Author Interviews

The Marble Queen – Interview with Stephanie J. Blake

By on September 24, 2012   /   Author Interviews, Giveaways  

For the past seven years, I’ve been celebrating the highs and lows of writing with my friend, Stephanie J. Blake. I’ll never forget the day she took us all by surprise and announced her book deal, not too long after she had announced that she was taking a break from writing to try out some other ventures. Most of us travel a bumpy road to publication and we learn to accept that the bumps are just part of the process. But Stephanie’s writing travels have been filled with twists and turns, and even an occasional cliffhanger.

At last, I am excited that we are now here to talk about Steph’s arrival at her first destination, a debut novel titled The Marble Queen, published by Amazon Children’s Publishing. The following description comes from Amazon.

Freedom Jane McKenzie isn’t good at following the rules. She doesn’t like any of the things that girls are supposed to like. She’s good at fishing, getting into trouble—and playing marbles. All she wants is to enter the marble competition at the Autumn Jubilee and show the boys in the neighborhood that she’s the best player. If she can’t be the Marble King, then she’ll be the Marble Queen. First, Freedom has to convince her mother to let her enter. But there’s a new baby on the way, Freedom’s daddy is drinking too much, her little brother is a handful, and her mother is even more difficult than usual. Freedom learns that when it comes to love, friendship, and family, sometimes there are no rules. Set in 1959, The Marble Queen is a timeless story about growing up.

Welcome to The Mixed-Up Files, Steph! Before we talk about your journey to publication, I’d like to know a little more about The Marble Queen which takes place in 1959. What kind of research did you do to learn about what life would be like for a young girl during that time?

Since 1922, hundreds of kids have competed (and still do) in the National Marbles Tournament, now held in Wildwood, New Jersey. Mibsters can win prizes and college scholarships. How cool is that?  I was inspired to write The Marble Queen after reading an article about a group of old men who were crowned Marble Kings as children. These men felt that playing marbles had changed their lives for the better. In 1948, sponsors started crowning a boy and a girl. A book idea was born. One problem, I knew virtually nothing about marble shooting. I took some liberties with the time frame in the book because I wanted to explore the gender roles of girls and women during the late fifties. I had a lot of fun teaching myself how to shoot and play Ringer, the marble game featured in the book. I’ve been collecting marbles from antique stores. I also learned a lot about the fifties. I ate SPAM. I watched tons of old commercials and television shows. I listened to Elvis.

Was the character of Freedom based on anyone you know?

The main character, Freedom, is the daughter I’ll never have, and she is a bit like me when I was a kid—independent, stubborn, strong-willed. The incident in church with the thimble is familiar. My mother used to thump us when we acted up. Also, I actually fed my little brother a worm once. We were going to name our last child Freedom Jane, but he happened to be a boy.

How did you know you were meant to be a writer?

In 6th grade, I decided I was going to become a writer. I kept a journal and read everything I could get my hands on. In high school, I had reported news and sports for my hometown newspaper. My first college major was journalism. I fancied myself the next Dianne Sawyer. I got a B.A. in English. My first creative publication credit was a poem in the college literary magazine. My father couldn’t understand why I didn’t get a teaching certificate. I told him I was going to be a writer! And I was/am. I wrote employee handbooks and policies & procedures for several years in the telecom field. I also worked on short stories and poetry. A few years into staying home with my boys, I started a cheesy romance novel, but quickly abandoned it for picture books. In 2006, I got serious about publication. Wrote a novel for middle grade boys. Came close, had an agent, but no offers.

Was there ever a moment when you thought you’d made a mistake about choosing to write?

I had just finished a new manuscript (ironically it was The Marble Queen), when I was abruptly dumped by my first agent. I worked with two other agents on another manuscript over two years, but nothing happened.

Agent after agent rejected The Marble Queen—17 in all. “Too quiet.” 13 publishers rejected it. I figured it was never going to happen for me. I gave up, went back to school, and earned a phlebotomy certificate. I was working at a hospital, drawing blood, when I got an offer on The Marble Queen.  The manuscript had been in a slush pile for a year! I quit that job two weeks later and haven’t looked back.

What has been one of the highest moments in your writing career?

The absolute best day was “The Call!” Of course, there have been some fairly awesome days since…depositing the advance check, squealing over cover art, seeing the printed ARC, seeing the pre-order go up on Amazon, and I’m starting to plan the launch party.

What has been one of the lowest moments?

Oh, the agony of trying to get published; don’t we all know it well? Honestly, some of my biggest challenges to date happened during revisions. I cried, I ranted, I worried, but it’s made the book stronger.

You strike me as a really strong-willed and tough person, a lot like your character Freedom. During the moments when the business side of writing becomes a drag, how do you stay motivated?

Well, thank you. I am unagented right now, so I’m going at this next part of the journey alone. I have not been assigned a publicist or given a big marketing plan, but I was given 25 ARC’s, and I am trying to place each one where it will get the most bang for its buck. I have created a school visit packet, a book club packet, bookmarks, bookplates, a website, etc. I have reached out to my local bookstores, libraries, and local media outlets.

I don’t write every day, but I do try to “work” an hour or so a day, whether it’s catching up on Facebook or Twitter, reading, research, etc. I need to get better at turning off the noise of the internet. I work better on deadline right now.

Your book was originally sold in June 2010 to Robin Benjamin at Marshall Cavendish. Then, in December, Marshall Cavendish was bought out by Amazon Publishing. Can you tell us what that process was like and what it means to you and The Marble Queen?

I found out along with the rest of the world that my original publisher had sold its children’s titles to Amazon. My heart fell out of my butt, if you want the truth. I was afraid that my little book would be swallowed whole by a big corporation. Turns out, the only thing that has really changed is the name of the publishing company. I don’t know what any of it means, except that the book will also be available for the Kindle, as well as hardcover and audio. I hope the book will be reviewed and makes its way into bookstores, but I don’t know, yet.

Do you have plans for your next book?

My editor is reading my option book, a contemporary middle grade with touches of magical realism. I’m keeping that one a secret for now. The main character’s name is Liberty. I am also working on a companion novel to The Marble Queen, which will be little sister Barbara’s story, set in 1971.

When can we get our hands on The Marble Queen?

Amazon is releasing all three versions on December 18, 2012: Hardcover, audio, and Kindle. They are available for pre-order. www.themarblequeen.com

To celebrate my birthday, Sept 24th, I would like to give away one Marble Queen ARC to a random commenter below.

That’s awesome! It’s your birthday and you’re offering our readers a chance at a free gift. Thanks, Steph. And thanks for dropping by for an interview. I hope you have a fantastic birthday!

So, readers, like Stephanie said, leave a comment below and I will draw a random name for an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of The Marble Queen. The winner will be announced on Sunday, September 30.

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Trudi Trueit—Interview and Giveaway

By on September 12, 2012   /   Author Interviews, Giveaways  

Joining us on The Mixed-up Files today is author Trudi Trueit who has been on the road all week visiting blogs in support of her new tween novel Stealing Popular. Trudi is the author of more than 80 books of fiction and nonfiction for children, including the Julep O’Toole books and the Secrets of a Lab Rat series. To be in the running to win a signed advanced reader’s copy of Stealing Popular, leave a comment below. The winner will be announced tomorrow. Before we begin, though, a bit about the book from Indiebound:

At Briar Green Middle School, you are either a Somebody, a Sorta-body, or a Nobody. Twelve-year-old Coco Sherwood falls directly in the Nobody category—the kids who are considered the misfits and outcasts of the school. It’s not fair. It’s not right. And it’s time to even the score.

With clever planning and sneaky tactics, Coco becomes the Robin Hood of Briar Green. Girls who never thought they had a chance to be noticed are now making cheer squad and turning into beauty queens. But when Coco takes on the ultimate challenge—taking down Popular Girl#1 Dijon Randle—her dream of equality on the middle-school social ladder may turn into a nightmare. Can Coco and the rest of the Nobodies triumph in a world where popularity is power? Or will the Somebodies win—again?

Welcome to the Mixed-up Files, Trudi, and congratulations on the release of your new book.

Thanks, Laurie! It’s a treat to be here. I’m a big fan of the blog.

Thanks! I wish I’d had a friend like Coco Sherwood when I was in middle school. Actually—correction—I wish I’d been more like Coco when I was in middle school. Can you tell us what inspired her story?

Me, too! I was inspired to write this story by my own experience in middle school. When I was young, I was bit on the shy side. I often conformed to the social rules set by others, even when I disagreed with them. It’s something I’ve regretted – giving other people so much control over my path, and that’s what it was. It was me giving my power away. I wanted to write a character with the courage to say many of the things I wished I had said back then. I tend to do that in my writing; deal with issues I didn’t handle well in my own life or try to right the wrongs of the world.

5th Grade Trudi!

One of my favorite lines comes from Chapter 2. Coco reflects, “We were three Nobodies treading water in the vast, stormy ocean of middle school. The best we could do was hold onto one another, kick like mad, and pray for a miracle.”  What was your experience of middle school like? Do you think the social hierarchy has changed much?

That line reflects how I felt in middle school – swept along with the tide. I was the A-student (with glasses and uncooperative hair) that always had her head in a book. Although I wasn’t quite as much of a misfit as Renata is in Stealing Popular, I certainly felt the sting of the occasional insult. Kids have a tendency to take digs at each other and not think anything of it, but I can tell you that when someone makes a cutting remark to you, it hurts. You remember it for a long time. If the insults continue, they can start to chip away at your confidence and self-esteem. It was my friends who helped me navigate some of those stormy seas, just as Coco’s first real friends help her discover how friendships can be the life saver you hold onto when the waves come.

From what I observe, it doesn’t seem like the social hierarchy has changed much. I think that there will always be Somebodies, Sorta-bodies, and Nobodies. But I do see more kids willing to cross boundaries and reach out to kids outside their circle, and that’s a positive step. I also think young people are becoming more aware that there are different degrees of bullying. Bullying doesn’t have to be extreme. What might seem to be “just teasing” can cause more pain than you realize.

Trudi today

Coco’s not a whiner. Once she recognizes the unfairness of the social order she’s determined to change it. In fact, she’s so focused on helping her friends she doesn’t even notice that she’s fixing her own problems as well. What a cool role model for girls! Were you thinking along those lines as you wrote the story – or was all of that Coco’s doing?

It was always in the big picture to have Coco work through some of her own issues even as she help other kids, but of course, once you start writing a strong character, she wants to hop in the driver’s seat and take off! Just like all of us, Coco wants to be accepted and loved for who she is and I had planned for her to come that realization as she develops the first real friendships of her life. What I was less sure about was how she would handle her mom’s abandonment. Once Coco came through the fog of denial, I gave her the freedom to respond in her own way. And she stunned me with her candor. I thought she would defend her mother to the bitter end, but she didn’t. That’s always my favorite part of writing – those little unexpected surprises that come straight from the heart of a character.

As funny as the story is — a detention monitor who forces kids to knit booties for her bulldogs! — Stealing Popular takes on some serious issues, including a scene where we see how adults help perpetuate the social order. My 8th grade daughter hadn’t given much thought to popularity or most-favored status until she tried out for her first sports team this year, and it’s been eye opening. What do you think teachers and coaches can do to help both the Coco’s (the Nobodies) and the Dijon’s (the Somebodies) of the world?

When I was in middle school, I had a soccer coach that had certain favorite players. There was a clear division on the team. Even though we were talented and won nearly all of our games, nobody was very happy, even the favored kids. I got so frustrated I nearly quit a sport I loved. A year later, another parent took over the team. Her style was completely the opposite of the old coach. She made each of us feel as if we were an integral part of the team. No one player was more or less valuable than another. We began to look at each other differently. With the wall torn down, we started, for the first time ever, to play cohesively. We had fun. Most important, we became friends.

I think it’s key for adults to recognize that a student’s personal growth is more important than winning a soccer game or looking like a model in a cheerleading uniform. Every child deserves encouragement, respect, and kindness, regardless of their ability, appearance, or social standing. Teachers and coaches who are inclusive, those who draw out the shy kid in the back of the room or let an uncoordinated girl play basketball, can change lives.

Coco’s heart is in the right place, but her means can be questionable…or downright stinky as a half-composted sweat sock. (Sorry guys, you’ll just have to read the story to get the joke.) Stealing Popular would make a great conversation starter about whether the ends justify the means. Have you been able to have that discussion with any of your readers yet?

I’ve had a few readers already share their thoughts, especially because Coco does get a bit carried away with her mission. And that’s an important element to discuss. Coco thinks that as long as her mission is a noble one, it’s okay to cross certain lines. It isn’t, of course, and she discovers the dangers of getting so focused on a goal you don’t realize the high price you are paying to achieve it.

I think a lot of girls are going to fall in love with Coco. Have we heard the last from her or will there be more stories from Briar Green Middle School – a.k.a. Big Mess?

I would LOVE to write more stories about Coco and her friends. It would be fun to write from the point of view of Fawn (the fashion designer), Adair (the dancer), Liezel (the rock musician) or maybe even the popular girls, Dijon or Venice! If readers want more and ask for more, I would definitely be up for it.

Sounds great, Trudi. Thanks again for stopping by.

Thanks, Laurie! It was my pleasure.

*  *  *

For more about Trudi Trueit, visit her at www.truditrueit.com. Trudi is available for Skype visits through OnlineAuthorVisits.com and is a regular contributor to Smack Dab in the Middle, another group-authored middle-grade blog that Mixed-up Files fans should check out.

Laurie Schneider is a reader, writer, library go-fer, and scone connoisseur in North Idaho.

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The Cavendish Home For Boys And Girls

By on September 10, 2012   /   Author Interviews, Book Lists, Giveaways  

From IndieBound: 

At the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, you will definitely learn your lesson.

Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster—lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does too.)

But then Lawrence goes missing. And he’s not the only one. Victoria soon discovers that The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is not what it appears to be. Kids go in but come out…different. Or they don’t’ come out at all.

If anyone can sort this out, it’s Victoria—even if it means getting a little messy.

This is the book I recently had the pleasure of reading devoured.  In fact, I devoured every eggy bite then talked incessantly about it to my middle-grade daughter, who then promptly gulped down its contents.  Lucky for you, today you’ll get to hear from the author, Claire Legrand, and maybe even win a copy of this creeptastic book!  We’re honored to be part of her blog tour for Cavendish and hope you enjoy her visit!

Claire Legrand is a Texan living in New York City. She used to be a musician until she realized she couldn’t stop thinking about the stories in her head. Now a full-time writer, Claire can often be found typing with purpose on her keyboard or spontaneously embarking upon adventures to lands unknown. The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is her first novel, due out August 28 from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. Her second novel, The Year of Shadows, a ghost story for middle grade readers, comes out August 2013. Her third novel, Winterspell, a young adult re-telling of The Nutcracker, comes out Fall 2014.
Make sure to check out the rest of the Cavendish Blog Tour here!
And go say hi to Claire at her
blog | twitter | facebook | tumblr | goodreads

For the writers:

Me:  What was your greatest inspiration while writing this novel? Maybe it was a dirty basement? Perhaps a creepy lady in your neighborhood?

Claire:  A couple of different things inspired Cavendish. One was this orphanage I lived down the street from in college. It always seemed a bit questionable to me—police caution tape on the doors, a serious lack of inactivity on the grounds, eerily quiet. Oh, and then there was that orphanage van that followed my friend and I all around town until we lost them in a Walmart parking lot. I knew then and there I just had to write a creepy orphanage story!

My dad’s town was also a huge inspiration. I love it there, but in a certain light, if you will, it has a certain Stepford-esque quality. People are very concerned with the superficial, maintaining a certain image, a certain ideal of perfection. I thought, “Let’s put this creepy orphanage and this Stepford-esque town in the same story.” And bam! Cavendish was born.

Oh, and one more piece of inspiration: When I was in elementary school, I took dance for a couple of years. This is particularly mystifying to me as nowadays the closest I come to dance class is blasting The Nutcracker on my stereo and doing really awful “pirouettes” around my apartment. Anyway, my dance teacher was this very kind, very patient woman named Miss Karen. Unfortunately, I once had this very vivid nightmare of Miss Karen chasing me through a house with a kitchen knife, and the image of her smiling, murderous face stuck. So, I based Mrs. Cavendish’s looks on her: dark hair, bright blue eyes, bright red lips. Elegance masking pure evil. (Sorry, Miss Karen! I can’t control my brain when I sleep.)

Me:  That’s much worse than the creepy basement I envision while writing!  *Shivers*  Who was your favorite character to create in Cavendish? Your favorite to torture? (Personally, I liked seeing Victoria get a little messy.)

Claire:  Well, I of course loved creating Victoria because, frankly, she was so easy for me to create. She just popped right into my head one day, fully-formed, demanding for her story to be told. And since I was a prickly perfectionist myself at the age of 12, I had a great time writing her. I understood her, probably more than I will understand any other character I write.

But the most fun to write was probably Mrs. Cavendish herself. I absolutely love writing villains, and Mrs. Cavendish is the kind of pure, inexorable evil you just can’t reason with. That was pretty terrifying to experience for both me and Victoria—probably more terrifying for her, as she actually had to battle Mrs. Cavendish, and I just had to sit safely at my computer.

And I agree with you: I also liked seeing Victoria get a little messy. She was my favorite character to torture because she had the farthest to fall. Her life was perfect at the beginning of the story—she was confident, successful, pretty, wealthy, with beautiful, successful parents and a beautiful house and fantastic grades. So orchestrating her fall brought me a sadistic literary delight.

Me:  Writing villains is a thrill like no other! *rubs hands together*  *laughs maniacally*   In Cavendish, Victoria is a bit of a perfectionist. What part do you think that plays in the story and why?

Claire:  A bit of a perfectionist? 😉 I’d say she’s a perfectionista! Victoria’s perfectionism—including her need to control not only her life, but also everyone else’s—is mirrored in Mrs. Cavendish’s own desire to control the town of Belleville. When Victoria realizes this, it spooks her. She realizes how close she has come to using her intelligence and ambition for evil, as Mrs. Cavendish does, and that gives her a tremendous determination—the same determination that drives her academically, the same determination that prompted her to search for Lawrence in the first place—to not be like Mrs. Cavendish.

Me:  Perfectionista it is then! (I don’t know anyone remotely similar to Victoria in my family….nope, not at all!)  So…Lawrence, Victoria’s pet project and friend, has a skunk stripe in his hair. What did you feel was the significance in that character trait as you wrote the story?

Claire:  Lawrence’s skunkish hair was actually inspired by a dear friend of mine, who started getting these beautiful silver hairs in her thick, black hair when we were in elementary school. I don’t recall people ever making fun of her for it, but it felt appropriate for Lawrence to be ridiculed for his own gray hairs. After all, in Belleville, where physical abnormalities are frowned upon. The fact that Lawrence has that weird silver streak in his hair merely serves as one more element that marks him as abnormal—along with his messy clothes and obsession with his piano over all else.

Me:  I loved that about him!  Many writers have a favorite snack.  Do you prefer to eat chocolate covered beetles or frosted roaches while writing? I’d go with the chocolate – it makes everything taste better!

Claire:  Oh, I’m with you there! Chocolate all the way. Chocolate-covered beetles, chocolate frogs, chocolate pretzels . . . mmm . . . if I don’t stop on the way home to get some chocolate chip cookies, it’ll be a miracle!

Me:  Is Cavendish your first book? Briefly tell about your path to publication (how many query letters, rejections, how you found your agent, etc.)

Claire:  Yes, Cavendish is my first book, and the second book I’ve written overall. I originally started querying agents for the first book I wrote, which was a YA fantasy. I queried for maybe a year or a year and a half or so, and I received many rejections, all of which I keep in a tin for safekeeping. (At one point I considered making some sort of artsy mural out of them, but I never made the time. Probably a good thing!) I also received some requests, one of which was from my current agent, Diana Fox. She loved that story but was absolutely correct when she said that it wasn’t the right time for that mammoth project. I wasn’t ready yet. But she urged me to contact her when I had something else. So, I wrote Cavendish, sent it to her, and received an offer of representation shortly afterward. Diana doesn’t usually represent middle grade, but she loved Cavendish—and I’m so glad she did!

Me:  I’m glad she did, too!  Cavendish is easily one of my favorite reads of 2012! 

For the parents:

Me:  In Cavendish, most of the parents don’t seem to care , or even notice their missing children. Do you think real parents (or even children) can relate to that?

Claire:  Without giving anything away, there is a very good (and sinister) reason why the parents of Belleville start forgetting about their children and seem not to care about their disappearances. But, yes, I do think a lot of parents (and children!) can relate to that feeling of being forgotten, discarded, or not living up to someone’s expectations. Children get frustrated with their parents, not able to see how something a parent does is for the best in the long run, and assuming that means the parent doesn’t care about her own wishes. And parents, I’m sure, can feel like their children don’t care about them, especially as middle grade kids grow into teenagers. I also think parents can understand the frustration of hoping your child will do or become one thing, when they instead do or become another thing. Even if that frustration is temporary—and even though I’m sure real parents don’t actually want to send their kid to a Cavendish Home to get some sense knocked into them—I think it’s a sentiment many parents can understand. Unfortunately for the children of Belleville, the presence of Mrs. Cavendish takes these normal, temporary frustrations and turns them into something much more malevolent.

For the teachers/librarians:

Me:  What do you think makes Cavendish a unique reading experience?

Claire:  Cavendish has a lot of heart, a lot of humor, and a lot of adventure—but it’s also very scary, and I didn’t pull punches when writing it. In other words, the stakes are high for these characters, and not everything turns out okay for the good guys in the end. There is no magic wand that fixes Mrs. Cavendish’s—and Belleville’s—past wrongs. I think kids appreciate that kind of realism and bittersweet victory. They’re smart enough to realize that not everything works out like you’d hope it would in real life, and I think they like seeing that in books. It’s a reminder that, yes, bad things do happen, even when the heroes do emerge victorious in the end, but you can work through those bad things and still have a good life afterward.

Me:  I would definitely agree with that!  What books would you compare it to? (I couldn’t help but conjure up the same creepy feelings that I got from Coraline and Monster House!)

Claire:  Thank you for those wonderful, humbling comparisons! I would compare it to Coraline, for sure, and also to Matilda and Roald Dahl’s works in general. People have also told me it reminds them of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. These are all creepy, quirky, dark tales of grown-ups being bad and kids banding together to save the day—and that’s what Cavendish is too!

For the readers (the kids/prospective Cavendish residents):

Me:  If Victoria had to choose between eating the Cavendish mush for the remainder of her life or being messy, uncivilized and unorganized for one month, which would she choose?

Claire:  Ha! Great question. I think that, at the beginning of the story, Victoria would definitely choose eating some stupid mush for the rest of her life. Anything would be better than having to tolerate mess, chaos, and disorganization for a week, much less a month!

But, at the end of Cavendish, I think Victoria would absolutely choose the month of messiness. I’d say she’s learned to tolerate messiness a little better at that point, after everything she and the other kids have been through. Plus, anything messy and unorganized has the added bonus of reminding her of Lawrence. If she just focuses on thinking about Lawrence, she’ll be all right.

Me:  I think I loved that the most about Victoria – while she does change and grow during the story, its not some false, impossible transformation, but a more realistic change, one that stays true to her, yet allows her the needed growth, for both the character and the reader.  At one point in the story Lawrence has to play a piano made of bugs. He seems only slightly unnerved by it. What would really make him upset? Snakes? Spiders? Cold spaghetti?

Claire:  Oh, I think Lawrence was very upset about the bug piano. But Mrs. Cavendish had her hooks in him so deeply at that point that he was too traumatized to show much emotion, almost like he was in shock. I think the thing that scared him most of all was watching Mrs. Cavendish get the better of Victoria. Also, I think he’d be scared of something weird and surprising. Like cabbage. Or maybe butterflies.

Me:  Butterflies! Haha!

Well, there you have it!  Cavendish is a wonderfully, creeptastic story that you won’t want to miss! To win a hardcover copy of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, fill out the form below! Contest is U.S./Canada only. Contest ends September 25th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amie Borst and her 12 year old co-author write fairy tales with a twist.  Their first book in the Scary Tales series, Cinderskella, is due out Fall 2013 by Jolly Fish Press.  You can visit her day or night at http://amie-borst.com

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