books

It’s Freak Out Season! An Interview with Dr. Carla Naumburg

By on September 9, 2024   /   Articles, Author Interviews, books, For Writers, Nonfiction, Writing  

It’s back to school time! For many students, teachers, and parents, this part of the year brings a mixture of excitement and anxiety, so it’s the perfect time to dig into a middle grade selection all about dealing with those “freak out” moments. Dr. Carla Naumburg was kind enough to chat with me about her new book, How to Stop Freaking Out: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Cool When Life Feels Chaotic. Carla is a clinical social worker and the author of five books, including the bestselling How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids and its middle-grade companion How to Stop Freaking Out. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, CNN, and Mindful Magazine, among other places.

Her newest book is a fantastic read, with plenty of tips and tricks we’ve already put to good use in my house! Our interview is below, and be sure to check the book out here — its out everywhere tomorrow!

Chris: Thanks so much for taking some time to talk with me! Let’s start with your background as a clinical social worker…how did you make the leap from that career into writing?

Carla: I would actually say I made the leap from writing into clinical social work. I’ve wanted to write books since I was eight years old… or maybe younger! I took a psychology elective in high school, which led to a psychology degree in college, which led to my masters and PhD in clinical social work. But I never stopped thinking about writing books, and when I became a mother, my clinical background and parenting experience led to the publication of my first book in 2014… and I haven’t looked back since!

 

Chris: I get it! When you have a writer inside you, it always finds its way out eventually! So this book is actually a middle-grade companion to a book you wrote for grown-ups with similar themes. How did this project evolve from that original concept?

Carla: How to Stop Freaking Out explores the same information, ideas, and practices for managing your emotions as the parenting book you linked to above, but without the salty language and with many more illustrations! The idea for this book came from my amazing agent, Gillian MacKenzie. The minute she suggested a middle-grade version, I knew she was right. Kids freak out just as often as adults, and we all need help figuring out how to stay calm when life gets overwhelming.

 

Chris: Most of us probably have our own personal definition of a “freak out”, but how would you explain freaking out as it relates to the ideas in the book?

Carla: I use the acronym F.A.R.T. to help readers figure out if they’re freaking out. Our explosions are fueled by strong Feelings, they’re Automatic and Reactive, and, perhaps most importantly, our freak outs go Too far. I go into more detail in the book, but hopefully this silly acronym can help readers identify their freak outs and remember not to take themselves too seriously.

 

Chris: You can never go wrong with fart references in middle grade — love the acronym 🙂 As a lot of our readers know, writing and publishing can sometimes feel chaotic and stressful. Have you ever had to use any the techniques from the book in your life as an author?

Carla: All the time! Some of my favorite habits for preventing freak outs include: doing whatever I can to get enough sleep every night, exercising or moving my body every day, and ending the day by watching a TV show that makes me laugh (our current family favorite is Abbot Elementary!) When I’m trying to stay calm when life gets chaotic, I focus on breathing (and noticing that I’m breathing), going out to the front porch for a few minutes (and breathing some more), dropping my shoulders (which are almost up by my ears when I’m stressing out), and turning on a song that makes me happy.

 

Chris: Awesome thanks for sharing those tips! I’ve been reading through a really interesting book by Jonathan Haidt about the rise of anxiety in young people since the advent of the smartphone. Are there portions of this book that could be applied specifically to technology and social media?

Carla: I haven’t read that book, but yes, smartphones and social media are definitely related to freakouts! The posts and videos on social media can trigger adults and kids alike in a variety of ways, making us more prone to flipping our lids. In addition, if we pull out our smartphones every time we feel bored, anxious, frustrated, and otherwise unhappy, we’ll never figure out what our feelings really feel like and how to respond to them in skillful ways — rather than just losing ourselves in posts and videos that are likely to trigger us further!

 

Chris: Good call — I find myself often fighting the temptation to jump to my phone whenever I’m bored…love the idea of figuring out what my feelings really feel like! Okay, so what’s next for you as an author? Can you give us any clues about new projects you’re working on? 

Carla: I always have a million books bouncing around in my brain. Currently, I’m considering another self-help book for parents, another non-fiction book for kids, or maybe the ever-elusive novel… who knows?

 

Chris: We’ll be excited to see what comes next! Okay…as always, I like to do a lightning round of questions, so here we go…

Favorite place to write?

My office, preferably with two cats and a seltzer on my desk and a good police procedural playing on my iPad. (I always write with the TV on!)

Favorite authors?

In no particular order: Larry McMurtry, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, and Sandra Boynton, but I reserve the right to add to that list!

Best desert?

Coffee ice cream with Oreo chunks.

Do you have any pets?

Yes, two rescue cats: Gertie and Gittel. They are incredibly annoying and I can’t even tell you how much I love them.

Favorite elementary school memory?

Garbage Pail Kids, of course! I collected the cards, and they even had one named Carla. Nobody ever has

anything named Carla (except my parents, I guess)!

Favorite piece of advice for other writers:

It’s impossible to write a book that everyone will love, so don’t worry about that. Write the book you love!

 

Many thanks to Carla for taking some time to chat with the Mixed up Files! You can learn more about Dr. Naumburg on her website, and of course check out How to Stop Freaking Out when it’s released on September 10th. As always, happy reading!

 

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5 Ways to Remember What You Read: And Do You Need to “Remember” At All?

By on April 22, 2024   /   Articles, books, Cross-Curricular, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Homeschool Resource  

I wish I had a photographic memory. But I don’t. In order to remember something, I typically need to write about it. And as a children’s author, I want to remember the books that I read.

Through the years, I’ve tried several methods to chronicle the books I read. These techniques include the following:

A Reader Response Journal

This is where I note my immediate responses to a book. My writing is sloppy and comes out in a gush. In classrooms, teachers say they enjoy using this method as a way for students to learn how to become close readers. Readers organically engage with texts, and this feels very intimate. Additionally, you don’t have to write about an entire book, you can simply respond to particular passages or chapters.

For me, one of my flaws is that I tend to sometimes write  responses on my phone, sometimes in a journal and sometimes as a Word document and they are not collected in one place. But this is separate issue—more about my tendency to shirk from instituting routines/systems. How to organize everything could be its own separate post.

Craft Journal

This is very similar to a reader response journal in that you’re quickly responding to text, but the goals are different. In this sort of journal, I actively search the text for answers to a particular craft question. My reading itself becomes more strategic and less about pleasure. I might read for voice. Or to see how a particular author handles tertiary characters or how she folds in setting. The list goes on and on.

GoodReads

Sometimes I will post a quick review on GoodReads. Ha! I just fibbed. I’m not capable of writing something speedily that will be posted on a social media platform (even on X formerly known as Twitter). I’m not as active on GoodReads as I hoped to be. It seems like a smart way of chronicling books as well as boosting fellow authors. As an author, I really appreciate it when readers post their reviews on GoodReads as well as on retailer websites. However, I think that my ego gets in the way, and I want my review to be clever and it can stop me from posting here. I need to tame my ego!

Book Groups

In the past (pre-motherhood), I have been part of book groups. I love that these groups create community. I’m all in for circle time. As an author I have visited some book groups. I would like to get active in a book group again (but I also worry about time/commitment).

Reels/TikTok

Not me. At least yet. Now that TikTok will likely be banned, I suspect that the action will be on Reels.

How do you chronicle your reading? What works for you? And do you even need to chronicle the books you read? Is it enough to just enjoy them? Ponder them? Love them?

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). And her nonfiction picture book, If You Were a Princess: True Stories of Brave Leaders From Around the World is a look at historical and current princesses from many diverse lands who have made their mark (Simon & Schuster, August 2022). During the year, Hillary teaches at Sonoma State University. In the summer, she teaches in the graduate program in children’s 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 Instagram, her Facebook page as well as on Twitter

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Author Interview: Dianne Salerni and her latest release, The Carrefour Curse

By on March 15, 2023   /   Author Interviews, books, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, New Releases  

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Addams Family meets The Westing Game in this exhilarating mystery about a modern magical dynasty trapped in the ruins of their once-grand, now-crumbling ancestral home.

Twelve-year-old Garnet regrets that she doesn’t know her family. Her mother has done her best to keep it that way, living far from the rest of the magical Carrefour clan and their dark, dangerous mansion known as Crossroad House.

But when Garnet finally gets summoned to the estate, it isn’t quite what she hoped for. Her relatives are strange and quarrelsome, each room in Crossroad House is more dilapidated than the last, and she can’t keep straight which dusty hallways and cobwebbed corners are forbidden. 

Then Garnet learns the family secret: their dying patriarch fights to retain his life by stealing power from others. Every accident that isn’t an accident, every unexpected illness and unexplained disappearance grants Jasper Carrefour a little more time. While the Carrefours squabbles over who will inherit his role when (if) he dies, Garnet encounters evidence of an even deeper curse. Was she brought to Crossroad House as part of the curse . . . or is she meant to break it?

Written with loads of creepy atmosphere and an edge-of-your-seat magical mystery, this thrilling story reads like The Haunting of Hill House for preteens. Perfect for late-night reading under the covers.

Introduction

Today, we have the pleasure of hosting a favorite author of mine, Dianne K. Salerni, to talk about her latest release from Holiday House Books called, The Carrefour Curse. Here’s her official introduction:

Dianne K. Salerni has written many books for children, including Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts and Jadie in Five Dimensions. After teaching elementary school for twenty-five years, Dianne now spends her time hanging around creepy cemeteries and climbing 2,000-year-old pyramids for book research. Visit her online at https://diannesalerni.com/

Dianne can also be found online at: 

The Interview

MH: One of my favorite things as a reader and a creator is the author’s story of their story. The journey and brain science behind how a story grew from bits and pieces of an idea to a book on the shelf is fascinating to me. What is the origin story of your latest middle-grade release, The Carrefour Curse?

Dianne: There were two main inspirations for The Carrefour Curse: Dark Shadows, the supernatural soap opera, and The Spook House, a vignette written by Ambrose Bierce. My mother was a fan of Dark Shadows, and I used to watch the show as a young child even though I wasn’t allowed to. I hid behind the sofa and became a lifelong fan of all things gothic. As for the Bierce story, the image of a locked room filled with dead people haunted me for a long time, and I tried for years to build a plot around it. When I got the idea to combine Dark Shadows and The Spook House, the result was The Carrefour Curse.

I wrote the first draft in 2017, and when it was finished, I proclaimed it “a terrible mess,” closed the document, and forgot about it. Fast forward to early 2020, when I devoured the Netflix series, Locke & Key. I loved that show so much, I made a list of all the elements that called to me and thought, I’d like to write a story with these elements. Then I remembered I already had!  For the first time in three years, I opened the document named Crossroad House, read it, and discovered that, although it was messy, it wasn’t terrible. Revising this manuscript soon became my pandemic project.

MH: I’ve always been drawn to your ability to create real and believable fictional worlds within a recognizable “normal” story world. From the magical extra day of The Eighth Day series to the extra dimension worlds of Jadie in Five Dimensions, you build logical worlds that allow the reader to seamlessly move in and out of. I realize my begging at your feet and screaming,  “How do you do this?” is too broad and too unfair of a question to ask, but can you share a few steps of how you create such effective world shifts in your books? 

Dianne: Well, it certainly doesn’t happen in the first draft, that’s for sure! The world-building usually starts with an idea. Like: There’s a secret day hidden between Wednesday and Thursday. Or: Our 3-dimensional universe exists inside a larger 4-dimensional universe. In my first draft, world-building is thin, disjointed, and often contradictory as I try to nail down the plot. After the story is complete, I work on a list of “rules” for my alternate world, with my priority being that the rules have to allow all my events to happen and still make sense. In successive drafts, I work on the inconsistencies and the logic and make sure that the world elements saturate the story, instead of feeling tacked on. In the final drafts, I make a list of the chapters and chart what elements appear in each one. Has it been several chapters since my main character felt like Crossroad House was watching her or influencing events? I’ll work a mention in.

MH: Can you describe your creative process of how an idea becomes a fully-formed story in your hands? 

Dianne: Every book starts with a premise, like the secret day or the nesting universes, or an inspirational source, like Dark Shadows and The Spook House. Next, come the characters. Who are they and what happens to them? What is the main conflict? In rare cases, before I start writing, I’ll outline the entire story on Scrivener. I did that with Eleanor, Alice, & the Roosevelt Ghosts and also with the second and third books in the Eighth Day series. But most of the time, I outline the first third or half and then jump into writing because I don’t know how it all works out until it happens on the page. Sometimes there are surprises. In The Carrefour Curse, a rather important character invented herself in Chapter 23 and inserted herself into the climax, forcing me—in later drafts—to weave her very existence into the first half of the book. Sometimes, the surprise is that the book is a dud. There are many, many unfinished manuscripts on my computer.

MH: Are you a multiple-irons in-the-fire creator or a one-story-at-a-time creator?

Dianne: Usually, I’ll work on only one story at a time. If I’m struggling with it, I might put it aside to revise and polish an old manuscript. (The Carrefour Curse is not the only one of my books to come out of a resurrected manuscript.) Once in a while, publication deadlines require that I work on more than one thing at a time. While I was under contract for the Eighth Day series, I once found myself proofreading the galley of Book 1, making editorial revisions on Book 2, and drafting Book 3. I got so confused about what Jax knew and when he knew it that I had to rearrange my schedule to work on one at a time: first the proofreading, then the revisions, and finally back to drafting.

MH: Can you describe your experience with Holiday House in bringing The Carrefour Curse to its publication date? 

Dianne: Holiday House has been wonderful to work with. My last three books have been published through Holiday House, and I think my editor, Sally Morgridge, is brilliant. I love the covers they’ve commissioned for all three books – they’re all very different but each one perfect in its own way. The publicity department is enthusiastic and very communicative. In the past, I have worked with bigger publishers where I never had any contact with my “official publicist,” so this is a refreshing change!

MH: What’s next?

Dianne: I have a book on submission. Because it’s not recommended that we talk about works on submission, I’ll say only that it’s a comedy-mystery and somewhat different from my other books. While I wait for word on that, I’m drafting a middle grade horror story. We’ll see how that goes because I’m approaching the end of the “index cards” on my Scrivener corkboard and wading into the un-outlined part of the story. For me, this is the scariest part of my horror story!

MH: What are some of your favorite activities, outside of the butt-in-chair life of an author, to recharge your creative battery?

Twice a week, I volunteer at our local animal shelter. I walk dogs and service the cat room – feeding and cleaning up after the cats and assorted critters. (Currently, we have more rabbits than cats in the so-called cat room.) I have three hydroponic gardens in my home. I typically grow lettuce, tomatoes, and baby bok choy, but I’ve also experimented with sweet peas (too much vine and not enough peas), dwarf eggplants (they do better outside), and Swiss chard (nobody at my house would eat it). I also enjoy skiing and scuba diving, and my husband and I LOVE to make homemade pasta.

Conclusion

Thank you, Dianne, for a fantastic insight into your writer’s life and The Carrefour Curse. How can one not want to read a book with a tagline like, The Addams Family meets The Westing Game? The entire MUF family wishes much success for the book and for you. Personally, I can’t wait to read the next one.

For more information on The Carrefour Curse and Holiday House Books, check out the following links.

The Carrefour Curse Book Page @ Holiday House Books

Holiday House Books Socials

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