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The Secret Dead Club: Interview with Author Karen Strong

By on August 23, 2024   /   Articles, Author Interviews  

I recently got on a scary-story kick and am eating up all the horror books I can find—especially ghost stories. The Secret Dead Club by Karen Strong was a fun one as you jump right into the terror.

About the Book

Hi Karen! Super fun book (I ended up reading the whole thing in one day because I couldn’t put it down!). Can you give us a short summary about The Secret Dead Club?  

After a perilous encounter with a wicked ghost leaves Wednesday Thomas shaken and terrified, she decides to ignore the dead. Never mind that she and her mother have moved back to Alton, Georgia, and into the haunted Victorian house where her mother grew up. Wednesday swore she’d stop talking to the dead, but at her new school, she receives an invitation to be the medium of a secret club and learns there’s a lot more going on with the ghosts in Alton and the girls who can see them.

When another malevolent ghost threatens to harm Wednesday, it will take the help of new friends both living and dead banish the evil being to the spirit realm where it belongs.

 

Did you have any particular type of reader in mind when you wrote it?

I think this book will be perfect for readers who like a mix of spooky moments and heartfelt relationships.

About the Author

Karen Strong is the critically acclaimed author of middle grade novels Just South of Home, Eden’s Everdark, and The Secret Dead Club. She is also a Star Wars contributor featured in Stories of Jedi and Sith, and the editor of the young adult anthology Cool. Awkward. Black. Her work has been praised by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal and has also received recognition as a CYBILS award finalist, Ignyte award finalist, BCCB Blue Ribbon, and Junior Library Guild Gold Selection. Born and raised in Georgia, Karen is an avid lover of strong coffee, yellow flowers, and night skies.

 

So Karen, what is your connection to the supernatural?

I’ve always grown up around ghost stories so that kind of storytelling has always been a part of me. In the American South, ghosts play a major part in the culture.

 

What is something from your childhood that you snuck into the book?

The setting of The Secret Dead Club is based on my hometown, so there’s plenty of inspiration from actual landmarks.

 

What was your favorite scary book growing up?

When I was a kid, I read a lot of Stephen King, so that was my introduction to horror. One of my favorite horror books for kids is Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. This book also plays an important role in The Secret Dead Club.

 

Ah yes. Neat how you were able to work that in. What was/is your favorite scary movie?

The movie that has left the most lasting imprint on me is Aliens. Ripley’s character was so inspiring because she was brave, and the aliens were also very scary.

 

Do you share any personality traits with Wednesday?

Wednesday has to start over at a new school in seventh grade, so she has to figure out the best way to make friends. I was in the same situation in seventh grade, so I shared some of Wednesday’s anxieties.

 

Research/Writing

What was your original spark for The Secret Dead Club?

I’ve always wanted to write a book about friendship, but since I write in the horror genre, I also knew that I would incorporate spooky elements into the story. I was inspired by the Baby-Sitter’s Club Netflix series as well as the Pixar film Turning Red, so I wanted to focus on a group of girls with very different personalities and how they would come together for a common cause.

 

There were different types of ghosts in your book with particular rules they adhere to. Is any of this based on research?

Since I’ve written other novels with ghosts, some of the previous research helped me determine what kinds of ghosts would be in The Secret Dead Club. However the ghosts in this book to have simple rules and common names because I wanted the focus to be on the girls and their friendships.

 

What kinds of research did you do for the book? Did anything you discovered steer you in a new direction for the book?

I did some research on the Victorian houses in my hometown, which mainly focused on their architecture and history. But one of the things that came after the first draft of The Secret Dead Club was the concept of the “Callahan House” vignettes, which are scenes that take place outside of Wednesday’s point of view. My editor and I discussed how these could play a role of showing the haunted house at different times featuring some of the supporting characters in the story. One of these vignettes also plays a major role in the climax of the book. I’m pleased at how these scenes turned out as they were not originally a part of the story.

 

Can you share any tips for writing scary/horror books?

I have a spooky scene workshop that I teach to young writers and one of the tips I share is that a writer can elevate the horror and suspense by letting the reader’s imagination fill in the blanks. By staying in the moment of terror and having the character react to what is not yet seen but anticipated lets the reader’s imagination go to scarier places than the writer could ever imagine.

 

How can we learn more about you?

My website, www.karen-strong.com, is the best place to find about upcoming events and new books. I’m also on Instagram @karenmusings.

 

Thanks for your time, Karen!

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Join the Mixed Up Files — We are looking for a few good bloggers!

By on August 16, 2024   /   Articles  
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From the Mixed Up Files

Hello to all of our amazing subscribers, readers, and fellow middle-grade children’s book enthusiasts!

THANK YOU for helping us to achieve:

#3 on the 100 Best Middle Grade Book Blogs and Websites in 2024 on Feedspot

https://books.feedspot.com/middle_grade_book_blogs/

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A few fun facts:

The Mixed-Up Files blog has been running continuously for 12 YEARS, since 2012

During that time we have had almost 1.2 MILLION views

Our average views per month run between 6,000 and 10,000 

We are constantly contacted by many trade publishers who request interviews for their authors

 

Our posts include:

  • Author interviews  of exciting new trade and educational middle grade books (both fiction and nonfiction)
  • A weekly STEM Tuesday blog that provides writing tips, activities, and focus on STEM/STEAM books
  • A fabulous We Need Diverse Middle Grade (WNDMG) monthly post
  • Editor and agent interviews
  • Writing tips
  • Book lists
  • Giveaways and MORE!

 

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We are looking for NEW BLOGGERS! This opportunity is open to authors, writers, teachers, librarians, or anyone who is excited about trade middle grade books. If you love talking about middle grade books,  giving tips to authors, want to support the We Need Diverse Middle Grade team, or interview awesome agents and editors, WE NEED YOU!

Our bloggers are eligible to have their books highlighted in a new release post,  a cover reveal, and even an interview post. And every post you write will be seen by thousands of people, too.

 

To Apply, please fill out the Google form Here –>  https://forms.gle/hfZDPLBm1t8V2naKA

 

Let’s keep this blog going by continuing to shine the spotlight on everything that’s AWESOME about Middle Grade! A focus like this is needed more than ever!!

For any questions, please contact us below.

 

We LOVE Middle Grade Books!!! Pile of Middle Grade Books

 

 

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The Power of Middle Grade Memoir: Four Great Examples

By on August 12, 2024   /   Articles, Book Lists, Nonfiction  

Right now, I’m truly excited about memoir in middle grade. Authors look back at their past and often focus on a particularly challenging event that greatly affected them during their elementary school or middle school years. This could be a move from one country to another or it could be dealing with a chronic disease. Other authors chronicle something more everyday, such as getting braces and feeling like an outcast. Whatever the focus, writers usually chronicle an area of great vulnerability. The memoirist Ayelet Waldman exhorts writers to express what feels raw and true. She calls them “ugly truths.” I’d call the following middle grade memoirs all beautiful because they tackle issues that will truly inspire young readers with their authenticity and empathy. Please note these are all traditional prose memoirs published in the past five years. There are also many wonderful middle grade novels-in-verse and graphic novels. However, that will need to be for another post.

1) Growing up Under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Ying Chang Compestine: Ying Chang Compestine chronicles her childhood during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. We see up close and personal the devastating effects of Mao’s policies on her middle class family. The memoir shows the fear and resilience experienced by Compestine as she tries to make sense of a harsh new world.

2) Someone Like Me by Julissa Arce: Julissa Arce recounts her journey in the United States, from undocumented immigrant to successful Wall Street executive. Arce candidly shares her family’s sacrifice. Her story is one of perseverance, identity, and seeking a better life despite difficult odds.

3) Free Lunch by Rex Ogle: Rex Ogle’s memoir guides readers through his middle school years, where he deals with the difficulties of poverty and the stigma of being one of the few kids to get free lunch at his school. Ogle explores the emotional and physical toll of living with food insecurity, an abusive family, and the pressures of being different from his middle school buddies. Despite Ogle’s challenges, his story is quite inspiring.

4) Normal by Magdalena Newman: Magdalena Newman’s memoir, written with her son Nathaniel, showcases his struggles and triumphs with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare craniofacial condition. The story chronicles the countless surgeries and social stigma. Through it all, the Newmans highlight the importance of love and acceptance.

Hillary Homzie is the author of the Ellie May chapter book series (Charlesbridge, 2018), Apple Pie Promises (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2018), Pumpkin Spice Secrets (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2017), Queen of Likes (Simon & Schuster MIX 2016), The Hot List (Simon & Schuster MIX 2011) and Things Are Gonna Be Ugly (Simon & Schuster, 2009) as well as the Alien Clones From Outer Space (Simon & Schuster Aladdin 2002) chapter book series. She’s also a contributor to the Kate the Chemist middle grade series (Philomel Books/Penguin Random House). And her nonfiction picture book, If You Were a Princess: True Stories of Brave Leaders From Around the World is a look at historical and current princesses from many diverse lands who have made their mark (Simon & Schuster, August 2022). During the year, Hillary teaches at Sonoma State University. In the summer, she teaches in the graduate program in children’s literature, writing and illustration at Hollins University. She also is an instructor for the Children’s Book Academy.She can be found at hillaryhomzie.com and on Instagram, her Facebook page as well as on Twitter

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