Author Interviews

Author Ali Standish discusses The Mending Summer, the power of healing and writing honestly about addiction

By on May 20, 2021   /   Articles, Author Interviews, For Parents, For Writers, New Releases  

 I’m jumping up and down because I get to interview Ali Standish for the launch of her sixth book, The Mending Summer. Ali is also the author of the critically acclaimed The Ethan I Was Before, How to Disappear Completely, August Isle, The Climbers and Bad Bella. She grew up in North Carolina and spent several years as an educator in the Washington, DC, public school system. Ali has an MFA in children’s writing from Hollins University and an MPhil in children’s literature from the University of Cambridge. You can visit her online at www.alistandish.com

Before our discussion officially gets underway, I want to make one thing clear. I’m not an unbiased interviewer. I had the great honor to serve as Ali’s  MFA thesis advisor at Hollins University Summer Graduate Program in Children’s Literature & Writing. It gives me great joy to speak with her now about new middle grade, The Mending Summer.

  • Water plays a central role as a healer and teacher in The Mending Summer. Why did you choose a lake as a setting? How did lakes figure into your own childhood?

 What a great question, Hillary! And thank you so much for having me. I am no unbiased interviewee either.

I think you’re absolutely right that the lake both heals and teaches. That was my experience attending camp each summer on the shores of Lake Wylie, SC. Being around a body of water, be it a lake, a river or an ocean, has always been both uplifting and humbling for me. Water reminds us of how beautiful and wonderous life can be—what’s more majestic than watching the sun set over the sea?—but it’s also something we can’t control or tame, or really even fully understand. It forces us to let go of the idea that we have total agency over our own lives. In children’s literature, we tend to want to emphasize the power of agency, but for children like Georgia whose lives have spun out of control, it’s important to show that there are things, like another person’s addiction, that we don’t have power over. When we relinquish that idea, we can start to focus on what we can control, which is how we treat ourselves.

  • Georgia’s father is an alcoholic, whose drinking increasingly interferes with his ability to be a reliable parent. You don’t shirk from showing us scenes when he becomes “the Shadow Man,” weaving to the front door or even passed out. And yet, you offer the reader many moments, often in flashback, of magical father/daughter engagement. When someone is suffering from alcoholism it’s easy to fall into the trap of defining them only by their disease. You carefully weave in Daddy’s interests from his passion for music to his love of stories. How did you balance this portrait so carefully?

I was very intentional about wanting to show the essence of Daddy’s character—funny, loving, creative—instead of making him into a caricature of an alcoholic or a simple villain. Because my own family members have struggled with alcoholism, and I’ve had many years to process that, I had a lot of empathy for Georgia’s daddy. I think anyone who has loved an alcoholic or an addict has that empathy, even if it is buried under feelings of betrayal, anger, or loss. We know the person underneath the disease, and it’s important to continue to honor, celebrate, and love that individual, even if it needs to be from a distance. Equally, though, it was important to me not to shy away from the more painful scenes where we see how much alcoholism has changed Daddy, or minimize the impact it has on Georgia.

I hope that in showing him from both those angles, readers who may be impacted by addictions in their own family might feel some comfort. If alcoholism can turn a man like Daddy into the Shadow Man, then maybe they will feel less shame and confusion about why it’s happening to their loved ones. Alcoholism can affect anyone.

  • The Mending Summer braids together elements of mystery, adventure, and fantasy, while still giving quite a bit of weight to Georgia’s shifting feelings. She’s quite emotionally intelligent and sensitive. When you were Georgia’s age, were you aware of your own conflicting feelings? How did you figure out how much time to give to Georgia’s interior life versus the exterior action?

 Kids of alcoholics often develop that kind of emotional intelligence early on as a defense mechanism. It’s important to be able to read the room, the situation, the person sitting across from you, so that you can anticipate what’s coming next. I think it took me longer than Georgia to turn that sensitivity inward. It wasn’t until after my family members had been in recovery for a while and our family had stabilized that I was able to understand my own feelings around things. And what I found was that I had swung between healthy ways of dealing with things (focusing on my own achievements, hobbies, relationships with friends) and unhealthy ways (not reaching out for support or sharing what was going on, but instead turning my turbulent emotions inward). In The Mending Summer, that tug-of-war becomes concrete in the form of the wishing lake, and the two children Georgia meets there. Externalizing the struggle in that way meant that there was plenty of room for action and adventure, so that the story (I hope!) didn’t become too weighed down by Georgia’s internal conflict.

  • Aunt Marigold, with whom Georgia stays with in the country during her mending summer, is a potter. Not only does pottery work as a powerful metaphor but eventually Georgia learns how to shape her own clay pieces. How did you come to weave this element into the book?

At first, I actually experimented with Aunt Marigold teaching Georgia piano, but that didn’t feel quite right. With pottery, you are creating a physical object out of a lump of mud (okay not exactly but you get the gist!). That power to create something whole becomes an important counterbalance to Georgia’s home life, which is fracturing into pieces. I experimented with pottery a few summers at camp and always wished I had been able to do more with it. Pottery also has a long history in North Carolina, where I live and where the book is set. Seagrove, NC, is the largest community of active potters in the country!

  • Aunt Marigold, who is actually a great aunt, is one of my favorite characters. She “walked barefoot through the garden and read William Faulkner at the table and wore overalls like a man.” Did you base Aunt Marigold on a real person? If so, I want to meet her!

Me too! Alas, she is not based on a real person, though I did have an image of Sissy Spacek in my mind when I was writing her… I do like to think that I have my own version of Aunt Marigold inside of me—a strong woman who is unapologetic about who she is, and who can be both surprisingly tender and fiercely protective. We all deserve an Aunt Marigold to give us the resolve to keep going when times get tough.

  • A lonely looking gravestone, a mystery room, odd sounds, and eerie characters all figure into this story. There were places I found myself turning on the reading lamp a little brighter. How did you feel about scary stories as a kid? How did you manage to weave in some many spooky moments and yet have the overall story feel uplifting?

I LOVED spooky stories as a kid. Still do! I remember how devastated I was when I first realized that I was too old to really enjoy Goosebumps anymore. I had no idea how to fill the void! I think many young readers are drawn to these kinds of mysteries that carry a hint of danger. My stories are usually about a kid who is struggling with something tough, but they always have room for a few southern gothic tropes. But those locked doors and spooky gravestones always have a human story behind them which, once uncovered, usually have something in them to support the protagonist on their journey to healing. So…come for the scares, stay for the character development—hah!

  • The story includes quite a bit of adventure and some thrilling moments. Did you know in advance that this story would go there? Or did it take you by surprise?

 I did know that it would go there. What happens at the lake mirrors what is happening in Georgia’s psyche. Since she went to some dark places, it was only natural that the lake would, too. Of course, the adventures start out as quite exciting and fun, and that was one of the ways that I tried to keep balance in the book between exploring the tough stuff but threading it through with the kind of mystery and adventure I loved reading as a middle grader.

  • Nature is a both fearsome and healing. In many ways, I was getting some Bridge to Terabithia I’m assuming Katherine Patterson is an influence. I’d be curious to learn a little bit about some of your favorite middle grade books and why you love them.

 I will happily take that comparison, thank you very much! (No take-backsies.) Bridge to Terabithia was a hugely influential book for me. You know how sometimes you see a tree that grows around a large stone, or some man-made object? I feel like my soul kind of grew around that book. It even inspired an entire fantasy world in my backyard—Narbithia (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was also a favorite!). That book gave me a blueprint for how to exercise my imagination, while also showing me the supreme power of story to make readers feel.

More recent favorites include Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me(okay, not that recent, but a perfectly plotted book, in my humble opinion, and one that any aspiring writer can learn so much from) and this year’s Newbery winner, Tae Keller’s When You Trap a Tiger. In fact, I had the honor of blurbing the latter (and will continue to mention this for the rest of my life when given the most minuscule opportunity). When You Trap a Tiger is also a book that blurs the lines between magic and a child’s inner-turmoil. It weaves together Korean folklore with a universal story of family history, love and loss in a beautiful, haunting way.

  • Are you an outliner, panster or a hybrid writer?

 I write books like Boomers drive cars. (At least the Boomers in my family!) I know where I want to start and where I want to go, and I’m pretty sure I know how to do it, but I’m sure as heck not going to bother with a GPS. So there will inevitably be some wrong cars (and some choice language) but eventually, I usually find my way.

  • Anything else you’d like readers to know about The Mending Summer?

Importantly, the cast includes a grumpy cow named Ruby. Why does no one mention her?!

Just kidding, mostly I just want educators, librarians, and young readers to know that there are stories out there for kids who are impacted by alcoholism and addiction. Hopeful, engaging stories that might make them feel less alone and that might help guide them toward making healthy choices, rather than self-destructive ones. And while they deal with serious issues, these stories are necessary to keep on classroom and library bookshelves, because you never know which child might be walking into school each morning with this weighing on their shoulders.

Hillary Homzie is the author of the Ellie May chapter book series (Charlesbridge, 2018), Apple Pie Promises (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2018), Pumpkin Spice Secrets (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2017), Queen of Likes (Simon & Schuster MIX 2016), The Hot List (Simon & Schuster MIX 2011) and Things Are Gonna Be Ugly (Simon & Schuster, 2009) as well as the Alien Clones From Outer Space (Simon & Schuster Aladdin 2002) chapter book series. She’s also a contributor to the  Kate the Chemist middle grade series (Philomel Books/Penguin Random House). During the year, Hillary teaches at Sonoma State University and in the summer she teaches in the graduate program in childrens’ literature, writing and illustration at Hollins University. She also is an instructor for the Children’s Book Academy. She can be found at hillaryhomzie.com and on her Facebook page as well as on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

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AN OCCASIONALLY HAPPY FAMILY: Interview with Author Cliff Burke & #Giveaway!

By on May 20, 2021   /   Author Interviews  

Welcome to my interview with author Cliff Burke and his heart-warming story AN OCCASIONALLY HAPPY FAMILY!

This title spoke to me from the moment I read it. I’m sure it can stir all sorts of family memories and thoughts; I know, it did in me. Let’s have an introduction to the book and then we’ll move on to the author’s thoughts on his adventure writing it. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom to enter for your chance to win a copy of this #mglit book!

THE BOOK

AN OCCASIONALLY HAPPY FAMILY

by Cliff Burke

Gordon Korman meets The Great Outdoors in this funny and moving debut about a boy who goes on a disastrous family vacation (sweltering heat! bear chases!) that ends with a terrible surprise: his dad’s new girlfriend.

There are zero reasons for Theo Ripley to look forward to his family vacation. Not only are he, sister Laura, and nature-obsessed Dad going to Big Bend, the least popular National Park, but once there, the family will be camping. And Theo is an indoor animal. It doesn’t help that this will be the first vacation they’re taking since Mom passed away.

Once there, the family contends with 110 degree days, wild bears, and an annoying amateur ornithologist and his awful teenage vlogger son. Then, Theo’s dad hits him with a whopper of a surprise: the whole trip is just a trick to introduce his secret new girlfriend.

Theo tries to squash down the pain in his chest. But when it becomes clear that this is an auditioning-to-be-his-stepmom girlfriend, Theo must find a way to face his grief and talk to his dad before his family is forever changed.

THE INTERVIEW

Hi Cliff! It’s wonderful to have you stop by. Tell us: when did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Like most writers, I’m first and foremost a reader and grew up believing that ‘real writers’ were a special, untouchable group of people. Even though I majored in English in college and did some creative writing then, it wasn’t until more recently that I thought I might have the ability to write a full-length book that could be published. Specifically, I was inspired by my students’ creative energy and how involved they got during our writing units. I began writing short stories to serve as mentor texts for assignments, mostly just trying to get laughs (while still teaching the fundamentals of building characters, dialogue punctuation, setting the scene, etc.), and went from writing short sketches for my classes to drafting a book that is soon for sale!

Fantastic! Love that your writing evolution included your students’ fervor for their writing assignments. Very inspiring!

Tell the readers a bit about your main character Theo.

Theo is a thirteen-year-old budding comic book artist whose first graphic novel, The Aliens who Eat People But Never Get Full, was a big hit with his three friends. He is a Pisces who mostly goes with the flow and often serves as the peace-keeper between his bickering older sister and Dad. Something hinted at but not explicitly detailed in the book is Theo’s desire for, but difficulty with, connecting to other people.

Theo’s first comic book title is so great! Oh, the visuals.

Why did you want to tell Theo’s story?

I wanted to tell Theo’s story because I think it is a fairly common one. Many middle grade main characters take action, or are brash, or have strong personalities that lead them to a big change. But just as common (and just as interesting) are kids who are more reserved, and whose unique characteristics only become apparent once you get to know them better. The difference between what Theo communicates directly to the reader and what he outwardly communicates to the people in his life make him different from chattier or more outward-facing main characters.

BOOK GUTS

The quote by Tolstoy that opens the book ‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way’, screams volumes of what is to come on the pages of this story.

  • What defines this family’s happiness and unhappiness?

Without giving away too much of the story, I’d say the family’s unhappiness comes from the truly difficult experiences the family has gone through in the years before the book starts, and their inability to communicate openly about their feelings. Their happiness comes from the core of genuine care they have for each other despite their challenges in expressing this directly.

  • How do you think young readers will see their own families within this?

I am trying to reflect the reality of my own experiences growing up, and hope that even if readers don’t identify with the specific ways in which this family is imperfect, they can appreciate the importance of all imperfect families.

Grief, life changes, and acceptance are underlying themes throughout Theo’s story. What was one of your hardest scenes to write, which incorporated these? Which was your favorite?

The final scene, without giving it away, was one of the hardest to write because I wanted to strike the balance between writing a scene that was hopeful and satisfying to the reader, but still honest in showing that people (and families) do not change overnight.

My favorite scene that incorporates these themes also takes place towards the end of the book, when the family is sitting under the stars of the Terlingua desert and speaking to each other honestly for the first time.

STORY CHARM

Why will young readers relate to Theo?

In a general sense, readers can relate to Theo as someone who is shy in public but inwardly bursting with creativity, as a younger sibling, as someone torn between allegiances to his sister and his Dad, as someone who loves his friends but also wishes they were a little different sometimes, or as someone forced into a car on a family vacation to a place he has little interest in visiting.

More specifically, I also hope he is relatable as someone who has gone through a major event in his life (the death of his mother) without understanding how to really talk about his response to it. He outwardly projects that he is doing fine and has everything under control but would like to let his true feelings to someone who would listen without judgement.

As we’ve pointed out, the book does deal with serious life emotions and events, it does also have a very humorous side. Care to share an example?

Thank you for pointing this out! One of my favorite parts of writing is finding ways to incorporate humor into the story. A scene that was particularly fun to write was Theo and his family’s encounter with French nudists in a public hot springs who reject the Dad’s insistence that they follow the “bathing suits recommended” park policy.

😂

What would you like young readers (and their parents) to leave Theo’s story with?

I hope readers will take whatever they would like from the book. There is a lot of info about Big Bend National Park and the history of Texas, observations on older sisters,

bumbling fathers, overzealous young influencers, amateur birders, and bear attacks. There is hopefully something in that list that will linger with readers, along with the above-mentioned message that expressing even the most difficult emotions can be very healing.

WRITING ADVICE

For our writing readers, share a piece of writing advice that you’ve found valuable throughout your writing journey.

I’ll offer this, from George Saunders’s recent A Swim in a Pond in the Rain – “doing what you please (i.e. what pleases you), with energy, will lead you to everything – to your particular obsessions, your particular challenges, and the forms in which they’ll convert into beauty…We can’t know what our writing problems will be until we write our way into them, and then we can only write our way out.”

I’m very guilty of trying to construct the perfect story in my head and flagging every possible problem rather than sitting down and starting to put words together. I’ve also talked to many people who have the best idea for a story but still need to write it. So my advice is just to start writing and see what happens.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cliff Burke grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. He worked as a house painter, a parking lot attendant, and a sign-twirling dancing banana before graduating from the College of William and Mary. He currently teaches English in Austin, Texas.

Can’t thank you enough for joining us and for sharing your new book with us, Cliff! Best wishes from the entire Mixed-Up family.

Interested in more books about spending time with family? Check out this POST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway runs from today until May 27th. (US only) Good luck!🍀🍀🍀

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Interview With Cory Leonardo, Author of The Hedgehog Of Oz

By on May 19, 2021   /   Author Interviews, books  

I’m thrilled to welcome Cory Leonardo to the Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors to chat about her new novel, The Hedgehog of Oz. As a HUGE fan of all things OZ, I was especially excited to read this book. I was also keen to learn how she came up with the idea and if she was at all nervous about taking a trip down the yellow brick road. 

Tell us about The Hedgehog of Oz.

I’d love to! The Hedgehog of Oz is a story about a hedgehog named Marcel who convinces himself that his beloved owner Dorothy no longer loves him, so he runs away during a picnic at the park. He instantly regrets it. Lost Marcel finds his way to the abandoned balcony of the old Emerald City Theater where he and two comical chickens spend their days eating popcorn and candy and where he’s constantly tortured by the Saturday matinee: The Wizard of Oz, his and Dorothy’s favorite movie. But when the animals are found out, all of a sudden, Marcel is boxed-up and kicked to the countryside where he finds himself in an all-too-similar plot. He lands in Mousekinland. He meets Scamp, a spitfire of a mouse who’s trying to prove her smarts to everyone (while brandishing a sling-shooter); Ingot, a grumpy old squirrel without a heart; scared baby raccoon Tuffy, lost and afraid in the forest. There’s Oona the Luna moth to guide him; Toto, well, Toto is actually a fairly useless cocoon; there are awful seagulls, terrible rats, and an owl named Wickedwing stalking their every move. And then there’s home. And what home is. Is it the place you live? Or the people you live with?

How did you come up with the idea?

Marcel came to me first. I was watching a movie with my daughter and one of the side characters was the sweetest (if a little bumbling) character I’d seen in a long time. I instantly wanted to write a book with a character like that. I knew he’d need characters unlike him to balance the story, so I found a loud, brave mouse and a crotchety old squirrel. The problem was, I had no plot. I’d done some extensive research on the Wizard of Oz for a historical novel I began eons ago and had, at one time, used its characters as archetypes. One day it clicked. THIS was the book that was begging for Oz magic. Once I realized that, the book seemed to write itself!

Have you read many of the Oz books? If yes, which one is your favorite? 

I’ve actually only read the first!

Did you feel intimidated or anxious about writing a story that takes place in OZ? 

Maybe I should have? But with such a classic story there’s a lot of reassurance in knowing the bones of it are good. And sort of like my first book where I took classic poems and reworked them, I absolutely adore exploring beautiful art deeply, tearing it apart, and then playing with the pieces. 

Do you base your characters on people you know? If yes, spill the beans!

Oh yes. There are definitely pieces of people I know in them. My spunky 8-year-old niece came to mind a lot when writing Scamp. But I’ll pluck personalities, ways of speech, quirks, and hang-ups from anywhere. I love stealing TV personalities. There’s an awful lot of Betty White in Bertie Plopky in The Simple Art of Flying/Call Me Alastair.

How much of your real-life experiences play a role in the stories you tell? 

I’m a big believer in drawing on the well of your life experiences. It’s the only well you know deeply. I write a lot about animals because I grew up with a veterinarian mom. I love to write beautiful settings because I live for a good walk in the woods. But the deepest experiences I draw on are feelings. Anxiety, love, wonder, frustration, feeling small, dreaming big . . . I think it’s diving to the deepest part of the well, the human condition, that ends up connecting with the reader in the most intimate way.

What books did you like to read when you were a kid? Do those books influence your writing?

I actually didn’t read a ton of different books as a kid! We didn’t have many at home (the ones we did, I read a million times though), and I went to a tiny private school without a library. Once a week we trekked to the public library, but I tended to borrow the same books over and over again because it was overwhelming and unfortunately, no one was feeding us a list of books to try. The ones that stick with me the most are the few read aloud by parents and teachers: Narnia and Little House. Once I got to middle school, I found my “thing.” The Babysitter’s Club was EVERYTHING. I’m not sure how much my childhood reading influences my writing other than my desire to create a world that makes readers want to melt right into it, just as every good book does.

What are you working on now? 

Oh, lordy. A beast of a book that I think is trying to murder me? I sort of determined that before I started to write some of the more contemporary tales I’ve got swimming in my head, I wanted to cap off my animal characters, at least for a bit. This one is more of a gothic fantasy that jumps back and forth in time and has a missing prince, an unlikely hero of a girl, and magic, some of which has brought a few stuffed animals to life. If you don’t hear from me for a while, you know the book has succeeded in its diabolical murder plan.

What person, place or experience has most impacted your writing life?

Pitch Wars! Definitely. Being edited and mentored (by the brave Cindy Balwin and Amanda Rawson Hill–the best!) at that level of skill gave me an education that’s hard to get from craft books. You don’t know where your blind spots are until you’ve got a few pros pointing them out.

How long was your road to publishing and what happened along the way?

Long. I’d determined NOT to be a writer in college. I managed to avoid every creative writing course offered . . . and I have an English degree. It was too scary. I should’ve realized that the things you run from generally come looking for you in time. I stayed home with my kids, and when I got to the point where I needed to rethink careers, writing kept niggling the back of my mind. I tried to shut it up for a good eight years, even while researching everything about the business, the craft, writing in multiple genres, reading all the children’s books I never did as a kid, and querying picture books. The first novel I finished (there were many others I didn’t) was my Pitch Wars novel. And the rest is history. It was about ten years from start to seeing my book on shelves.

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

This can change on any given day, but one thing I’m currently reminding myself is that while I am a writer, being a writer isn’t the total of me. There’s something about this business that can suck the soul from your chest at every stage–published or not. There’s always a height you haven’t reached, a book you haven’t written, meaning you haven’t found in it. Everytime you sit down to write, take off that weighty backpack of fear, guilt, pressure, and comparison, and give it a good kick. Write for the pleasure of writing. That pleasure will find its way into your work. That pleasure will attract people’s notice. And don’t neglect a good walk.

Everybody has a comfort food they turn to when they are feeling down or need an emotional hug. Do you have a comfort book?

When I need to be reminded of the beauty and importance of a good story, or when I just need to sigh and look with wonder on the world, I will always pick up a Kate DiCamillo book. She’s a master.

Thank you for spending time with us at the MUF Files. It has been great getting to know you. I loved The Hedgehog of Oz and hope more adventures are coming our way.  

To learn more about Cory Leonardo, please visit her website. 

 

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