middle-grade author and MUF blogger Hillary Homzie celebrates the publication of her latest MG novel, APPLE PIE PROMISES (Sky Pony Press, October 2). Here, she chats with fellow MUF blogger Melissa Roske about the writing and researching process, haunted houses, and strawberry-rhubarb pie. 

1. Your latest MG, APPLE PIE PROMISES, is about Lily, a seventh grader who is sent to live with her father, stepmother, and half-sister while her mother is on an academic fellowship in Morocco. Where did you get the idea for the premise, and what kind of research did you do?

After I finished Pumpkin Spice Secrets, which was the first book in Sky Pony’s Swirl line, I discussed with my editor the possibility of writing about a seventh grader who must live with her new stepfamily after her mom earns a fellowship abroad. Immediately, I thought of having the mother travel to Morocco. My father’s family is from North Africa, and I knew it would be a wonderful opportunity for me to explore that part of the world. I scoured travel blogs and articles about Morocco. I asked friends who were going or had just come back from a trip there. I became an inveterate armchair traveler, falling in love with the sights and sounds of the country. I had so much fun having Lily’s mom write dispatches from Rabat, the gorgeous capital city, sitting along the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg. Oh, I really want to go! Of course, the main action takes place in the States, in Tacoma, Washington, but Lily (and the reader) will definitely learn a bit about Morocco, and especially Rabat.

I also spent time researching Tacoma. I’ve been to Tacoma and have spent time in the general Seattle area, which I love. However, I haven’t lived there, so I watched vlogs of Tacoma residents, as well as immersed myself in reading about the city through books and blogs. And yes, I fell in love all over again with the Northwest. I set my middle-grade novel Queen of Likes (Simon and Schuster/Aladdin MIX, 2016) in Portland, another quirky, cool, beautiful Northwestern city. Also, I found myself researching haunted houses. Not real ones, but the kind that students and the PTA assemble for school fairs. I’ve put together a few haunted houses in my day, but it was fun to read about different themes out there. In Apple Pie Promises, Lily works on a haunted house for the fall festival with her stepsister, as well as her crush. Let me tell you, I spent quite a few Google searches investigating zombie makeup and funny sayings and names on gravestones. You know, like Ben Better and Ann M. T. Grave. I love research assignments that make me giggle like a madwoman.

2. Baking is a huge part of this book, as Lily is an avid baker. She even Skypes with her mom while she’s baking. Are you a keen baker? If so, what is your favorite dessert to bake, and why?

True confession. I’m not a baker, but I love pies (strawberry rhubarb and tart apple pies are my favorite), so I had to read about pie baking, watch videos and cajole a friend who is actually a gifted baker to tutor me (it was so terrible. I was forced to sample pies. Ah, such cruel hard work). The hardest part is undoubtedly the crust, and my friend taught me a few tricks, which I attempted to repeat. My son filmed my tutorials and I plan to post some of it online (even the fails) to help non-bakers like me get over their baking phobia.

3. Pranks weigh heavily in APPLE PIE PROMISES. What is the silliest/craziest prank you’ve ever pulled? 

I’ve done quite a few pranks, from kidnapping stuffed animals to tying strings to closet doors, but probably the silliest happened in college. I was living in the French House (La Maison Française, at University of Virgina), and a friend purchased une crotte—basically, a piece of brown plastic that looked remarkably like a turd.  We’d drop it on the bathroom floor and then wait to hear a piercing cry, and cursing in French. It gave a whole new meaning to “Pardon my French.”

4. Do you have a specific writing routine? If so, can you tell us about it? 

Well, my writing routine first involves non-writing. Getting up. Feeding the dog. Feeding the child. Packing the child’s lunch. Walking for about 40 minutes up and down a steep hill with my husband, who is disciplined about these things. This is lucky for me, because I’m lazy and would much rather stay in bed and read. Then I check email and see what’s going on with the news (which can be dangerous since there’s a lot going on, so if I’m strategic I don’t do this, but I’m not often strategic). But somewhere around 10:00 a.m., I do start writing. And then take a break around lunchtime. Then write some more. Of course, not every day is writing. But I feel much better about my life if I can get a couple of hours in or more. Oh, and I do take social media breaks and scan to see what’s going on with my writing friends. In truth, I’m most productive when I’m on a tight deadline, and I’ve had some crazy deadlines. When a deadline looms large, I don’t even need to use Freedom (which shuts off my internet access) in order to make my goals.

In a strange way, when life interrupts due to family obligations and other responsibilities, it only makes me hungrier to write when I do finally sit in front of my computer. And often literally hungry. I confess to liking snacks when I write. I’m trying to switch to drinking more tea though.

5. What advice would you give to aspiring writers? And how about to aspiring bakers?

Finish what you write. I can’t tell you how often I’ve gotten bogged down by the first three chapters—obsessively rewriting them. I would say just write on through to the end, and only after you’ve finally gotten your armature in place, then spend time fine-tuning. After all, you might have to throw away your opening—perhaps starting later or earlier. Also, be careful of overcomplicating things. I’m famous for over-plotting, and then having to scale it back to spend more time on characterization. For aspiring bakers, don’t be afraid to throw away your too buttery pie dough. It’s no different than for writers—throw away your darlings, if it will make a better book (or pie!).

HILLARY HOMZIE is the author of the upcoming Ellie May chapter-book series (Charlesbridge), as well as contemporary middle grade novels, including Apple Pie Promises and Pumpkin Spice Secrets (Sky Pony Press), and Queen of Likes, The Hot List and Things Are Gonna Get Ugly (Simon & Schuster/M!X). She is also the author of the humorous chapter book series, Alien Clones From Outer Space (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin). Hillary lives in California with her family, and teaches at the children’s writing MFA program at Hollins University. You can find out more about Hillary her  website and follow her on Twitter.

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Blast Off with Author Suzanne Slade and her new Space Book

By on October 3, 2018   /   Articles, Author Interviews, STEM  
I am so excited to be interviewing author Suzanne Slade about her new book

 

Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon (Peachtree Publishers)

 

           Powerful free verse and stunning illustrations tell the true story of the American effort to land the first man on the Moon. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would try to land a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. During the two thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine days following his speech, eighteen astronauts climbed into spaceships; three of them died before even leaving the ground. Eight rockets soared into space. And four hundred thousand people―engineers, technicians, scientists, mathematicians, and machinists―joined Project Apollo in hopes of making the dream a reality.
Award-winning author and mechanical engineer Suzanne Slade joins up with New York Times best-selling illustrator Thomas Gonzalez to tell the powerful story of the successes, failures, triumphs, tragedies, and lessons from Apollos 1 through 10 that led to the first Moon landing.

 

Junior Library Guild Selection
Starred Review Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal

 

Thanks so much for joining us, Suzanne.

 

  What first drew you to this story? Why did you feel it needed to be told? 

 

The Apollo moon missions are of great personal interest to me — probably because I have a mechanical engineering degree and worked on rockets in an earlier career.
I decided to write COUNTDOWN: 2979 DAYS TO THE MOON because I wanted to convey the struggles, successes, and surprises of the early Apollo missions that led to the first moon landing. The book covers the details of 2979 incredible days: from President Kennedy’s announcement that America should land on the moon (May 25, 1961), to Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon (July 20, 1969.) 

 

COUNTDOWN shares notable events including Apollo 1’s deadly fire and Apollo 8’s first glimpse of the far side of the moon, as well as lesser-known details such as why Apollo 7 staged a mutiny and refused to wear helmets, and how Jim Lovell made chocolate pudding in space.  

 

Is there a reason why you think this story is so pertinent now?

 

The 50th anniversary of the first moon landing is approaching soon — July 2019. I hope this true story of courage, ingenuity, and perseverance inspires readers as they join in the celebration.
Although the Apollo missions were decades ago, their discoveries are still relevant today and important for our future.
These missions helped us to learn about the moon (it’s history, geography, how it was formed, etc.), and they continue to help scientists today learn about space, space travel, Earth, other planets, and much more. 
(Fyi – Check out the Air and Space Museum’s   “Top Ten” Apollo discoveries  list. #2 is my favorite.)

 

 I understand that it took you 8 years to complete all of the research for this book. Can you speak to how you felt during that time?

 

With any nonfiction project, I expect the research to be comprehensive and time-consuming. Since COUNTDOWN is a middle grade (I usually write picture books) about a technical topic, the research was particularly tedious and intense.
My engineering degree, and experiences at McDonnell Douglas Space Systems working on rockets for NASA, provided a technical background which helped me understand the basics of the Apollo spacecraft (Saturn V rocket, command module, service module, lunar module), but I still had a  lot  to learn. 

 

To your question, during my research for the book I felt inspired, discouraged, curious, frustrated, overwhelmed, exhilarated, and many other things. But the overriding emotion was excitement. It was thrilling to delve into the details of this amazing time and discover fascinating facts about the missions and astronauts that I’d never heard before. It was especially rewarding to write this amazing story for curious readers. I think they’ll be blown away by the astounding Apollo missions.

 

Can you give a few insights into how you found your sources?  

 

 
Of course, I focused on primary sources — NASA transcripts*,  Apollo photo archives, NASA websites, and astronaut biographies. 
Email inquiries to astronauts resulted in interviews with Alan Bean (4th man on the moon) and correspondence with astronaut Walt Cunningham.  I was unable to find contact info. for some astronauts, and  a few didn’t reply to my emails . But I was very grateful for the many reliable sources I found, and to the experts who enthusiastically helped with the accuracy of the project.
[*NASA Transcripts are public domain. Discussions between astronauts in flight and mission control are found in the   Apollo Flight Journal.  Dialogue after landing on the moon is in the  Apollo Lunar Surface Journal .]
 
I also visited museums where I studied Apollo spacecraft and space suits first-hand.  After the manuscript was complete, I asked several experts to vet the story. Thankfully, Dr. Dave Williams (PhD from NASA), and three others lent their expertise to the project.  My “Sources Doc,” which contains all the sources for the facts in the story, ended up 51 pages long.
 

 

This book is in verse. Do you write all of your books in verse? And if not, why did you choose to do that for this one?

 

Only a few of my books are in verse.  Actually, I didn’t choose this format for COUNTDOWN, the story did. 
Here’s how it happened. After years of research it was finally time to start writing, so I sat down to pen Chapter 1. To my surprise, the words came out in short, energetic lines. The text felt powerful, tense, and urgent, just like the events they described. So I kept writing in free verse. With some books, it seems the story knows how it wants to be told and the author has to go with it.

 

 Do you have a particular passion for writing STEAM/STEM books? 

 

 
Science and math were my favorite subjects all through school. In my free time now, I find myself reading about new science discoveries, watching science documentaries, or asking my son about his latest research projects, so science seems to be one of my favorite topics to write about.
 

 

Why do you think young readers would find this book interesting? Important?

 

It’s been nearly 50 years since the first moon landing. This incredible event is often summarized in history books  with a few lines or paragraphs   that discuss the Apollo 11 landing and Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon. 

I think readers will be fascinated to discover more about the details and determination it took to get to the moon. The accomplishment of the  Apollo team, who made countless sacrifices to put the first human on the moon,  is nothing short of a miracle!

I hope COUNTDOWN allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of the the inspiring 2979 days that led to the moon landing. Also, Thomas Gonzales’ illustrations are simply stunning!  His glorious art is detailed, powerful, and emotional — just like the missions.

 

 COUNTDOWN recently released on Sept. 1. How has the book been received?

 

 
COUNTDOWN is a 2018 Junior Library Guild Selection, and has received Starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. I was invited to present the book at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC (which happened to be the day it released,) so that was exciting. 
​
 

 

 Any new works on the horizon that you can discuss? 

 

I have two more “space” picture books releasing March 2019, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing:   A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon  (Little, Brown) and  Daring Dozen: The Twelve Who Walked on the Moon (Charlesbridge).

 

Those books sound fabulous, too. Congratulations on all your successes!
Suzanne is generously offering to giveaway a  COUNTDOWN book mark which contains an authentic moon rock!! To take advantage of this amazing opportunity, please leave a comment below.
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We’re talking nonfiction with a librarian!

By on September 24, 2018   /   Articles, Curriculum Tie-in, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Nonfiction, STEM  

As an author of primarily nonfiction, I thought it would be interesting to interview a librarian about all-things nonfiction for middle grade readers.

Rachel Stewart, the children’s services librarian for the Maumee (Ohio) Branch of the Toledo Lucas County Library was kind enough to answer questions I had about the topic from her perspective. Rachel has been with the TLCPL for five years. Her background is in elementary education, taught in traditional as well as a Montessori school, where she also served as an administrator. As you would expect, she is an active reader, enjoying various genres and subjects

As a children’s librarian, what nonfiction titles/subjects do you find appeal to middle grade readers the most? Middle grade readers are drawn to books about making and doing. When filling our new nonfiction displays, I notice that books related to STEAM subjects go fast, especially those that involve LEGO building or crafts. The DK book series is a constantly popular one. It is so popular that we have a designated, ongoing display of those books for customers to browse. This tells me that kids have a natural curiosity about a wide variety of topics and enjoy the graphic layout and photographs within these books.

I know that in our library system, the biographies for children, from PB to YA are shelved with biographies for adult readers. Does this lessen the exposure to young readers? (As opposed to shelving them in with children’s books?) We keep a constant display of the “Who Was/is…?” series, which has been very useful to parents and children alike. We often do temporary displays of PB bios and are currently doing a long-term display of YA/adult bios. Most often, when a child asks about bios, it is about a specific person and we can point them in the right direction (if such a book exists). We frequently do juvenile nonfiction displays on a wide variety of topics and usually include bios. There are pros and cons to interfiling, however, a major positive is that interfiling encourages young readers to choose books that they may not be exposed to in the juvenile section. Interfiling also allows adults with a lower reading level to feel comfortable browsing for books on a topic of interest.

Do you find that MG readers are borrowing nonfiction titles simply out of curiosity or because of school assignments? I believe that MGs are borrowing for both reasons. The NF displays that we keep up are heavily trafficked and browsed. I will often recommend narrative NF to reluctant NF readers just to open that door.

Does the library do much programming in nonfiction for middle grade readers? Nonfiction programming is a priority within the Toledo Lucas County Public Library system. At Maumee we have a popular programming series for grades 1-8 called “No School? No Problem!” that is focused on STEAM activities and scheduled when the local schools are off. When presenting those programs, we always include a large selection of related books for attendees to browse.

Do you have any amusing experiences with middle grade readers relating to nonfiction topics you care to share? I enjoy loading a child up with books on a favorite topic. I witness visible excitement and anticipation as if taking that stack home will be like opening a gift. 

 I also happen to have an 11-year-old that is a voracious reader of both fiction and nonfiction. He is spoiled by new books almost daily and I love when he asks what I brought for him. He is a fan of the Nat Geo and Guinness Books about world records and amazing facts. I am amused when he feels the need to share (at rapid-fire pace) interesting trivia from those books while I am driving or getting ready for work in the morning.

What are some of your favorite middle grade nonfiction titles? I have a love of cookbooks and am thrilled whenever we get new juvenile titles. Cooking encompasses so many practical life skills and supports emotional well-being. I believe learning to cook and bake should be a core part of childhood.

Thank you Rachel for your time and input!

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