Author Interviews

Author Spotlight: Paige Classey

By on April 29, 2026   /   Author Interviews   /   Leave a comment

In today’s Author Spotlight, Sydney Dunlap chats with author Paige Classey about her middle-grade novel, Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer, an “enemies-to-first-crushes” story published by Penguin Random House and chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Paige Classey is a school librarian who lives with her husband and two sons on the Connecticut shoreline. She is the author of the YA novel Everything You Left Me and has contributed articles on libraries and education that have appeared in School Library Journal, TEACH Magazine, and Education Week.

All About the Book!

Anna-Jane couldn’t wait for camp. But when the outside world goes dark, she and her friends soon realize they’re in for the adventure of their lives this summer—and maybe even beyond.

Captured in Anna-Jane’s diary, discover the poignant journey of a young girl’s fight to survive in the face of the unknown.

Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer released April 28, 2026, from Random House Books for Young Readers. The book has earned a starred review from School Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews called it “an intense and riveting read.” It is also a Junior Library Guild selection.

Interview with Paige Classey

Welcome, Paige! Thank you so much for being a guest on the Mixed-up Files!

Thanks so much for having me, Sydney!

Inspiration

It is my pleasure! I absolutely loved Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer! What a beautifully written, compelling survival story—I found it impossible to put down. It is sure to be a huge hit among young readers. Can you tell us a little about the inspiration behind it?

I am so honored! This novel grew from a convergence of both childhood and adult experiences. I spent many summers at YMCA camps throughout Connecticut; those summers remain so vivid and nearly magical in my mind. The onset of the pandemic caused me to start toying with the question of what might happen to a group of children and teens left to their own devices at camp. Finally, the censorship efforts we’ve seen sweeping the nation sparked the layer regarding the necessity of the arts.

Craft

You do such a great job maintaining the element of mystery in the story about what exactly is going on outside the camp. The thread pulled strongly all the way to the very end. Was it difficult to craft this novel? What was your biggest challenge in writing it?

Pacing was my greatest challenge. Anna-Jane’s story runs for a lengthy time period, and I wanted to make sure that the sense of danger and suspense never flagged. My agent, Rebecca Rodd, and my editor, Elizabeth Stranahan, made a number of extremely helpful suggestions to maintain the tension throughout.

Point of View

You describe the experience of going through a frightening time of separation from family and so many unknowns with grace, care, and sensitivity. I loved the way the story was written in verse in Anna-Jane’s journal. How did you decide the format?

From the very beginning, Anna-Jane’s voice came to me in verse, in first person, and in present tense. In a way, she decided the format!

Characters

I enjoyed your other characters a lot too. Do you have a favorite secondary character? Who and why?

I love the other campers and counselors for all different reasons. I love Amaya’s sense of loyalty, Pooja’s genuine kindness, and Morgan’s passion for science. Bryce is the camp romance I wanted at that age and didn’t have! But my answer has to be Jojo. She is the kind of tough I’ve always wanted to be.

Takeaways

The story moves so quickly, yet contains wonderful layering and thematic elements regarding peer relationships that will be so relatable to kids everywhere. What do you hope readers take away from this book?

I hope readers walk away feeling empowered. Children can make and have been making a difference in their homes, communities, and the world at large. You don’t need to wait until you’re an adult to start making positive changes.

I also hope the story plants or reinforces an appreciation for the arts. Music, art, literature, theater, film . . . these pursuits are so essential to the human spirit. “Grow work,” as Anna-Jane’s teacher would call it.

Research

This story is one that will stay with me for a long time, and it gave me so much to think about. Can you describe the research that went into crafting this novel?

I don’t want to give away any spoilers here, so I’m going to tread lightly! I needed to research different reasons a community or region might shut down, how daily life would be disrupted, how government agencies and others might respond, and so forth.

Writing Process

Will you tell us a little about your writing process? Are you a plotter or pantser? Where and when do you prefer to write?

Can I go with “middle-of-the-roader”? I definitely do not plot out an entire novel chapter by chapter beforehand. But as I write, I keep a list of plot points and ideas I want to return to. I keep this list at the end of my document, then erase points as I address them in the story. It’s in my nature to make lists and check off as I go, and I feel like my writing process mirrors that tendency.

I find my best ideas come when I’m taking long walks. Walking gives my mind the space to roam, and I usually end my walk with a new idea or two for my work in progress.

As a mom of two small children and a full-time school librarian, I write whenever I can find pockets of time (generally when my children are asleep!). I usually write at home, but sometimes at local coffee shops or libraries. I recently won an Artist Fellowship grant from Connecticut’s Office of the Arts, which made it possible for me to attend a writing retreat at the Highlights Foundation (now called Boyds Mills) in PA.

Influences

What are some current books that have influenced you as a kid-lit writer?

I noticed my students flocking to novels-in-verse by Jason Reynolds, Elizabeth Acevedo, Rajani LaRocca, and Megan E. Freeman, so I read them too, along with Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson. In a sense, I never put them back down.

Advice

What is your advice for aspiring writers?

Write what you care about. And read, read, read. I know this is “typical” advice, but it is truly the best way to learn more about style, the market, your target audience, and more. My work as a librarian has fed my writing, and vice versa.

I also recommend sharing your writing with others who will give you serious and constructive feedback. I saw an ad in my local paper and entered Connecticut’s Tassy Walden Award for New Voices in Children’s Literature in 2020. Throughout that process, my friend and mentor (author Doe Boyle) recommended joining a writers’ group through SCBWI. That community has provided so much support and has been instrumental in elevating my writing.

Upcoming Projects

Can you give us some insights into what you’ll be working on next?

I’m currently editing my YA thriller-in-verse, SURVIVING THE MADISONS, forthcoming from Delacorte in summer 2027. The story follows a toxic trio determined to right perceived wrongs at their high school . . . until the line between right and wrong blurs, leaving them to face dire consequences.

I’m also fascinated by the mixed-media format I’m seeing in books like A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER by Holly Jackson and GAME CHANGER by Tommy Greenwald, and I’d love to craft a story that uses mixed-media in a meaningful way in the future.

And for the lightning round:

Coffee or tea?

Coffee! I wish I liked tea—it seems so refined! But if I’m being true to myself, I’m a latte girl.

Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. I like to sleep.

Favorite place to travel:

I love traveling to places I’ve never been before, but Newport, Rhode Island, is a forever favorite. I also spent a college summer in Florence that remains alive in my memory.

Favorite dessert:

Mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Superpower:

I am intrigued by the idea of time travel, but worry too much about the potential consequences! So I’m going to go with teleportation.

Favorite music:

Wow, how do people answer this?! Everything from Led Zeppelin to the Gilmore Girls soundtrack. We also play a lot of Disney music in our house. Lately, I can’t stop listening to Chappell Roan.

Favorite book from childhood:

Again, how can I answer this? I loved Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes when I was very small. As I grew older, I devoured the Harry Potter series, the American Girl series, the Dear America series, and R. L. Stine’s Fear Street novels—can you tell I grew up in the ’90s and early 2000s?

Thanks again, Paige! It was so much fun to learn about you, your writing journey, and your amazing novel! Learn more about Paige on her website and follow her on Instagram.

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Author Interview: Daphne Benedis-Grab (I KNOW YOU STARTED IT)

By on April 24, 2026   /   Author Interviews   /   Leave a comment

Book cover for I KNOW YOU STARTED IT by Daphne Benedis-Grab

Daphne Benedis-Grab has thrilled audiences with her Secrets and Lies series, and she’s back with a fourth installment: I KNOW YOU STARTED IT. With a crackling mystery and captivating characters, the book is a firestorm of suspense and intrigue. Daphne was kind enough to join the blog to talk about her writing process, her inspirations, and the power of words. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

From the very first chapter, I felt like I was in such good hands when it came to the central mystery of the book. How important is that opening line or that chapter to you when you’re writing? 

That is a really good question. I put a lot of thought into where we’re starting – what’s going to be that inciting incident that kicks things off. So we start at a place where there’s room to get to know the characters. But we’re in it. We are not wasting a second. We are not leading up to it. It’s there. It’s starting. 

The reader is right there from that beginning point –  you are part of it. I think particularly in a mystery or a thriller, you’re getting on a ride and it’s going fast. 

How important is it for you as the writer to know the ending of the book as you’re starting that opening? 

For me (and I know everybody writes differently) it’s essential. 

I need to know where I’m going. I always write from an outline, and hammering out an outline is one of the hardest parts of writing for me  – because I can come up with a lot of really fun inciting incidents and ideas, but does it have legs to sustain interest? 

Is there going to be room for a twist or two in there? And is it going to stick the landing? Is it going to be something that I can see an ending all the way through that is going to be extremely satisfying for readers? 

And if I can’t, if I don’t know what the ending is – I don’t know where I’m going with it.

So, everything needs to lead to that twist – and then to the final reveal. 

This book is told through multiple perspectives, and you did an incredible job getting into the psyche of each of those characters. Did you always plan to tell this story that way? 

Yes, so all of the Secrets and Lies books have three to four narrators, and I am inspired by the books that I have read with multiple characters. I used to do just one character narrating – either 1st or 3rd person. But when I read a couple of really well-narrated books with a number of different narrators, I understood this keeps the reader guessing – because none of us know what the full story is, right? 

In any given situation, everyone is going to have a different perspective, and that’s going to be based on who we are and how we perceive things and how our brains work and our experiences in the world.

And so, to tell a story in a book really well, I feel like you need those multiple characters who are going to give this different perspective and this different take on the bigger situation.

The reader then has a fuller picture than they otherwise might if it’s just that one person. 

Do you have an exercise or anything you do to get into that mindset more fully when you’re moving from character to character? 

That’s a really fun question. So one thing is that when I make the outline, I’m very conscious of who’s narrating what. And sometimes I’ll come to something and I’ll be like –  wait a minute – another person discovered this, and then I have to restructure things. But by the time I’m sitting down and writing, it’s organic who I’m going to be going to next. 

And if it doesn’t feel right, then that’s not the problem. That’s telling me that this probably isn’t the character to narrate this.

Another thing is that when I write – because I have the outline – I’m never sitting down to write a book. I’m sitting down to write a scene. And when I know what that scene is and who that narrator is, it makes it a lot easier to dive in.

That said, if I’m sitting and I’ve come to a chapter break and I’m moving into the next one, I definitely need a break. I need to do a little reset, where I dive into the next character so it’s their voice. 

I love how you break the book into the five stages of the fire, from kindling through incineration. Is that how you structure the outline too? Or does that come along later in the process? 

100%, yes. And I love devices like that. I love a book written in letters or written with texts or there’s a little something at the top of the chapter that gives you some insights to something else. That’s one of my favorite things. And all of these books, I’ve tried to have something like that. 

I looked up the stages of a fire, and I was like – oh, this is perfect. Many moons ago, I read Robert McKee’s books, and now each act has to get built in intensity – and that’s perfect for a fire, right?

Absolutely! Through all of the twists and the turns of the book (which there are many, and they’re wonderful and surprising!), there are important ideas that come through as well. Seeing people as they truly are, standing up for one another and oneself, and being aware of online bullying. 

Did those themes start from the beginning, or did they find you as you’re writing the story? 

That’s a really interesting question. They tend to find me as I’m writing.

But I’m very aware of the things that are important to me to lift up when I write. Part of that comes from parenting children and from being a school librarian. And the things that I see – [that] my students grapple with, and in the fears that they have and how scary it is to speak up – and how lonely you feel when you’re bullied and how that’s part of it. 

A theme that I come to again and again in my writing, but also my life is that – evil grows in darkness, right? It’s hidden when it’s secret, when we hold it, and there isn’t the light of many people seeing it.

That’s when it grows. 

How do we shine that light? How do we bring it into those same corners and lift things up?

Another thing that’s always really important to me is understanding that everybody has a story and that we might present in a certain way. And you don’t understand where someone’s coming from you.
You don’t know them. You can think that you do. You can judge on a few features. 

But everybody has a story and everyone has a perspective. And we’re missing out in life if we’re not getting a little bit more of that. 

There’s a line at the end of the book where Liam says, “Words can be dangerous.” How do you feel about that line as an author and a librarian and someone who’s concerned about young people? 

Of course, the first place my brain goes to is social media, right? Where words live forever. Where you always have a digital footprint. Where the things that you can say without thought can cause such incredible damage to another person – to a situation where you can get pushed to do something that you just would never do if you stop to think. 

I think words have power in that way, but words also have the most important and the most beautiful power because they can express us and they can express our stories.

And when you have language to name your feelings and name what you’re thinking and name who you are – that’s how you exist and own space in the world.

That’s so beautiful and important. Thank you!

 

Author photo of Daphne Benedis-Grab


Daphne Benedis-Grab is the award winning author of the Secrets and Lies Novels, companion middle grade books that include I Know Your Secret, I Know You’re Lying and I Will Find You, as well as the young adult book The Girl in the Wall. Her middle grade book The Angel Tree was made into a Hallmark Original movie. She earned her MFA from The New School and is the librarian at Warder Elementary School in Arvada, Colorado. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband, two college student kiddos and cats Mishka and Blue.

More at daphnebg.com

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Author Interview: Royden Lepp (JURASSIC JEFF)

By on April 20, 2026   /   Author Interviews   /   Leave a comment

We love a good series over here at the Mixed Up Files, and author/illustrator Royden Lepp is keeping

‘em coming with his new book, Jurassic Jeff: Phone Home (Jurassic Jeff Book 3). Royden has written and published a variety of children’s books and other comics, and his first series RUST was called “one of the best all-ages stories to be crafted in the past decade”. Jurassic Jeff is Royden’s first comedy series, and I got a chance to ask him a few questions about the latest installment:

Chris: The Jurassic Jeff books are so fun (and definitely a big hit with my kids!). Did you know this was going to be a series when you got started with the first story?

Royden: I did! I pitched a series initially and was always planning to tell multiple stories around these fun characters. It was my first attempt at episodic storytelling, so it was a bit of a challenge.

Chris: And episodic storytelling definitely provides more opportunity for character development. Like in this book, where we learn a little more about Jeff’s home planet and history. You manage to avoid the dreaded “info dump”, but was that hard to do?

Royden: Somehow it wasn’t. Sometimes I don’t think I’m very good at world-building. I’ve always been really afraid of the world-building hole that writers can fall into, so I avoid it like the plague. Unfortunately that often leaves me not knowing a lot about the world I’m writing about so I have to stop and consider the context.

Chris: That makes sense. And speaking of context,  I enjoyed all the vintage sci-fi movie references in this one. Do you make these books with grown-ups in mind, too?

Royden: First and foremost, I’m always writing for myself. It has to make me laugh first, and then I consider my audience. So for some of the deep sci-fi references I consulted my son, who was 11 at the time that I wrote this volume. He knew a couple of the references but not all of them, and he thought the scenes were funny in their own context, so I just went for it.

Chris: Nice! And your books always have a lot of physical action, too. Is there a different approach to writing and illustrating when you want scenes to have a lot of movement?

Royden: There is! The writing involves thumbnailing the whole book more than it does writing all the

text. Every page has to flow into the next, and the jokes have to keep popping. I don’t want Jurassic Jeff to just be talking heads—I want it to have a lot of energy.

Chris: You poke some fun at AI in your book, and the last time we talked, I asked you about the role of AI in writing and illustrating. Has your opinion evolved at all in the last year or so?

Royden: Oh, it’s evolving daily, I think. I’ve done a lot of experimentation with AI in my art this year, and I’ll admit that a lot of it has been really fun. It creates amazing new ways to look at your creation. HOWEVER, I have yet to use AI in my books or writing. It simply doesn’t apply yet. I use it AROUND my characters and IP, but I don’t use it to make anything yet. I bet that will change in a year, but who knows? Story is the goal. Whatever tool helps me tell the stories I want to tell, I will use it.

Chris: That makes sense and sounds like a grounded approach. In your author bio, you mention doing video calls with art classes, which sounds really cool! Have you had opportunities to engage with the middle-grade audience as a result of the Jurassic Jeff series?

Royden: Oh yes, I’ve had many visits with schools and students over the last few years. It’s been a blast, and I hope there are more to come this year. (There are! I already know!)

Chris: Very cool! Okay, Royden, since you’re a repeat guest on the blog, you get the super bonus lightning round questions:

 

Music or silence while working?

R: Music. A thousand times over.

 

Best late-night snack?

R: Life cereal

 

Favorite location to visit?

R: Ucluelet, BC on Vancouver Island

 

Hardest part of a book to write?

R: That first blank page. Standing at the bottom of a mountain you intend to climb. That first step of so many.

 

Best writing advice you’ve ever gotten?

R: Don’t copy anyone. You have your own unique voice—use it.

 

Thanks again to Royden for taking some time to chat with us! You can find Jurassic Jeff: Phone Home everywhere on April 21, 2026.

 

See you soon, friends!

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