Author Interviews

Interview with Author Stephanie Willing

By on September 3, 2026   /   Author Interviews   /   Leave a comment

Today, please join me in welcoming Stephanie Willing to the Mixed-Up Files Author Spotlight! Author of the gripping MG horror novel, She Came Back Different, which has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, the book follows six young dancers who enter the Stadler Ballet Conservatory and the horrors they discover once they get there. (Spoiler alert: It isn’t pretty.)

Praised by Kirkus as “An appealing blend of ballet, camaraderie, mystery, and frights,” the book is available from Viking/Penguin Random House.

She Came Back Different

MR: Congratulations on the publication of She Came Back Different, Stephanie! Can you tell readers a bit about the book?

SW: Thank you! I like to say that it’s Stepford Wives at a ballet school, with evil plants—but make it middle grade. It’s told through new students Gemma’s and Neve’s alternating POVs. Gemma has always felt too loud, too big, too much—while also never being enough. The school promises to take average girls and perfect them, and she is thrilled at the idea that she might finally be something other than who she is.

Neve has been quietly angry for years ever since she saw her older sister, Bex, go to Stadler and change from a charismatic chaos gremlin into a perfectly proper young lady. She knows something is deeply wrong at the school, and she’s determined to figure out what it is. There’s a lot of botanical horror, but the true villain is the idea that perfection is possible and it will save you.

Dance Life

MR: You were a dance major in college, and you moved to New York to study dance. How did your experience as a dancer shape your understanding of the young dancers portrayed in the book? You clearly have a strong sense of empathy toward them.

SW: Ballet is not the bad guy in my book! Instead, we get Gemma discovering the way the world can fall away when you’re dancing and how movement can be a story as much as a shape or a series of steps. Getting to write about how it feels during a dance class when you nail a combination, and the joy of warm muscles moving you across a studio floor, was an absolute delight.

Of course, access to dance classes and the money to afford them are also massive privileges, something the character of Kris bitterly reflects on in one of Neve’s chapters. I grew up in a small town, and while I was lucky enough to take ballet classes a couple times a week, I didn’t have consistent dance training until I was on an academic scholarship at college.

I also drew from my own experience of feeling like I was the wrong shape, or that I didn’t have anything to offer because everyone else was so much better (in my opinion), while simultaneously wishing that I’d be picked for a solo or a starring role. It’s such a painful place, to feel like if you just worked harder, you could unlock this “perfect” version of yourself. I’m still trying to unlearn that.

All Bodies Are Beautiful

MR: She Came Back Different champions the idea that all bodies belong in the dance world, not just skinny ones. At the same time, it’s no secret that dancers’ bodies are often scrutinized, with undue emphasis placed on the necessity to be thin. From your experience, have any strides been made in the dance world to accept a range of body types?

SW: Dancers like Kayla Hamilton (TWU alum!) and other disabled and differently-bodied dancers have never let a traditional ballet body expectation stop them. My kids and I went to an incredible breakdancing performance at the New Vic Theater this year called Ill-Abilities: No Excuses, No Limits. The dancers spun, flipped, and launched themselves through jaw-dropping choreography and shared their stories of growing up disabled and making their own place in the dance world. “The dance world” isn’t an entity—it’s us, and that includes every kind of body.

Specific to ballet…

I see online is that there’s a lot more focus on anatomical placement and safer biomechanics of movement. That means fewer people are contorting themselves for the sake of a flashy dance move or “perfect” turn-out. I also see dance studios working hard to make their classes inclusive for disabled and neurodiverse kids, which is so important. Dance is for everyone.

I can’t speak directly to the experience of a young dancer now, especially in the world of ballet competitions which has become much bigger than when I was a kid. It seems like there’s an outsized emphasis on how many pirouettes you can do or how high your legs go, and while it’s great to have a goal, I can also see how that could become an unhealthy measurement of someone’s value or ability as a dancer.

Also, can I say? Adult ballet is where it’s at. The competitiveness is gone, and it’s just you and this thing you love, in the company of other people who love it too. IT’S AMAZING.

Who’s Perfect?

MR: One of the main themes in the book is perfectionism, as the ballet mistresses—or “Madames”—set unrealistic standards for the girls at the ballet conservatory. They dictate how they dress, what they eat, and even how they sleep (on their backs, to avoid wrinkles!). Can you tell us more about this? It’s super creepy.

SW: Obedient and compliant people are easier to control, right? We often need our so-called flaws—our stubbornness, our anger, our snark—to create or hold boundaries. One of the questions of the book is how culpable the Madames are. At one time, they were students full of creativity and chaotic joy too, but now they are part of the system that erases individuality in favor of docile prettiness.

In real life, so many of the enforcers of traditional femininity and the pursuit of perfection are other women. It’s a system that they feel powerful inside of, without recognizing what they’ve lost or the harm they’re passing on. While dance mistress, Madame Orange, is at the height of her power within the school, she’s still hollow, and if things continued the way they always did, she’d face the same fate as Madame Gray, an aging ballet teacher who is relegated to storage as she becomes a fully hollowed-out husk.

DIFFERENT vs. WEST OF THE SEA

MR: Speaking of creepy, your book is a departure from your debut novel, West of the Sea, which has fantastical elements but isn’t horror. What made you take the leap to horror? Are you a fan?

SW: I’m a big fan of MG horror—that’s my speed. I am the biggest scaredy-cat so I don’t usually seek out horror films to watch. And yet, every horror movie I’ve ever watched, I’ve absolutely loved. So…yes? But I’m terrified?

The biggest shift toward writing horror came from my critique group, made up of me, my husband (he writes creative nonfiction), and two of our dearest friends from theater. We started workshopping each other in 2017 and we’re still going strong.

One of those friends is the horror supernova, Nat Cassidy. So I’ve had the gruesome pleasure of workshopping his horror novels at every stage, and that didn’t just give me a stronger stomach for viscera and gore, but made me really grow to appreciate the importance of experiencing fear in a safe way—and the stomach-churning chills along the way.  Then I read Ally Malinenko’s This Disappearing House, which is the number one middle-grade book I always recommend, and I became a MG horror superfan.

Bloodsucking Vines!

MR: While we’re on the subject of horror, I would be remiss not to mention the bloodthirsty vines that suck out the girls’ personalities, rendering them shells of their former selves—like the Stepford Wives but in tutus. Please tell us more.

SW: In the world of the book, the vines are hungry and semi-ambulatory. They grow in and through the walls of the school and they can’t be seen until it’s too late. The native forests around the school block the vines from escaping further into the landscape, and Gemma’s contact with the trees and their fungus network is what gives her the ability to see the vines from the beginning. The vines are drawn toward noise, chaos, individuality—and then they eat the souls’ creative essence down to the roots.

One reason they flourish so well at the ballet school is that the dancers are always in an act of creation, so even the most hollowed-out students still have creative growth for the vines to eat at the end of the day. One way to avoid the vines’ notice is to act as if you’ve already been consumed, i.e., sweet, demure, literally in step with the other girls at the school.  This defense mechanism looks a lot like the result of being consumed—much like the way girls learn early to smile and people-please as a way of staying safe in social situations.

Early in the drafting process, Nat pointed out that the vines had a #MeToo vibe, and once I saw what I was really writing about, I went all in on the gothic elements of questioning reality. Did this really happen, or is she imagining it? If someone warns of a dancer that no one else can see, do the other girls believe her? If a girl broke the rules and got attacked, does she get blamed, or the institution that lets a predator lurk in its shadows?

Stephanie Says

MR: In addition to writing books for young readers, you are an audiobook narrator. How does this influence you as a writer, and vice-versa?

SW: As a narrator who writes, I always carry the knowledge that I’m bringing someone’s precious and hard-fought book baby to life. I want to take very good care of the author and honor their vision, their story, and the characters as they wrote them.

As a writer who narrates, I’m very aware of vocal descriptors. Authors sometimes get very fantastical in their descriptions like, “His voice was the sound of the sea over crushed glass,” and as a narrator I just stare and think, How am I going to do that??? So when I wrote Gemma as having a distinct accent from my part of Texas, I was internally groaning as I thought about how I’d have to perform that and keep it consistent across her chapters. (Curious about Stephanie’s narration style? Check it out here.)

MR: What is your writing process like? Do you have a specific routine? Also, are you a plotter or a pantser?

SW: I’m a plantser! I love a good outline—I think of it as daydreaming on paper—but I don’t stick to it rigidly. And I wish I had a routine. Maybe when my kids are older! I prefer to write at coffee shops (fewer interruptions, no chores tugging at my metaphorical sleeve), but I would never finish a book if I waited until I was at a café to get started.

At home, I’ve tried to trick my brain into thinking I’m at a coffee shop by making my writing space a high narrow bar against the wall with a comfortable stool and my back to the room. (It only sort of works.)

Regardless, the writing process usually looks like me with earbuds, listening to a playlist of cinematic music that I’ve listened to so many times I don’t hear it anymore, and drinking a lot of coffee.

Up Next

MR: What projects are you working on now, Stephanie?

SW: Inside every writer there are two wolves… kidding, but I do have at least two projects pulling me in different directions. One is a Southern gothic fantasy, a sort of a grown-up and darker take on magic-users and mythic beings in the same world as West of the Sea. But I’m also working on a cozier romantic fantasy for adults. My kids (eight and five) want me to write something for them, so I’ve also got a younger chapter book in mind. We’ll see!

Lightning Round!

Yellow graphic lightning bolt

MR: No MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so…

Preferred writing snack? Does coffee count?  I don’t tend to eat while writing at home—my fingers feel gross on the keyboard otherwise–but if I’m at a café, I love having a blueberry scone or a fresh croissant. 

Coffee or tea? Coffee every time, in every lifetime.

Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay? I love a funny zombie apocalypse.

Favorite ballet? Giselle. Give me all the vengeful female spirits dancing in the woods!

Superpower? The ability to speak any language after hearing it once. A  very long time ago, I wrote X-Men fanfiction about myself as a character with this ability.

Favorite place on earth? Can I pick two? On my back deck watching my flowers and their pollinators while my kids careen around nearby. And walking the streets of NYC on a perfect autumn day with an iced coffee in my hand on my way to meet up with a friend.

You’re packing a dance bag with six items only. What are they? These days all I need is a water bottle and my ballet slippers, but back when I was training seriously I also would’ve had my pointe shoes (Chacott or Russian Pointe), gel toe pads, Harmonie knitwear, and an elastic theraband for stretching.

MR: Thank you for chatting with me, Stephanie—and congratulations on the publication of She Came Back Different!

Bio

Stephanie Willing is an author, audiobook narrator, and a lifelong dancer. She has a BA in Dance from Texas Woman’s University and an MFA in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. She lives with her husband, two kids, two cats, and a goldfish in New Jersey. When she’s not writing or recording, you can find her reading, making snacks for her kids, or working in her butterfly garden in the backyard. Learn more about Stephanie on her website and follow her on Instagram.

MELISSA ROSKE is a writer of middle-grade fiction. Before spending her days with imaginary people, she interviewed real ones as a journalist in Europe. In London she landed a job as an advice columnist for Just Seventeen magazine. Upon returning to her native New York, Melissa contributed to several books and magazines, selected jokes for Reader’s Digest, and received certification as a life coach. In addition to her debut novel Kat Greene Comes Clean, Melissa contributed to the Jewish middle-grade anthology, Coming of Age: 13 B’Nai Mitzvah Stories. Learn more about Melissa on her Website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Author Interview with Jamie Sumner on Wish You Well

By on August 31, 2026   /   Articles, Author Interviews   /   Leave a comment

Interview with Middle Grade Author Jamie Sumner

Wish You Well by Jamie Sumner book cover

Karen Reeder: Thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us a little bit about Wish You Well?

Jamie Sumner: Absolutely. I’m Jamie Sumner, and I write middle grade novels. Some are in verse, some are in prose, and I have a graphic novel adaptation of my first book coming out in about a year, which I’m really excited about. That’s been a lot like working on a script—hard and amazing.
Wish You Well is written in prose, but the premise is anything but traditional. Three kids meet at a hospital picnic. If you’ve been lucky enough not to spend much time in hospitals, you may not know about these picnics, but hospitals sometimes hold annual events for families and kids dealing with chronic illnesses, or for children who spent a long time in the NICU. Nurses and families come together, check in on one another, and celebrate how everyone is doing. The main character, Violet, is thirteen, and she absolutely does not want to go. She’s slowly going blind because of macular degeneration, and she doesn’t want to be reminded of it. She just wants to be a normal kid, so the picnic feels like this huge red flag highlighting her illness that she doesn’t want to talk about. So the day of the picnic, she’s in a bad mood. While she’s there, she witnesses a kid choking on a hot dog. Luckily, he’s surrounded by nurses who perform the Heimlich and save him. That’s how she meets Wyatt, who’s had a heart transplant, and Noor, whose mother is the nurse who rescued him.
Wyatt becomes the instigator of their friendship—or really, their scheme. Violet complains about how the wish foundation keeps trying to get her to apply for a wish, but she says that’s for babies. I don’t want to do that. Wyatt and Noor tell her they get those wish foundation things too.
Wyatt points out that they would each get three wishes, so he comes up with this grand idea: they pool their wishes and have one epic year filled with three huge adventures. The catch is that they have to pretend to be best friends, even though they just met. Violet and Noor aren’t exactly warm-and-fuzzy personalities, so Wyatt is the one who tries to bring everyone together. It’s a little like The Breakfast Club: three very different kids are stuck in this scenario and they team up and have to pull it off.

KR: I love the unlikely friendship, the attitude, and the grumpiness. Your voice pulled me in immediately. I kept thinking, I need more books like this. Do you have an unlikely friendship in your own life?

Jamie Sumner author photoJS: Actually, I had… no one has asked me that question yet, that’s interesting. And it comes full circle. So, one of my best friends now, who I never would have guessed we would become close friends, was actually my son’s nurse in the NICU. So, my son Charlie has cerebral palsy, and he is 14 now. And, he was in the NICU for about 10 to 12 weeks when he was first born, and he ended up coming home with a trach, he had oxygen, he later got a G-tube, many surgeries, lots of stuff going on when he was a baby. And it’s really important, if you know, you know, like, to request someone who you think is good to be their primary nurse, the nurse that is… if they’re on call, they’re gonna be asigned to your baby. So, I ended up requesting Mary and she just seemed very cool under pressure, she and Charlie, like, meshed. Even though he was, you know, 3 weeks, 4 weeks old. This means every day when I’m there, she’s there.

So, we became friends, and then her husband who is also a nurse who works at the Veteran Hospital and he and my husband and Mary… we all became friends. They would come over and Mary would babysit Charlie when I went back to work as a teacher. You can’t do better than the primary NICU nurse taking care of your kid when your go back to work. I threw her a baby shower when she had her first baby, so… it’s so funny how that happens, and it’s kind of like friendships born out of…necessity? Really more, situation or circumstance. Mary and I, we actually texted last night, so we’re still best friends.

KR: That is so great. I love it. You’ve talked briefly about this, can you tell us more about how the setting for Wish You Well is something personal for you?

JS: It’s very personal, but I also think it’s universal. If you’re the parent of a child who’s spent time in the hospital—or if you’re part of the sandwich generation and have a parent who’s frequently in the hospital—you’ll understand it. After Charlie came home from the NICU, he continued seeing lots of specialists. He had surgeries, seizures, tests, sleep studies, and more ambulance rides than I ever wanted to experience.
We live in Nashville, so Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital became this place we knew intimately. I know the smell. I know where the good snacks are. I even know when the cafeteria locks the cold-drink doors because they won’t sell them between these two hours. We spent so much time there, and they were so good to us. I really wanted to tell a story set in that world because it’s something you can’t imagine if you haven’t been in it. When you’ve been through it, you recognize all these little details and think, Oh, yeah. I know that. I wanted readers who have lived through it to feel seen, but I also wanted people who haven’t experienced it to understand that world better and develop more empathy for children—and really anyone—who has had to spend a lot of time in hospitals dealing with chronic illness.

KR: Yes. It’s so important to build empathy.
I have to tell you, I was completely hooked by this story. I cried while reading and could hardly keep going, but had to find out the ending. That seems to be a theme in your writing. I’ve read several of your books, and they all carry these really big emotional themes. What draws you to writing that way?

JS: You mentioned voice, and I think voice is the thing that comes to me first in a story. I start with the character’s attitude, their vibe, who they are. I don’t really plot everything out in advance. I spend a lot of time getting to know my characters, and then I figure out the major plot points. Sometimes I abandon those, too. I let the characters lead me. Because my books are middle grade and because of the situations I put my characters in, they’re certainly adventure stories, but the emotional journey is always the bigger journey for me. That’s the part that makes you care, that makes you tear up, and that makes you not want to put the book down. Those are also the books I love to read. Sometimes you want a book that’s mostly plot, and that’s great. But other times you want to be pulled in and actually feel something. Those are the kinds of books I tend to write because my characters feel very real to me. I hear them. I get to know them. And I’m a pretty emotional person, so that probably plays a part in it, too.

KR: I’ve thought a lot about voice while reading this book, especially with Violet. Then Noor has such a distinct personality and Wyatt has that lovable quality that brings everyone together. When you’re first developing a character, how do you find their voice?

JS: Usually it starts with a line of dialogue. I’ll hear something in my head, and it’s very clearly something that this character would say. That becomes the thread I follow. Voice can also come through music. Sometimes I make a playlist for a character. That song or playlist captures the character’s vibe, and if I ever lose the voice while I’m writing—especially if I’ve gotten too caught up in the plot—I can listen to the music and find my way back.
For Violet, the voice was very early-Alanis-Morissette. She’s angry, but she doesn’t always know why, so when people get too close to her, she takes it out on them. But underneath all of that, she’s kind and she really needs love. That’s where Violet came from.

KR: I love that.
What would you wish for?

JS: Oh, gosh. That’s such a great question. I can’t believe I’ve never asked myself that while writing this book. I’d combine two things, because apparently that’s what you’re allowed to do with a wish. I’ve never been able to go on a writing retreat because of Charlie’s situation. I don’t like to be away from him for more than a night or two. And I also have twins in seventh grade. But I’d love to go abroad—specifically to Italy—and do a writing retreat that also includes a cooking class. I love the idea of writing while also cooking, getting to use your hands, eating great food, and being immersed in the Italian countryside. Wouldn’t that be incredible?

KR: Absolutely. You’re immersing yourself in all the senses and emotions, which would probably create an amazing story, too.

JS: Exactly. And the wish would have to include knowing that Charlie was okay. Otherwise I’d just be worrying the whole time, and I couldn’t really let myself relax and write.

KR: Let’s do a lightning round.
Favorite writing snack?

JS: Trail mix—specifically the California kind with dried banana chips.

KR: What do you do right before you sit down to write?

JS: Go for a run. It clears my head, and that’s usually when I figure out what’s coming next in the chapter.

KR: Your book is divided into summer, fall, winter, and spring. Best thing about summer?

JS: The kids are out of school and we have no schedule. It’s incredible.

KR: Best thing about fall?

JS: Everything pumpkin. I know it’s a cliché, but I can’t help it, I love it. I love baking with pumpkin. And its… fresh starts.

KR: Best thing about winter?

JS: Is there anything? Okay, fun snow days. Where you get to wing it. Those are fun. I usually bake bread on snow days, because I’m at home with them, and I can check in on my rise, see how its going.

KR: Nice. And spring?

JS: When you first hear the birds again in the morning. Those early spring sounds make it a little easier to get out of bed.

KR: Favorite vacation spot?

JS: Colorado. I love it, I love the mountains.

KR: Best reading spot?

JS: My bed. Oh, no! What am I even saying? We built a screen in porch, and there is a couch that is my… I write on it, I live on it, I nap on it, it’s the best.

KR: Favorite holiday?

JS: Christmas has almost too much pressure to make it perfect. So I told my husband this past year I really liked the 4th of July, because it was chill, and it was outside, and it was grilling, and…Fireworks. So that may be my current new favorite.

KR: Hobby when not writing.

JS: Baking, yes, that’s my favorite.

KR: Alright, well, I love it! Thank you for joining us today. Before we go, can you tell us… you alluded to the graphic novel, but what is next for author Jamie Sumner?

JS: Next! Oh my goodness, it’s called Space Race, it’s coming out in the spring, and it’s a novel in verse.Author Jamie Sumner with books she wrote

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Author interview with Andrea Beatriz Arango on her newest Middle Grade novel: No Place on Earth

By on August 28, 2026   /   Author Interviews, Diversity   /   Leave a comment

Author Interview – Andrea Beatriz Arango

I’m so excited to be able to introduce you to author Andrea Beatriz Arango today. Andrea is the author of multiple beautiful middle grade books, including the Newbery Honor title “Iveliz Explains it All”! And today we will be discussing her newest release for middle grade readers: “No Place on Earth” which comes out from Random House Kids on August 25, 2026!

Librarians and educators- you don’t want to miss this!

 

About “No Place on Earth”:

From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Iveliz Explains It All, comes a moving novel with a touch of magic, where two boys find themselves in each other’s dreams and slowly help one another face the real world.

Since moving to Yellowstone National Park for his mom’s job, Gustavo Santos Costa has had a lot on his mind.

  • For instance: bison stampedes. Did you know that bison can run three times faster than the average person?
  • Also: Why do people always stand so close to boiling hot springs?!
  • Finally: the bad dreams. Why have they only gotten worse since the move?

And that’s all before Gus somehow meets his classmate Kordell inside his dreams. While Gus avoids sleeping (and nightmares) at all costs, Kordell finds that dreams seem to be a welcome escape from his real life . . . until one day, they’re no longer enough. With the connection between the boys, Gus may be the only person who can help Kordell. But when most things already feel too big to take on, how can Gus find the courage to be there for his friends?

In this powerful novel from the Newbery Honor-winning author of Iveliz Explains It All, two boys confront their fears—and their dreams—to save themselves and each other.

Interview with Andrea:

I loved getting to talk to Andrea about her new book and I know you will enjoy meeting her and her characters Gus and Kordell as well.

 

SSS: I am so excited to talk with you today, Andrea! I love your books! Tells us more about this new book! How did you come up with the idea for it?

 

ABA: I’m so happy to be here! I’m a big fan of your work ❤️. As for the book… It honestly came together very slowly and in pieces. First came Yellowstone, which I’ll dive into in a bit. I knew I wanted to write a book set there, but I didn’t know exactly what kind of story it would be. Second, I really wanted to write my first boy character – readers had been asking me for a boy book for years. Finally, I really wanted to tell a story that involved nightmares, because I’ve always had them but couldn’t ever remember reading a book about them when I was young. At least not the chronic type I had/have. All of that percolated in my brain for a long time before Gustavo’s specific story came to me.

SSS: Tell us more about the characters Gus and Kordell. What are their characters and personalities like, their dreams, and how does the story weave their perspectives together?

 

ABA: Out of all my main characters, Gustavo is probably the one whose brain is the most similar to mine, so I have a huge soft spot for him. He has (undiagnosed) anxiety, but not the vocabulary to talk about it. This manifests in nightmares and a sort of maladaptive daydreaming where he’s constantly thinking of worst-case scenarios. Kordell, on the other hand, lives with depression, but does have the vocabulary for it, even if he doesn’t have friends he can actually talk about that stuff with. Their stories come together in Dream Yellowstone, where they keep bumping heads at night. It can be extra hard for boys to ask for help with their mental health, especially in cultures like Gustavo’s, and so the boys’ slow-burn friendship is something neither of them realized they needed until they have it. It’s very much a book about learning how to be there for others even when it’s hard to show up. How sometimes friendship can feel difficult, maybe even like an inconvenience, but it’s always worth it in the end.

 

SSS: What made you decide on Yellowstone National Park as the setting? Have you been there? (It sounds stunning!)

ABA: I have been there! My mom actually took a job there for two years and I was able to go visit her when she was living inside the park. I went in the winter, when most of the park is shut down and the animals extra visible, and I truly don’t think I’ve ever seen a place more beautifully wild. I looked up the size of it while I was there, because I couldn’t get over how immense it seemed, and was shocked to find out the entirety of Puerto Rico (where I live) fits inside the park. When I found out families lived there too, and that a school bus would come grab them from the nearest town, I knew I needed to write a book about a middle schooler moving there. (Which, for the record and unlike Gustavo, 6th grade Andrea would have LOVED.) 

SSS: Agreed!! I read the book and absolutely adored it and reccomend it to all readers<3

Link to order here.

Writing Process

 

SSS: I know that this book is your first prose!! How was it writing this book as compared to writing a verse novel (although I will note, that I think verse is weaved into this book as well, correct?)

ABA: I thought I would never finish 😂! After writing three novels fully in verse, I think I got accustomed to a certain length of pages in my drafts, a certain number of words, and so when I reached that and still had half the story left to tell I almost fell out of my writing chair, haha. I also had to incorporate a lot more descriptions than I’m used to with my minimal verse, and that was a bit of a learning curve, too. Mind you, I’d written plenty of prose before my 3 verse novels, but I’d….forgotten. And yes, that’s despite this novel still having some verse sections. It wasn’t even 100% prose.

 

SSS: Are you a pantser or a plotter? And what helps you with finishing stories when you first start writing your drafts?

ABA: 38-year-old Andrea is definitely a plotter. Students always ask me about writer’s block and I tell them I have brain block. My mental health doesn’t always cooperate with me and that can make meeting deadlines or finishing projects really difficult. So to me, my outlines are basically crutches for my brain. I don’t think I ever plotted a single story prior to my 30s but now I plot very extensively—15 page outlines, usually—and when I don’t feel creative or I’m having a hard time feeling inspired, I’m still able to write because I know exactly what happens next. Granted, it may not be my best work, but if I don’t get something down on the page I won’t be able to get the draft done and be able to turn to what I actually love, which is revising. I think the biggest difference between the me who is writing now and the me who was writing in her teens and twenties is that I’m able to finish way more projects now because of the plotting.

SSS: I am the same! Revising is my jam!!! Any advice for fellow middle-grade authors looking to write middle grade novels, and verse novels in particular?

ABA: Read all the books! I think with verse, especially, people tend to be scared to try it because we have this idea in our heads of what poetry is or isn’t. And so the wonderful thing about reading a variety of novels in verse is that every author has a different approach to it and a different style. Some verse novelists that I absolutely recommend people study (present company excluded, haha) are: Jasminne Mendez, Amber McBride, Jasmine Warga, Thanhha Lai, Hannah V. Sawyerr, Elisabet Velasquez, and Mariama J. Lockington.

SSS: AGREED!

Bonus!

SSS: What more is coming up for you! (can you tell us?)

ABA: I can! (A little, haha.) I’m actually working on a survival story. So for anyone who read an early version of SISTERS ALONE and loved it, get ready, because my next book might be right up your alley. I’ve been a big fan of the survival genre (in both books and screens) since I was young, and I’m excited to be contributing my own spin to it after all this time.

 SSS: WOOHOO! Cannot wait!

Thank you Andrea for joining us and I know readers and librarians will enjoy your book!

About Andrea:

Andrea Beatriz Arango is the author of the Newbery Honor Book Iveliz Explains It All, the Pura Belpré Honor Book Something Like Home, and most recently It’s All or Nothing, Vale. Andrea was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she first discovered her love of writing and eventually became a teacher. She then spent a decade in the United States working in public schools and nonprofits. When she’s not busy writing about middle schoolers and their families, you can find her hoping to spot manatees at the beach. Andrea lives in Puerto Rico with her family and two dogs.

Find her online at https://andreabeatrizarango.com

INSTAGRAM: @andreabeatrizarango

 

 

 

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