Posts Tagged #authorinterview

WNDMG Wednesday — Interview with Debut Author Jude Atwood + a List of Great Spooky Fantasies

By K.D. Garcia on June 21, 2023 / Articles, WNDMG

Illustration by: Aixa Perez-Prado

“When Clara woke up Saturday morning, the dolls were staring at her with their cold, lifeless eyes.” —First line Maybe There are Witches.

I’m a sucker for a great opening line. When I read this one, I knew I had to read Maybe There are Witches. The imagery has prepared me to read a great spooky fantasy. Getting to know this debut author was even more of a treat.

MAYBE THERE ARE WITCHES

First, a little about the book:

A middle school girl moves to a small town and discovers that her great-great-great grandmother was executed there for witchcraft in the 1800s. After she finds a message addressed to her in a century-old book, she realizes that she and her two new friends must stop a deadly catastrophe predicted by a 19th-century witch. But as their adventure takes them through historic cemeteries, rural libraries, and high-octane academic bowl tournaments, something sinister is lurking, watching, and waiting…

Influences

This is your first book and you’ve created a fast-paced, high stakes story, with witches. That’s amazing. What books influenced you as an author?

I’ve always liked middle-grade books that have a bit of a puzzle to them, where the story unfurls a little at a time.

One of my favorites growing up was Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game, about a diverse group of characters in an apartment building who work in teams to win a rich man’s fortune.

I also loved the spooky Gothic mysteries that John Bellairs wrote, like The House with a Clock in Its Walls.

The House With a Clock In Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt Book 1) by [John Bellairs, Edward Gorey]

My mom was an English teacher, and one year for Christmas she gave me a copy of Louis Sachar’s Holes. I was a grown-up—I had just finished grad school, in fact—but she thought I’d like it. She was right; I loved it!

Like those authors–and many more–I try to write books that have a whimsical sense of narrative complexity, with pieces that you can uncover and wrap your head around little by little.

Lessons Learned as an Author

That helps me understand what brought you to write this particular book. Can you tell me what you learned in the process?

I’d like to say that I learned how to write a book quickly and easily, but I am working on my second novel now, and I regret to inform you that it’s like a whole new process. Figuring out who the characters are and what their journey will be is a lot like meeting new people and exploring a new place, all from scratch.

However, I did learn that a huge, huge task—like writing a novel—is achievable if you just keep at it. There was a time when I was about 1/3 finished with Maybe There Are Witches and it felt like I might never finish. I’d write when I found the time, for a few hours a day, but what I’d finished seemed so small compared to what I had left to do. And then I’d put in another day of writing, and another, and eventually, I had a book. (And then of course I had to rework it into a second draft, and then a third—but you get the picture!)

Clara’s Journey

In your story, Clara is thirteen years old, and she’s moved more than once in the past few years. At the beginning of the book, she and her mother move from California to a very small village in Illinois, into a house they inherited from her grandmother. What was important about having Clara go to places she’d never been and work with people she didn’t know?

I think that as soon as we’re aware of other human beings, when we’re very, very young, we begin this journey of figuring out how to get to know other people. In some ways, this is how we get to know ourselves.

In my own life, I know that sometimes people I found off-putting or rude at first became some of my best friends, and I also have some very close friends now who have told me their first impression of me was that I was cold or detached. I wanted Clara to be going through this process, learning to understand some new people, while she’s also uncovering her own family history.

Puzzles

You’ve told us you like books with puzzles. The kids in your book go on a quest that involves some puzzling and deciphering. I bet you really like puzzles.

I do! I like all sorts of puzzles, especially word games. And I think a lot of reading and writing involves the elements of puzzles—of figuring out what something means, or figuring out which word fits in a particular place. Rhymes, puns, jokes, even telling someone about your day and trying to get the right tone—it all involves figuring out the right words that fit in the right place.

The past is a puzzle, too. Any time you want to understand something you weren’t present for, you’ve got to, basically, look for clues and evaluate the evidence. You can talk to people who were there, or read about history, or visit places where something happened. It’s all about finding the pieces to understand a mystery, when you think about it.

Dogs or Cats?

Finally, one question for fun—dogs or cats?

I should preface this by saying that I respect all animals. When I was growing up on the farm in Illinois, we had lots of pets. We had cats and dogs, tropical fish, a parakeet, a turtle, a lizard, and even a pet cow named Taffy.

That said, today my heart belongs to my dog Koko, a mixed-breed black-and-white rescue dog who weighs about twenty pounds. She is very smart, and very sleepy.

Learn more about Jude and his projects at:

Website: https://judeatwood.tv/
Twitter: @JudeAtwood
Instagram: @JudeAtwoodSketches
Facebook: facebook.com/JudeAtwoodSketches

Interested in reading more Spooky Fantasies, check out:

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

“An abundantly diverting mystery seasoned with mild fantasy and just a little steampunk.” – Kirkus

Thomas Creeper & the Gloomsbury Secret by J.R. Potter

“A delightfully dark story, hilariously and matter-of-factly morbid, that evokes a modern setting with a decidedly old-fashioned feel.” -Booklist

Freddie vs. the Family Curse by Tracy Badua

“A spirited fantasy enriched with Filipino culture and history.” – Kirkus

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

“A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut.” – HarperCollins

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

oraline by Neil Gaiman“A magnificently creepy fantasy pits a bright, bored little girl against a soul-eating horror that inhabits the reality right next door.” – Kirkus

If you’d like to learn more about writing spooky middle grade stories, check out this post.

Welcome to Monsterville – Lauran Shovan Interview

By Jennifer Swanson on April 26, 2023 / Articles, Author Interviews

Welcome to Monsterville

I’m so excited that we at MUF got an early peek at Laura Shovan’s new poetry collection called Welcome to Monsterville. And we got to talk to her about it – even better!

About Welcome to Monsterville

Where the residents are anything but ordinary. The monsters here are “friendly! Thoughtful! Shy and scary,” much like their human neighbors. Readers will meet a monster house who plays hopscotch and makes the sidewalks quake, laugh at a bubblegum-headed monster’s epic tantrum, and cry with a monster called Sadness.

Interview with Laura Shovan

MUF: Hi Laura! Welcome back to From the Mixed-Up Files … we’re so glad you’re here and excited to talk about your newest book, a collection of poems called Welcome to Monsterville. What a great title and a wonderful book! I’m still smiling as I think about lines like “Bubblegum head fell out of bed…” What prompted this collection and your partnership with illustrator Michael Rothenberg?

LS: This collection began with a simple gift between friends. I went to visit Michael and his wife Terri in January of 2020. Michael, a poet, was still reeling from the death of his son the year before. Unable to write through his grief, he turned to art therapy. He showed me some of those illustrations, which tended to be abstract.

When I got home, there was a surprise waiting for me. Michael had painted a blue creature with red fish lips, a crown, and six pink feet. I knew my friend was feeling low, so I wrote a poem that began, “A monster bought the house next door.” I recorded the poem and sent it to Michael, hoping it would cheer him up. I should have known the exchange would be the start of something. Michael was a force. He loved collaborating with musicians, artists, and poets on creative projects but also on social justice work.

Introversion

MUF: Another line that really resonates with me is the opening to the poem “Costavablink,” where you say

High on a mountain

called Costavablink

there lives a shy monster

who knows how to shrink

What are you hoping readers will take from this poem in particular?

LS: I hope this poem honors introversion. Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking opened my eyes to how much I – an introvert! – had absorbed American culture’s preference for extroversion. When I was growing up, my father was an extreme extrovert. I remember that feeling of wanting to shrink and get away from all of the talking and activity. I view the Monster of Costavablink is a poet. She uses quiet as an opportunity to think and appreciate the natural world.

MUF: (I love Susan Cain’s book — it has taught me so much about the introverts in my life. Invaluable!) Each poem has a child interacting with different monsters. Why use monsters as the common thread?

Monsters Represent Big Emotions

LS: There would be no book without the monsters. Our process was that Michael would create a sketch first. He said, “I found that drawing gave me oxygen, breath, allowed me out of myself to express emotions without narrative, without direction. It was colors and shapes, emotions. I didn’t have to interpret what I was saying … As we proceeded Laura saw something in them, and wrote poetry that motivated me to do more. I remember telling her that I was stunned by her imagination as she gave the creatures a voice and her reply that it was my imagination that was inspiring.”

We were both coping with a great deal of loss and anxiety while working on this collaboration. The Covid-19 lockdown happened about five weeks into the project. Eventually, we recognized a theme, that the monsters represent big emotions and what it’s like to welcome them.

MUF: Is there a poem in particular you wrote for yourself?

LS: That poem is “Green Cave.” I can’t tell you why Michael’s colorful bird monster reminded me of the forsythia bush in my parents’ back yard, but that’s the magic of the monsters. The forsythia bush is where I used to hide as a kid when I was overwhelmed by emotions. I love the idea that a magical bird might come along and show an upset child how to self-soothe.

Collaborative Creations

MUF: Your imagery is just lovely … purple-blue moons and tears that crawl on fuzzy legs … when you’re crafting a poem, what is your creative process? Any craft tips for those of us aspiring to such stunning imagery?

LS: Those details are both Michael’s inventions, my poems simply pick up on his images and build little stories and characters around them. I love ekphrastic poems, which are responses to specific works of art. Because Michael’s monsters are so unexpected and rich with detail, my process for this book was to trust whatever strange idea popped into my mind and see where it led me. For example, Bubblegum Head’s toothy expression inspired me to write about his major tantrum. When the invented words in that poem came, I invited them in without judging them or saying, “That’s too silly.”

There were times when it was challenging to bring all of the elements in one of Michael’s illustrations together. The carrot-like monster in “Underground,” who is holding up flowers underneath a purple moon, took many drafts to get right. It was the emotion of the picture that eventually unlocked the poem for me. I began to ask myself how it would feel to be a Root Monster who “lives without sunshine or air.” On one level, it’s a silly story, but on another, this is a poem about coping with depression.

MUF: Can you talk a little bit about art therapy?

LS: I only know what little Michael shared with me, but I hope readers will check out the introduction to Welcome to Monsterville. It was written by Dr. Mercedes Ballbé ter Maat, who is a past president of the American Art Therapy Association.

MUF: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

LS: I’d love to see the monsters that your readers come up with. Here is my suggestion: Doodle, draw, or paint a monster first. Next, ask yourself, “How is Monster feeling?” Once you’ve identified the emotion, give a poem a try!

MUF: Thanks so much for giving me a chance to read your book and chat with you, Laura. It’s been a pleasure!

LS: Thank you, Heather. It means so much to me that you enjoyed the book!

About Author Laura Shovan

Laura Shovan is a novelist, educator, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Her work appears in journals and anthologies for children and adults. Laura’s award-winning middle grade novels include The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Takedown, and the Sydney Taylor Notable A Place at the Table, written with Saadia Faruqi. Laura is a longtime poet-in-the-schools for the Maryland State Arts Council’s Artist-in-Education program. She teaches for Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA program in writing for children and young adults. Her latest book is Welcome to Monsterville

Stay in touch with Laura via her website and Instagram

About Illustrator Michael Rothenberg

Michael Rothenberg was a poet, editor, artist, and publisher of the online literary magazine BigBridge.org, co-founder of 100 Thousand Poets for Change (www.100tpc.org), The “Read A Poem To A Child” Initiative, and co-founder of Poets In Need, a non-profit 501(c), assisting poets in crisis. Before his death in 2022, he published over 20 books of poetry, most recently The Pillars (Quaranzine Press) and Drawing the Shade (Dos Madres Press). His editorial work included several volumes in the Penguin Poets series: Overtime by Philip Whalen, As Ever by Joanne Kyger, David’s Copy by David Meltzer, and Way More West by Ed Dorn. He was also editor of The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen published by Wesleyan University Press. He served as Florida State University Library’s Poet in Residence. His book of poetry, In Memory of A Banyan Tree, Poems of the Outside World, 1985-2020, (Lost Horse Press) was published in 2022. Welcome to Monsterville is his first book for children.

Author Spotlight: Landra Jennings + a GIVEAWAY

By Jo Hackl on August 24, 2022 / Articles, Author Interviews

In today’s Author Spotlight, Jo Hackl chats with author Landra Jennings about her debut middle-grade novel, The Whispering Fog (Clarion Books, September 13). She’ll share her inspiration behind writing it and the real-life elements upon which she drew. (Spoiler alert: it just might include a dog). Plus, there’s a chance to win a signed Advance Reader Copy of Landra’s book if you enter the giveaway. Scroll down for details.

Book Summary:

The Whispering Fog combines a mysterious South Carolina swamp, a determined sister, an endearing dog, and three friends who join together on a common mission. In the book, a twelve-year-old girl, Neve, moves to the fictional town of Etters, South Carolina with her mom and older sister, Rose, after their parents separate. Only eleven months apart in age, the sisters are in the same grade and do the same activities. Quiet, creative Neve is used to having Rose take the lead in most everything. Things change, however, when Neve witnesses Rose being swept away by a mysterious fog and must figure out what to do. The only people who believe Neve about the fog are two classmates who’ve each had their own supernatural encounters in the town. The trio work together to figure out what happened to Rose and how to bring her back.

Interview with Landra Jennings

JH: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Landra! Thanks for joining us today.

LJ: Thank you so much for having me.

JH: First I have to tell you how much I loved The Whispering Fog and devoured it in one sitting. Your book evokes the swamps of the South—brimming with mystery, magic and abundant heart. Neve is the perfect guide to this strange and unsettling world and I couldn’t put her story down. Can you please tell us about your inspiration to write the book?

LJ: Thank you, thank you, thank you! There were several things that led me to this story. One was a fairy tale I read as a child: Snow-White and Rose-Red by the Brothers Grimm. I particularly remember a picture book with gorgeous illustrations. I enjoyed the tale of inseparable sisters who never fought and were endlessly good, but I always thought it would be more interesting if the sisters seemed more like real sisters. Why were they so very attached? Why did they never even get frustrated with each other, not even once? I have three sisters and though I love them dearly, we definitely did not always get along. I even used the names from the fairy tale—the name Neve is a derivation from the Latin word nivis which means ‘snow.’ Second, I wanted to set a story in South Carolina, where I live. The more things I took from my own life, I figured, the less I would have to research or invent. Third, I love spooky and fantastical stories. I had been trying my hand at those types of stories for a long while but I couldn’t find the right angle. I always thought that fairy tales in their original forms (not the animated versions!) were scary and at times even disturbing, so I leaned into that. I wanted this story to have a spooky edge.

The Appeal of Spooky

JH: Why spooky? What appeals to you about that?

LJ: I love spooky stories in general. I’ve been reflecting on why that is. I think that, for middle grade fiction, it’s because I believe it is important for kids to see young protagonists facing big, scary things and finding their own strength in getting through it. Overcoming fear is an important life skill because, let’s face it, life can be pretty scary at times. I also like dealing with strong and deep-seated emotions, and scary situations in books can bring out that adrenaline rush or visceral reaction that is related to the big emotions I’m exploring. The spookiness then ends up serving a larger purpose in the story. In The Whispering Fog, the scary situations Neve must face represent the fear she has of separating from her sister.

Research

JH: You mentioned research. What was your research process like? What is the most interesting fact that you learned?

LJ: I did have to do research. I mixed the real world with fantastical elements, so I was asking the reader to take a leap with me. I wanted to anchor the reader in the “real” part of the story with as much authenticity as I could so that the leap into fantasy felt believable. So many of the research sources are online these days, which can at times yield questionable results, but I tried to make sure sources were credible ones. There were many things I had to research, including: The small differences in the climate between upstate SC and the midlands of SC, where the story is set. The science of Mutualism for the class project (I loved reading about futuristic designs for communal living with animals, for instance). And tomatoes, because of Piper’s love for them. Lots of tomato research was done! I was very surprised to discover that the tomato is the world’s most popular fruit (yes, it is a fruit!). According to WorldAtlas, tomatoes compete with bananas for popularity, but tomatoes are the clear winner with 182 million metric tons harvested annually. Although I loved the research, my editor was firm on reining in any fact-sharing that wasn’t used in service to the story. Tomatoes, for instance, are important to Piper for a very specific reason, which becomes clear in the story. And Mutualism is another way of thinking about the evolution of the relationship between Neve and Rose.

JH: The book is set in a South Carolina swamp. What was the most surprising thing that you learned about swamps in your research process?

LJ: Maybe how badly they can smell? That peat smell is something to get used to, for sure. But I’ve always been fascinated by swamps and the important role they play in the environment. There are over 500 swamps in South Carolina! But I had to go a little south of where I live to find them. There are no swamps in the upstate. The ones in Kershaw Country in the middle of the state are the most similar to the fictional one in the book. An interesting fact about swamps is there is a misconception that swamps have standing water all of the time. They have water long enough to support certain plants that need wet soil, but many wetlands are seasonally dry. They come and they go. Naturally, this led me to imagine an evil fog that soaked up all of that water and went creeping around.

The Role of Magic

JH: That brings us to the magic, because the fog is obviously magical. What role does magic play in the book? Why did you include it?

LJ: First of all, I wanted to amplify that power imbalance. Neve has to face a very powerful opponent—the witch in the swamp who has access to magic. Neve must face the witch with just her regular old self; she doesn’t have any magical powers and she can’t solve her problems using magic. Secondly, I like including magic because I think fantastical stories can be more palatable mediums for readers to work out big emotions; the situations seem much more removed from real life. Thirdly, I used magic to get the parents and other potentially helpful adults out of the way so that Neve would have to solve the problem. And, finally, greater-than-life fantastical elements have always appealed to me in signaling a powerful change in the hero.

Favorite Character

JH: Who was your favorite character to write?

LJ: Piper. I loved Piper from the beginning. Her smarts, her determination to find her sister, her love of tomatoes, her streak of independence. Piper is who she is with no apologies. That part of her I felt was a role model for Neve in learning to become her own person.

Favorite Scene

JH: What was your favorite scene to write?

LJ: The climactic scene where everything comes together ended up being my most favorite to write but also my least favorite. That was because it was the most difficult to write. It was the most rewritten scene in the entire book. But that moment when I finally found the right lines and felt Neve come into her own…yes! It was a very nice moment for me.

To the Heart of The Whispering Fog

JH: What would you most like for readers to take away from the book?

LJ: At its heart, the book is about believing in yourself and following your own instincts. No one should require someone else to guide them in everything they do in life. There is a difference between healthy attachment and dependence / co-dependence. I would love my readers to realize they are enough just as they are and to search for their own voice.

Fairy-Tale Inspiration for an Intriguing Dog

JH: Can you tell us about the inspiration for the dog character in the book?

LJ: The name of the dog in the book is Bear, as the dog character is my interpretation of the heroic prince from the original fairy tale (who was bewitched into bear form). I was also inspired by our family’s Labrador, Lucky. If you know Labradors, you know that food is their love language and they are most attached to the person who feeds them, which is me. Lucky has been my constant companion and shadow for 13 years now. He’s gotten me through a lot of things—not an evil fog exactly—but a lot of difficult times. Lucky IS a prince of a dog, incredibly calm and understanding, who also loves to be scratched behind the ears, much like the dog in the book.

Lightning Round!

No MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so. . . .

Preferred writing snack: Dark Chocolate with mint

Coffee or tea? Tea! Green decaffeinated

Favorite animal? I am fascinated by birds of all sorts

Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay? Nay, zombies are not for me, although I do love vampires

Superpower you’d love to have? Telekinesis, to bring my tea and chocolate in from the kitchen

Favorite place on earth? Mountains—Snowmass might be my favorite

Hidden talent? I can predict future happenings with the power of my anxiety

If you were stranded on a desert island and could pack three things, what would they be? The practical answer is probably a knife, but I’d also have to say my abridged copy of Les Miserables and dental floss

JH: How can readers obtain a copy of the book?

LJ: The book can be preordered at your local independent bookstores, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, or any place books are sold. Personalized copies can be preordered at Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC: https://www.fiction-addiction.com/quicksearch/author/landra%20jennings.

And now. . . .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For a chance to win a copy of The Whispering Fog, comment on the blog—and, if you’re on Twitter, on the Mixed-Up Files Twitter account, for an extra chance to win! (Giveaway ends August 27, 2022, MIDNIGHT EST.) U.S. only, please.

About the Author

Landra Jennings writes fantasy novels for preteens – ages 8 through 12 – but appreciates readers of all ages! She loved books before she could read – as a toddler she’d turn the pages of books for hours. As a preteen, she’d strictly manage the list of library books checked out by her and her younger siblings. She turned this love of management and list-making into an adult career as a management consultant, working in Atlanta and Chicago. However, these days she has returned to her love of books and story, writing fairy-tale influenced fantasy like the stories that so fascinated her as a child. Landra has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University where she won the Anne Tews Schwab Scholarship in Excellence in Critical Writing and the Walden Pond Press Scholarship in Middle Grade Fiction and Nonfiction. Today, Landra lives with her husband and sons in Greenville, South Carolina. You can learn more about Landra on her website and follow her on Instagram.

Posts Tagged #authorinterview

WNDMG Wednesday — Interview with Debut Author Jude Atwood + a List of Great Spooky Fantasies