Author Interviews

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.

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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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Interview with Adam-Troy Castro, Author of Gustav Gloom and the People Taker

By on July 25, 2012   /   Author Interviews  

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From Indiebound: Fernie What finds herself lost in the Gloom mansion after her cat appears to have been chased there by its own shadow. Fernie discovers a library full of every book that was never written, a gallery of statues that are just plain awkward, and finds herself at dinner watching her own shadow take part in the feast!

Along the way Fernie is chased by the People Taker who is determined to take her to the Shadow Country. It’s up to Fernie and Gustav to stop the People Taker before he takes Fernie’s family.

Darkly funny and at times outright creepy, Gustav Gloom is already on my list of all-time favorite children’s horror novels (right up there with Neil Gaiman’s Coraline). Luckily, Adam-Troy Castro‘s new series will span six books, each digging a little deeper into the mysterious Gloom mansion and the Shadow Country. That means more gorgeous illustrations by Kristen Margiotta to look forward to as well – this is one of those covers you have to see in person to really appreciate how weirdly beautiful it is.

Adam was nice enough to talk to share a few thoughts on writing middle-grade horror, favorite books, and shadow food here at From the Mixed-Up Files.

While you’re an accomplished sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writer, this is your first middle-grade series. What’s your favorite thing about writing MG, and what do you feel is the biggest challenge?

My favorite element is that whimsy is a plus, not a minus. The biggest challenge — since this is a horrifically-tinged series — is edging right up to the limit of what’s appropriate, and not going over. Generally, I accomplish this by going exactly as far as I have to, and then retreating if I must.

What were your favorite books as a kid? Which authors inspired your own writing?

I was earliest to the works of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert Sheckley, Richard Matheson, and Harlan Ellison. They were the folks I always shot for, from the beginning.

At age 18, penning horror stories, I was told by one dismissive person that, “This is almost as bad as Stephen King,” and thus learned about him for the very, VERY first time; the criticism was made to break me, but sent me to the library, and I emerged pleased.

Gustav and Fernie become friends despite their very different personalities. What were you like as a middle schooler – outgoing and pajama-loving, or more the quiet outcast with no shadow?

The outcast, definitely — the kind of outcast who attempts to be the class clown and only succeeds about a quarter of the time. When I was funny, I was drop-dead funny. When I was not…oy vey.

The Gloom mansion is filled with strange rooms – a library with all the books that have never been written, a gallery with extremely awkward statues, a room filled with seemingly normal chairs that are not-so-normal…are there any rooms in the mansion you wish were in your own house?

The library, of course – provided I had the capacity to read it. I also wouldn’t mind wandering around the Gallery of Awkward Statues, a little bit. There’s a room coming up in Book 2, important to Gustav’s past, that is downright delightful…and another in Book 4 with an artifact that turns out to be gamechanger, and boy do I want one of those.

What’s your shadow’s favorite food? (And what’s yours?)

My shadow just loves quiche. I’m a hamburger guy.

Michelle Schusterman is the author of the I HEART BAND series (Penguin, 2014). She’s currently living in Queens, and she blogs, tweets, and Tumblrs.

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Agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin Interview and Giveaway

By on June 28, 2012   /   Author Interviews, Giveaways  

I’m thrilled to welcome agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin to the Mixed-Up Files.  Alyssa is a 1998 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining Trident Media Group in December of 2006, she spent seven years at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, where she edited the New York Times bestselling LITTLE QUACK, as well as the popular THE MOTHER DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB, and THE WEDDING PLANNER’S DAUGHTER. Alyssa is currently seeking commercial middle grade and young adult novels, as well as projects with crossover appeal in women’s fiction.

 

Thank you for visiting us!  Between all your editorial and agenting experience, how has the market changed, how did you adapt to it, and what new changes do you think agents might make in the future? 

While we’re in a climate of great change, I think publishers are choosier now more than ever. I’ve heard a refrain lately of people looking for books that have a very unique and lyrical voice, but at the same time are “not so different” that they can’t comp to other popular books.

Additionally, authors now have the ability to publish their own books through Amazon and other etailers without a major publisher backing them. While it’s still often a long road between independently publishing one’s book and getting a publisher to notice it and pick the book up in a big deal, it’s definitely a strategy that I’ve seen already, and one that I suspect we’ll see more and more of in the months ahead. Editors and agents are often “trolling” the highest ranked books on Amazon and B&N.com and figuring out if there is a way to expand those brands beyond just the ebook arena by publishing them in hardcover, paperback in foreign markets, selling film rights.

 

It’s amazing to see how many middle-grade books are being self-published now.  What do you think about the quality of those books, and when do you believe it’s okay for a writer to consider that route?

I love the fact that self-publishing no longer has the stigma associated with it that it did at earlier times. Not only are the John Lockes and the Amanda Hockings of the world making money by selling their ebooks online, but plenty of mid list authors as well as newbies are making considerable cash as well.

While self-publishing ebooks might not be the right strategy for every book, and particularly not for every MG book, considering that a lot of the readers in that age group are not yet reading on e-readers, nor are they on Facebook in the same way that teens are, it is definitely the right strategy for some.

My own wonderful client, Adam Glendon Sidwell made a huge foray by independently publishing his MG book EVERTASTER, which hit #52 overall in books on amazon.com and #1 in children’s mystery books on his first day of publication. A veteran of the special effects film industry, Adam decided to take this route after I could not sell his fun, funny, clever, and page-turningly delicious book EVERTASTER to a major publisher. I had gotten close to selling the book to 2 different major publishers, but while the editors championed the book, sales came back and said it was too quirky. And yet these rejection letters we were receiving sounded more like sell sheets for the book! One editor said “this was like GOONIES meets RATATOUILLE meets THE DA VINCI CODE, and kids would literally eat this up.”

While EVERTASTER is certainly a quirky story. It’s also a very commercial one. It’s both a mystery and adventure in which the worlds pickiest eater goes in search of The Gastronomy of Peace, a recipe so delicious, that one who finds it will never want to eat anything else. And it’s a battle to the finish, since evil forces are in search of this rare delicacy, too. And securing its ingredients takes Guster and his brainy sister across the globe from jungles to icy peaks to medieval castles.

Shortly after the submission rounds concluded, my agency, Trident Media Group, launched its own ebook publishing platform. We serve as advisors to our clients who wish to publish their own books and consult on marketing and price strategies, covers, copyediting, and every other facet of eBook making. Adam and I agreed that EVERTASTER seemed like the perfect first MG with which to launch Trident’s impressive roster of original eBooks. The fact that he and I had been editing and revising it for the better part of two years definitely spoke to the quality of the work as well.

 

What are some great ways for authors to promote themselves and their books?

I think the more authors can do to utilize online resources, the better. In the case of EVERTASTER, Adam and his brand team (i.e. family members) spent two months prior to publication building up a huge fan-base for the book on Facebook and Twitter. He also created a blog and a trailer, sought out quotes from other authors and interviews on influential blogs. And he kept his growing fan base in the loop every step of the way, by tweeting and posting on FB every time something new happened with the book. He also sponsored contests on Goodreads, did cross-promotion with a pie company, and even put up the first chapter page-by-page on Facebook.

While the ebook is launching with a splashy and fabulous trailer, the paperback version of EVERTASTER already made huge waves on Amazon on June 14th. Adam specifically created a trade paperback so he could have something to take to schools, as opposed to just creating an ebook. Thanks to Adam’s great story AND his ability to strategically use social networking, EVERTASTER was successful right out of the gate. Picking the right meta-data categories to put one’s book in when selling it online is essential, too. Otherwise, it might not be found in a search.

 

What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve seen authors make? 

I think authors should utilize editors and copyeditors to make sure their book is in great shape before they put it up online. I also personally think that authors should take advantage of as much free online publicity as they can, and not outlay a lot of cash for banner ads or other expensive advertising until they at least are in the black and have some revenue from their first phase of sale to invest.

 

I’d love to know the titles of some of your favorite middle-grade novels, and why you love them so much.

NUMBER THE STARS and THE WILLOUGHBYS by Lois Lowry both top my charts. Both so beautifully-written and astute, yet each so different.

I’m also a huge fan of THE LEMONADE WARS by Jaqueline Davies. It teaches math in a very subtle way, while also telling a very compelling and heartfelt story.

I also greatly enjoyed THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE: The Shadows by Jacqueline West and found it a great balance between spooky adventure and a very relatable character.

 

Do you have a manuscript wish list?   

I definitely am on the watch for more MG then ever, since I feel the industry is skewing to YA for its own good and that there’s a lot of room to grow in the MG cannon. I often find submissions in MG often tend to skew either very voice-driven or very plot-driven, and so I’m looking, like so many agents are, for a very fresh voice that grabs hold of the reader, but one in which high-stakes develop organically throughout the story, and don’t feel tacked on. I’m a huge fan of THE ORIGAMI YODA branding strategy, and would also like to figure out what the next “Yoda” is…J

 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?  

When you get positive feedback on a book, even if it’s by way of a rejection letter, don’t dismiss it. Had Adam not listened to the kind praise he was securing as well as thought about ways to sell his book in an outside the box manner, he’d never be among the top-selling MG mystery books on the market.

 

A lucky winner will receive a copy of WONDER written by R. J. PALACIO, one of Alyssa Eisner Henkin’s clients.  Indiebound says: In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope.  R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” —indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out. This wonderful book has made the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, UK, and Indie bestseller lists, and inspired the Choose Kind anti-bullying campaign.  Leave a comment below and our random generator will choose a winner on Saturday, June 30. 

Alyssa Eisner Henkin is also offering a second giveaway…a critique of up to 20 pages of a middle grade novel manuscript!  Please let us know in your comment if you want to be included in this extremely generous giveaway.

***For both giveaways, you’ll receive extra entries for sharing a link on your blog, Facebook, an online forum, or Twitter.  Please mention each link in a new comment so the generator will add your extra entries.  The WONDER winner must live in the US or Canada.  Good luck!

In addition to these awesome giveaways, Alyssa Eisner Henkin is also offering one more chance for writers to win a critique from her (and this giveaway is open for one picture book manuscript or up to 20 pages of an MG or YA).  Click here for more information! 

Mindy Alyse Weiss writes humorous middle-grade novels and quirky picture books.  She’s constantly inspired by her eleven and fourteen year-old daughters, an adventurous Bullmasador adopted from The Humane Society, and an adorable Beagle/Pointer pup who was recently rescued from the Everglades.  Visit Mindy’s blog or Twitter to read more about her writing life, conference experiences, and writing tips.

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