Author Interviews

Author Interview: Dori Hillestad Butler

By on February 3, 2023   /   Author Interviews  
Dori as Sherlock Holmes

Photo credit: Cheryl Fusco Johnson

We’re excited to have Dori Hillestad Butler(one of our Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Readers members) on here today to talk about her new release.

Hi, Dori!! Happy to have you here! Let’s start with learning a bit more about you, and then we’ll talk more about King & Kayla and the Case of the Cat Hunt.

Dori’s Bio:

Dori Hillestad Butler is the author of more than 60 books for young readers including the two-time Geisel Honor award winning King & Kayla series, the Edgar award winning Buddy Files series, the Treasure Troop series, the Dear Beast series and the Haunted Library series. Her books have appeared on ALSC Notable, Bank Street College Best Books of the Year, Junior Library Guild, CCBC Choice, Booklist Editor’s Choice and more than 20 state award lists. She loves visiting schools and libraries all over the country, either in person or virtually, and is eager to share her love of story with readers and writers of all ages.  She grew up in southern Minnesota, spent 19 years in Iowa, and now lives in the Seattle area.

Did you have any childhood dreams for when you became an adult? If so, did they come true?

Yes, I did. And yes, that dream came true. I dreamed of becoming an author.

What advice would you give to your eight-year-old self?

Probably the same thing I say to other eight-year-olds. 1) Read something every day. 2) Write something every day. 3) And never, ever give up on your dream!

Did you love to read as a child? Can you tell us some favorite books?

Yes, very much! I loved the Betsy-Tacy books because they were friendship stories set very near to where I lived. I was also a fan of the Boxcar Children. Those kids were so resourceful, and I was jealous of their boxcar.

What was an early experience where you learned that written language had power?

That’s a good question. An interesting question. Let me think…I wrote to my state senator when I was eight or nine. Back then you could still smoke inside public buildings and I didn’t like that. We’d talked about the harmful effects of cigarette smoke in school and being around cigarette smoke gave me a headache. So, I wrote to my senator and told him I thought there should be a law banning cigarette smoke in public buildings. I don’t take credit for the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, which took effect not long after I wrote that letter. But Tom Hagedorn wrote back to me! And I was pretty shocked that he did. He was a busy grownup and I was just a kid. That experience certainly taught me that written language had power.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I’m not sure there was single moment when I decided that, but I remember cuddling with my grandmother while she read to me. I kept two books at her house: A Pony for the Winter and A Duck for Keeps. Both by Helen Kay. I loved those books, and I still have them. And I remember telling her I wanted to write books just like these!

Have you had any careers besides writing?

Nope! I feel pretty lucky that I get to do what I’ve always wanted to do.

Why do you write?

I want to turn non-readers into readers!

It’s always nice to get to know a little about an author’s personality. So we asked Dori to answer a few fun questions about her writing habits.

What do you drink while writing?

Coffee. Tea. And water.

Do you have any special things around your desk that help inspire you when you write?

I have some award certificates on the wall above my monitor. I also have a little Yoda figure with a light saber a little “bluebird of happiness” on my desk. That little bird is only about the size of my thumbnail. I saw a whole bin of them in a little novelty store when I was visiting my mother-in-law in Florida, and the sign on the bin claimed they were “little bluebirds of happiness.” I decided I needed one. And it sits on my desk to remind me that being a writer makes me happy. Sometimes I need that reminder—especially if it’s taken me all day to write two sentences.

Book cover Cat HuntAnd now that we know about more about Dori let’s find out about more about her book, King & Kayla and the Case of the Cat Hunt.

About the book:

In this latest book in the Geisel Honor award-winning series, our intrepid human-and-dog detective duo have another mystery to solve: how did Raj’s cat escape from a locked house?

King and Kayla have a new case and a new friend. King LOVES new friends. They’re his favorite!

Raj needs our beloved detectives to help him find his cat. Blue was in the house when Raj left for school but now he’s gone. Blue didn’t come for dinner or breakfast. (King can’t imagine missing a meal.) Blue never goes outside and he never had the chance to escape. Where did he go?

When Raj describes Blue, he sounds very familiar. Could Blue be Cat with No Name?

What inspired you to create this story?

Ha! My neighbor Dave and his cat, Blue. I met Dave the day after we moved into our townhouse. He’d lost his cat, so he was going door to door looking for him. He’d left the door to his rooftop patio open and thought maybe someone else had done the same thing, and maybe his very shy cat was hiding in one of our connected homes. The movers had indeed left our roof door open when they put our patio furniture up there, but I told Dave there was no way Blue could be in our house. I introduced him to our 103-pound dog, Mouse, and assured him that if there was a cat in the house, we would know about it.

But Mouse was trying to tell us something. Every time we took him outside, he veered toward my husband’s closed office door rather than the outside door. We didn’t think anything of it when he barked and scratched at that door; he hated closed doors.

Two days after we’d met Dave, Mouse finally got into that room. He went right to the futon and started pawing at the boxes underneath. We moved the boxes and guess what we found. Yup. We found Blue. I felt bad that we hadn’t looked harder when Dave had first stopped by, but I think I made up for it by immortalizing his cat.

Dave, Blue, and Dori

Dori, Blue, and Dave Photo Credit: Bob Butler

Did you base your characters on anyone you know?

See above. By the way, Dave was delighted that his cat inspired one of my books, and now whenever he sees me outside, he calls to me and says, “Hey, I have another story about Blue that you might not know.” That always makes me smile because I have another story about Blue that he doesn’t know.

Dave’s daughter stayed with Blue a couple years ago while he was away. And the cat got out again while she was there. Blue was gone for a couple of days and I helped her look for him. We did eventually find him. She made me promise not to ever tell him Blue had gotten out. And I haven’t. I sure hope he doesn’t read this blog—LOL!

Do you have any advice for readers on how to solve problems like your characters?

When King & Kayla are working on a new case, they make a list of things they know about that case. Then they make a list of things they don’t know. And then they make a plan to find out the things they don’t know, which leads to solving the case. I think that’s a good way to solve any problem.

What is your favorite part of the book?

The fact that it was inspired by real events

What do you hope readers will take away from the story?

That they can be problem solvers, too. Just like King and Kayla.

Please tell us about your other books.

Sure. I’ve got several early chapter series. Dear Beast is a 4-book epistolary [written in letters] series about a cat and dog who learn to share a boy who goes back and forth between them and his recently divorced parents. The Treasure Troop is a 4-book series full of codes and puzzles that readers can solve along with the three characters. The Haunted Library is a 10-book series about a ghost boy and a “solid” girl who work together to solve ghostly mysteries and try and find the ghost’s missing family. And the Buddy Files is a 7-book series, also about a school therapy dog who solves mysteries.

Can you share what you’re working on now?

Yes, I have a new chapter book series coming from Simon & Schuster called Ella Porter, Teleporter. You can probably guess what that’s about. J

I’m also collaborating on a middle grade novel with a friend. It’s a story about two cousins who are trying to heal a rift in their family, and that’ll be out from Holiday House in 2024.

And of course 2024 will also bring a new King & Kayla book, King & Kayla and the Case of the Downstairs Ghost.

I’m sure we’ll all be eagerly awaiting the next book once we finish King & Kayla and the Case of the Cat Hunt! Thanks so much for joining us, Dori. And we look forward to seeing what you come up with next.

Thanks for having me, Laurie!

So glad you were here! And thanks for answering all my questions! We loved learning about you and your newest book!

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Interview with James Ponti – Author of CITY SPIES: CITY OF THE DEAD

By on January 20, 2023   /   Articles, Author Interviews  

I had the good fortune to interview James Ponti, author of the CITY SPIES series, this week. James’s fourth book in the series, CITY SPIES:  CITY OF THE DEAD comes out February 7.

I’m ashamed to admit that I am a little late to the CITY SPIES game, but I can’t wait to jump in and read them all.

 

Please tell us a little bit about your latest book, CITY SPIES: CITY OF THE DEAD.

It starts with a heist, which is so much fun to write. The City Spies have to break into the British Museum and steal something for the government. (Which means I had to figure out how to break into the British Museum.) In the process, they get swept up in a massive cyber-assault on venerated London institutions like Parliament and the Underground. To thwart the attack, they have to journey to Egypt and look for answers in the tombs among the Valley of the Kings. I wanted a story with elements that were up-to-the-minute modern alongside those that were ancient and mysterious. And mummies. I wanted mummies.

And, not for nothing, the fact that it involves breaking into a museum late at night can be traced directly back to the one book that found its way into my heart when I was a young reader. A certain book that shares its name with this website!

 


This series is incredibly popular. Colby Sharp of Nerdy Book Club said, “Books like this are why kids love to read,” which is high praise. What inspired you to write these stories and/or these characters?

First of all, I nearly fainted when I heard Colby say that on his video. My goal was to write a series that young me would’ve wanted to read. I was an extremely reluctant reader, so I keep that in mind when I work on the books. I tried to include the elements that grab me most as a reader – mystery, humor, adventure, and family. The actual idea was spurred by a trip my wife and I took to visit our son when he was studying in England for a year abroad. We went to London and Paris and had an amazing time. That trip and those elements came together to make City Spies.

 


Everyone says writing is a process. Could you share a little about your writing and/or research process?

I wish I had a process, but it seems to change all the time. Sometimes a story starts with characters and other times a plot. City Spies started with a setting. But for me, I really need those three ingredients before I can start cooking.

Right now, I’m finishing the first draft of City Spies 5, which comes out in 2024. Five books into this series, I still have to find all of those elements, but I also have to make sure they don’t seem too similar to what happened in the previous books. The main character changes from book to book, so with City Spies I start with who’s going to be the lead. Then I figure out what amazing location I want to write about. Then I try to work out a mystery/mission that feels organic to the combination of the two.

As for research, it’s extensive. For recent books, I’ve had long interviews with the former deputy director of the CIA, a leading Egyptologist, and a praying mantis expert who works for National Geographic in the Amazon. (My job is really fun that way.) I try to visit the locations when that is feasible. (I.e., when there isn’t a worldwide pandemic.) And the best part is when I get special tours. My wife, editor, and I got to look around the behind-the-scenes area of the New York Public Library to research a big action scene in book 5. It was FANTASTIC!

 


We know no writer is created in a vacuum. Could you tell our readers about teacher or a librarian who had an effect on your writing life?


I was blessed with great teachers from elementary school through college. My Mount Rushmore includes Herman Prothro (elementary), Dale Tyree (jr. high), Judith White (high school), and Abraham Polonsky (college). Judy White was my eleventh grade English teacher and she was amazing. She saw potential in me and pushed me as a writer. She encouraged me. She wrote notes to me in the margins of my work. She circled the opening paragraph of a paper I wrote about Robert Frost and next to it wrote “WOW!” That singular wow helped get me through self-doubt for years. She was also the hardest grader of any teach I’ve ever had and that was just what I needed.

I kept in touch with her after school and as I began my writing career. Unfortunately, she passed away before this success came along. She would’ve been over the moon about it. I love her so much, that I’ve used her name as the name of a teacher in virtually every book I’ve ever written. I just want her to be part of it.

 

What makes your books a good pick for use in a classroom? Is there any particular way you’d like to see teachers or parents use it with young readers/teens?

 

I come from a family of teachers and always write with them in mind. My wife teaches high school and told me that I had to do things for teachers that are free and require little set-up time. I try to live up to that challenge. My website is very educator-friendly and Simon & Schuster is setting up a Digital Classroom Dossier that has anything and everything teachers could use in a single location. I asked a bunch of educators what would be useful and we’ve got curriculum guides, videos, worksheets, downloads, links, interviews, graphics, you name it. They’re all just a single click away.

As for using City Spies in the classroom, in addition to the dossier, it’s important to know that virtually everything in the books is real. I research inside and out so that if you’re reading about an Egyptian tomb, the Great Wall of China, or Muir Woods in California, your students can go online and explore further. I put in tons of facts that I find interesting hoping it sparks interest for readers and educators. I also try to incorporate core subjects in each book. Math classes can look at codes and patterns. A science teacher can talk about the different technologies, old and new that the team uses. I always connect historic events and true to life people with the adventures they’re on. And, in addition to the reading in the books, I try to include literature. There’s an entire throughline about poetry and Robert Burns in two of the books.

All of us at Mixed-Up Files are huge fans of independent bookstores. I see that you are going on a 10-stop tour of independent bookstores across the country. Do you have a favorite Indie that you’d like to give a shout out to?

I could never pick a favorite Indie. I visit them all the time. My wife and I did a vacation to Boston last summer and managed to squeeze in fourteen indies while we were there. Overall, in the last few years, I think I’ve been to nearly one hundred of them. They are the lifeblood of our industry and I love how each one has its own distinct flavor with different quirks and qualities that make them what they are.

 

Can you give us a hint about what we can look forward to next from you?

I’m going to write City Spies at least to book 6 (and hopefully more), so that’s exciting. Book five has a jet-setting mission that takes the team to Venice, Washington, and New York. I’m also writing the first book in a new series.  It’s called the Sherlock Society and it’s a mystery series featuring multi-generational family in South Florida. The first one comes out next year and I am so excited about it! (I hope readers will be too.)

 

James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author of three middle grade book series: City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. Find out more at JamesPonti.com.

 

 

 

Thanks so much to James for taking the time to talk with us.

CITY SPIES: CITY OF THE DEAD releases February 7 and is available at bookstores everywhere.

You can see more purchase options at:  Simon & Schuster.

 

Are you a CITY SPIES fan? Are you about to be? Let us know in the comments below.

 

 

 

 

 

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Interview with Christina Collins, author of THE TOWN WITH NO MIRRORS

By on January 18, 2023   /   Articles, Author Interviews, New Releases  

From The Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors welcomes Christina Collins, author of THE TOWN WITH NO MIRRORS (Sourcebooks, Feb 2023). Collins is New England born but currently lives in Northern Ireland. Her debut middle-grade novel, After Zero, was an NCTE Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts, and she holds a PhD from Queen’s University Belfast and an MFA from George Mason University, both in creative writing.

Here, Collins chats with MUF contributor Andrea Pyros about the challenges of writing a dystopian story for middle-grade readers, the magic and comfort of reading as a middle-schooler, and what she’s read – and loved – lately.  

Mixed-Up Files: Tell us about THE TOWN WITH NO MIRRORS.

Christina Collins: THE TOWN WITH NO MIRRORS is my second middle-grade novel, set in a modern utopian town called Gladder Hill, where mirrors and cameras are forbidden, words like “beautiful” and “ugly” aren’t in the dictionaries, and twelve-year-old Zailey has grown up knowing every face in town…except her own. There’s no talk of how people look, no body shaming… Sounds good, right? But it might not be as utopian as it seems. And Zailey has questions—as well as a guilty secret that could get her and her grandmother evicted if she were discovered… I’ll stop there so I don’t give too much away!

The Town With No Mirrors by Christina Collins (book cover)

MUF: What inspired you to write this story? 

CC: It all started when I took a fascinating dystopian literature course in grad school a while back. I was a creative writing student, so I had the option to write a short story rather than an essay for my final project. At the time, I was also into fairy-tale reimaginings, so an idea popped into my head regarding Snow White’s “happily ever after”: What if Snow White wanted to ban mirrors from her kingdom as soon as she became queen? After all, she’d almost died at the hands of a mirror-obsessed stepmother.

Then I began to imagine what such a society would be like—one without mirrors or any reliable way of knowing what your face looks like. I wrote it as a short story for the class, but the concept stuck with me. That’s probably because body image was such a personal topic for me (and who hasn’t struggled with body image at some point?). I also read about an interesting trend that had been popular circa 2012, called “mirror fasting.” I eventually scrapped the Snow White angle and started writing about the idea in a way that felt more relevant: as a middle-grade novel with a contemporary setting. This felt right not only because body-image concerns so often emerge in young people around middle-grade age, but also because the modern world presents so many opportunities for physical comparison. The novel grew from there!

MUF: There are some serious themes in this novel, but you’re writing for middle grade readers. Can you talk about how you balance the topics in a way that works for this age group?

CC: Great question. To be honest, it’s not something I thought consciously about while writing the book. As I touched on above, middle school is a time when so many kids (including past me) begin to really compare themselves to others and struggle with body image—for some, it sadly starts even younger—so writing this story for a middle grade readership felt pretty natural.

The key for me was to approach the themes through the eyes of a twelve-year-old; Zailey may not fully understand all of the serious issues pertaining to the mission of Gladder Hill, but she is certainly curious, growing more aware, and asking questions. The topic of eating disorders does come up, but the story didn’t call for explicitly discussing it, only touching on it briefly. While the novel features serious themes, I also wanted to make sure it was an entertaining story with some mystery, adventure, and a sense of hope at the end, which I think helps with balance.

MUF: What makes you enjoy and want to write for MG readers in particular? 

CC: I remember the magic and comfort of reading fiction when I was an MG reader myself. It strikes me as a particularly influential and formative time in a reader’s life, and there’s something so special about being a part of that as an author. Plus, I like reflecting on and writing about the age that hovers between childhood and young adulthood—all the excitement and confusion and wonder of it, chock-full of story possibilities.

Author Christina Collins

Christina Collins. Photo: Kalie Reid

MUF: You were born in Massachusetts but now live in Ireland. Does the experience of being an immigrant inform your writing, and if so, in what ways? 

CC: I drafted my debut novel and got the idea for my second novel all before I moved, so I think the experience hasn’t had too much influence on my first two novels. But now that I’ve been in Northern Ireland for seven years (!), I suspect it will influence my writing more and more.

It’s funny—when I brainstorm new ideas, I often find myself defaulting to a US setting, maybe partly because it keeps me feeling connected to where I’m from, and because writing about home and the familiar can be comforting when you live an ocean away from most of your family and friends. At the same time, I’m finally feeling ready to write about the experience of moving to and living in Northern Ireland; I have some story ideas in that regard and can’t wait to see where they take me.

MUF: What’s your writing process like? 

CC: It varies with each project, but I usually like to get to the end of a first draft on my own, without the influence of any outside feedback. I start by writing a sort of story pitch; this helps me figure out if I have enough of a grasp on what I want the story to be about overall and whether there’s a strong enough hook. From there I flesh it out into an outline, and then I tend to write until I have a complete first draft that I’ve read through and lightly revised at least once on my own, before sending it to my agent for her thoughts and suggestions.

MUF: What are your favorite dystopian novels (for any age)?

CC: Ooh, so many! The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is definitely up there for me; that book blew my mind when I first read it in my early twenties, and it’s one I come back to. Other favorites include the YA novel Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill and the MG novels Alone by Megan E. Freeman and Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

MUF: What are some other recent middle-grade books that you’ve enjoyed? 

CC: Girl (In Real Life) by Tamsin Winter, This Last Adventure by Ryan Dalton, and Bright by Brigit Young are all recent reads that I highly recommend. And I’m currently reading and loving Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone by Tae Keller.

MUF:  What are you planning on working on next?

CC: I have several story ideas, so the challenge for me is picking one I feel confident enough to stick with. As I mentioned earlier, I’d love to set a middle-grade novel in Northern Ireland where I live, so I’m hoping to focus on that next.

MUF: Where can people find you online?

CC: You can visit my website at www.christinacollinsbooks.com and find me on Instagram and Twitter as @stinacoll, although I don’t use Twitter much these days.

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