Posts Tagged Author Interview

WNDMG Wednesday – Debut Author Noa Nimrodi

By Jennifer Swanson on February 8, 2023 / Articles, WNDMG

Illustration by: Aixa Perez-Prado

WNDMG Wednesday – Debut Author Interview

Hello everyone, and happy WNDMG Wednesday to you. I’m so excited to be able to introduce you to debut author Noa Nimrodi today. Noa’s new book is NOT SO SHY (Kar-Ben/Lerner) and it launches on April 4, 2023. NOT SO SHY was a great read – I truly loved her well-realized characters and her gentle exploration of tough topics.

Full disclosure–Noa and I are in the same debut author cohort, and we also share a launch date for our books AND an editor, the fabulous Amy Fitzgerald!

About Not So Shy

Twelve-year-old Shai hates everything about moving to America from Israel. She’s determined to come up with a plan that will get her back home. Maybe she can go back with her grandparents when they come to visit. Or maybe she can win the drawing competition that’s offering a plane ticket to any destination in the world as a grand prize. Meanwhile, though, she’s stuck in seventh grade at an American school, where she has to communicate in English and get used to American ways of doing things. Worst of all, she faces antisemitism up close for the first time.

But she also finds support and friendship where she least expected it and starts to see her new life with different eyes. Maybe home doesn’t have to be the place she’s always lived. Maybe home is a place in the heart.

Interview with Noa Nimrodi

I loved getting to talk to Noa about her book, Not So Shy, and I think you will enjoy meeting her and Shai as well.

HMC: What is the origin story for Not So Shy?

NN: Not So Shy originated from personal experience (as you probably guessed…). The fictional Shai is loosely based on my middle child ,who was twelve-years old when we moved from Israel to the US. I also shamelessly stole her name for my main character (with her permission of course).

Although the story is fictional, it carries many emotional truths and a few based-on-a-true-story bits.Although the story is fictional, it carries many emotional truths and a few ‘based-on-a-true-story’ bits.

Drawing Courage

HMC: So many important and wonderful themes in your book – being Jewish in the United States, music, learning to live in a foreign country, making new friends, and an exploration of the issue of genetically modified food. Can you talk more about what it was like to write Shai’s experiences dealing with antisemitism?

NN: The main incident of blunt antisemitism that is described in the book is based on a true event that happened to my daughter. Shaping and incorporating that experience into a work of fiction helped me gain insight and in a way, like with other issues I tackled in the book, it was a cathartic process. In real life, Shai kept this incident from me and my husband for years. I hope young readers will draw courage to speak up when caught in similar unfortunate situations.

Tackling Misconceptions and Skewed Opinions

HMC: The subject of food and science is important to Shai—can you talk more about how you became inspired to write about food science?

NN: As writers, what we’re concerned/intrigued/passionate about, finds its way into our writing, and such was the case with GMOs in this book. I’ve always been intrigued with science, my husband has been in the biotech industry for many years and my dad is a scientist.

I worry when important issues, which are too nuanced to be summed into infographics, are shared and reposted carelessly on social media. The ease in which information (and misinformation) is spread these days allows for misconceptions and skewed opinions to be regarded as facts. This goes for how we view new inventions in science as much as it goes for how some perceive the state Israel, so it made sense to me to tie in the controversies of GMOs into the book.

Bridging the Gap Between People

HMC: One of my favorite lines in the book is, “Music is my favorite language now.” Do you play trumpet like your main character, Shai? Do you love the language of music as much as she?

NN: I do love the language of music! I believe it can bridge the gaps between people of all backgrounds. When we listen to music we tap into universal emotions. Music has the power to connect people in a magical way.

(and it’s pretty cool that music notes are the same all over the world).

I myself never played an instrument (I wish I did…), but my daughter Shai played the saxophone in the school band, and she still remembers how in her first tough months when English didn’t come easy, she eagerly waited for seventh period Band, where she felt less of an outsider when immersed in the language of music.

The fictional Shai plays the trumpet since (research has taught me) it’s the easiest instrument to play with a broken arm. (For those who haven’t read the book yet, Shai breaks her arm before the beginning of the school year).

HMC: Each of your chapters has three words. Is there a thematic or symbolic reason for that choice?

NN: Hmmmm. Thematic or symbolic reasoning would have been clever of me… but admittedly, it was a happy accident. I first used the words for myself, just to sum up what happens in each chapter as I wrote it, later deciding (with the support of my critique group) that it does a good job at hooking the reader and hinting what’s to come in each chapter. I suspected this might be cut out at the editing stages, but it remained as an integral part of the book.

Including Easter Eggs

HMC: Authors often include so-called “Easter eggs” in their books—do you have any in Not So Shy?

NN: I love this question! There are some “Easter eggs” in the book. Very few are consciously intentional (the name of the middle school Shai attends, for example, is a nod to the middle school my kids attended, I deliberately slightly distorted the name). Other surprise eggs (which my kids claim to have found) were woven in unintentionally, and so far I have yet to admit otherwise… 😉

((Enjoying this interview on WNDMG? Read this one from our vault, with contributors Jonathan Rosen and Melissa Roske))

Finding Personal Resonance

HMC: What part of writing this book was for you personally, for Noa Nimrodi?

NN: A pretty big part… When I began writing this book from the perspective of my daughter Shai, I believed I was drawing from the experiences of my three kids (we moved from Israel to the US when they were seven, twelve and fourteen). But as I tapped deeper into the emotions of my main character, It dawned on me that I was also writing about myself (by the age of twelve I’ve moved from Israel to the US and back, twice). I realized in hindsight that subconsciously I was uncovering layers of feelings and emotions that were tucked away for decades. (Maybe I was writing for twelve-year-old-me…)

Writing the Next Book

HMC: Can you tell us anything about your next project?

NN: I’m working on a middle grade novel which is pretty different than Not So Shy, but in a way also reflects my concern with misconceptions. I’ll vaguely say it has elements of mystery, bits of magic, a pet pig, a sassy parrot, twin sisters who’s older sister mysteriously disappears and a misunderstood elderly Holocaust-survivor neighbor facing Holocaust denial in the gossip-driven town they live in.

I’m a slow writer, and my agent hasn’t even seen any part of this one yet, so you probably won’t see it on shelves anytime soon.

Bonus!

HMC: Bonus question! Is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to share with us?

NN: I’d love to share how much it means to me to belong to the 2023Debut group. There is such a great sense of comradery in this group, and such heartwarming interactions of likeminded people all rooting for each other. I’m so glad I got to meet you through this group, Heather, and I want to take this opportunity to recommend your fantastic debut Indigo and Ida to everyone reading this interview— I loved it. I’m thrilled that our books are coming out on the same day! (along with another excellent debut— Good Different, by the talented Meg Eden Kuyatt! Looking forward to the triple book-birthday on 4/4/23 !!)

Visiting Israel

HMC: For those of us who plan to visit Israel one day (HMC raises hand) what is one thing you (or Shai) would tell us we MUST do?

NN: Oooo! This is a tough one! Just one thing? Ok, besides the obvious touristy musts (you don’t need me for those), I’d say take a walk on the beach in Tel Aviv and have an Israeli breakfast in one of the restaurants located on the waterline with your bare feet in the sand. Continue to Shuk Ha’Carmel and take in the sounds, the colors, and the flavors of this one of a kind market. Get a freshly squeezed cup of juice (orange, carrot, pomegranate, or a mix!), and if you’re not too full from breakfast have some falafel, or shwarma. Ok, I’ll stop here, I can go on and on, especially about the food, because food in Israel is seriously the best in the world (and Shai would say the same).

Thank you so much, Noa! Best of luck to you with your debut … and I look forward to reading more titles by you one day soon.

About Noa Nimrodi

Noa Nimrodi is an Israeli-American author/illustrator living near the ocean in Southern California. As a designer, oa worked on displays in bookshops and gravitated most to children’s books, sparking her passion to create her own. Two of her Hebrew-language books, one which she also illustrated, have been published in Israel. When not writing, Noa can be found reading a variety of genres, creating all sorts of art, and running on the beach in Carlsbad (with or without her two dogs).

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Author Interview: Dori Hillestad Butler

By Laurie J. Edwards on February 3, 2023 / Author Interviews

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.

And 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.

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!

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

By Patricia Bailey 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.

Posts Tagged Author Interview

WNDMG Wednesday – Debut Author Noa Nimrodi