Posts Tagged children’s books

Author Spotlight: Sydney Dunlap

Today, I’m thrilled to shine the Author Spotlight on children’s author and fellow MUF member Sydney Dunlap! Sydney’s latest MG novel, Racing the Clouds, praised by Kirkus as a “hopeful, heartfelt story of resilience… handled with a gentle touch,” is out February 18 from Jolly Fish Press.

Interview with Sydney 

Melissa: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Sydney! It’s always a pleasure to shine the Author Spotlight on a fellow MUF member, especially a new(ish) one.

Sydney: Thank you so much, Melissa! I’m very excited to be a part of MUF.

Melissa: Racing the Clouds, comes out in just FIVE days (!). What’s going through your mind right now? (I can only guess. 🙂)

Sydney: Honestly, that after working on this book for such a long time, it’s hard to believe it’s about to be out in the world. And I’m looking forward to my launch events. I’m very lucky to get to have an in-conversation event with Lynne Kelly (one of my blurbists) at a great independent bookstore called Buy the Book near my home in Texas, as well as one with Kate Albus (another of my blurbists) at the wonderful Scrawl Books in northern Virginia, close to where I lived for many years. I love going to my friends’ book launches as well as having my own. Gathering with friends and family to celebrate is so much fun!

About the Book

Melissa: Can you tell readers a bit about the novel? Also, what was the inspiration behind it?

Sydney: Racing the Clouds is the story of a 13-year-old girl named Sage who has a big secret involving her mom’s whereabouts. The story begins after she hears from her grandparents—her mom’s parents, who she’s never met—for the first time in her life. They invite her to visit, and she wants to fix what’s gone wrong in her family, so she flies to Ohio by herself as soon as school gets out for the summer. She feels an almost immediate connection with her grandfather, but her grandmother is so strict and formal that it doesn’t seem they’ll ever see eye-to-eye. Sage learns that family relationships—and people—can be much more complex than they appear on the surface. She also begins to understand more about the power of forgiveness and how to find her way forward during a difficult time.

As for the inspiration, I like writing about topics that are very real and part of a lot of people’s lives but aren’t always discussed that much, like drug addiction, which is a component of the story. I also thought it would be interesting to explore what might happen when a person hears from relatives they’ve never met and never heard anything good about, and to find out their perspective.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Melissa: Sage, the protagonist, is hiding more than she’s telling—especially when it comes to her mom. (I’ll avoid spoilers, so I won’t say more.) What was it like to get into the head of such a guarded character? Carrying a secret is such a heavy burden to bear.

Sydney: I used to be involved in theater when I was growing up, and I think that acting gave me a chance to feel like I really was the character. When I write, I have that same kind of experience, so I only revealed what it felt like Sage would be okay revealing at different points along the story. It was a huge relief when Sage could finally tell her friend Marla the whole story. I felt a burden off my chest, the same as Sage did, after writing the scene where she reveals what really happened.

Exploring Real-Life Issues

Melissa: Your previous novel, It Happened on Saturday, is also a contemporary novel that deals with real-life issues, namely human trafficking. What compels you to write about difficult issues for young readers? I know this is something you’re passionate about.

Sydney: As a child, I loved to read books about real things that could happen to kids in real life, and I especially enjoyed books written by Katherine Paterson and Judy Blume, because they wrote so honestly about all kinds of difficult topics. My experiences volunteering with child trafficking survivors and my realization that I couldn’t find any middle grade books with that subject matter – even though kids ages 11-14 are an especially vulnerable group — led me to write It Happened on Saturday. As for Racing the Clouds, I feel that there is room for more books for young readers dealing with addiction in the family, as it is a huge part of life for many children.

It’s a Dog’s Life

Melissa: Another passion of yours is animals, which is evident in your sympathetic portrayal of Nicky, a stray dog Sage rescues while visiting her estranged grandparents in Ohio. Can you tell us more about Sage’s bond with Nicky, and how it helps Sage to connect with her prickly grandmother?

Sydney: The Philadelphia apartment where Sage and her family lived until their recent move didn’t allow dogs, so Sage has never had a pet. When she meets Nicky, she is drawn to him because he seems so lost and like he could really use a friend. Sage is utterly flabbergasted to discover that her strict, formal grandmother has a soft spot for dogs. Taking care of Nicky together gives them a common purpose and something they can be in complete agreement about. Dogs bring such positive energy wherever they go, and I’ve seen people in my own extended family who disagree on pretty much everything else find common ground in their love for dogs.

Drummer Girl

Melissa: Like her dad, a once-almost-famous musician, Sage is a talented drummer. Is this a common interest, or did you have to do extensive research on how to play the drums?

Sydney: My son used to play the drums when he was in elementary and middle school, and I got to sit in on lots of drum lessons and of course see many concerts. We still have his old drum set in our house and my husband likes to play around on it, so drums are pretty familiar to me.

Path to Publication

Melissa: Switching gears, can you tell MUF readers about your path to publication? I know you were an elementary school teacher for many years. What led you to writing for kids?

Sydney: I’ve always loved books and writing, and ever since elementary school, I’ve had the idea that one day I wanted to be an author. I took creative writing classes in high school and college, then became a member and also a conference organizer for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, where I studied the craft and business aspects of writing for a long time. I drafted some manuscripts and sent them out here and there, but it wasn’t until I had the idea for It Happened on Saturday that I got really serious about pursuing traditional publication. Once I started working on that manuscript, I began writing almost every day and eventually signed with my agent, Ann Rose.

Writing Is Rewriting

Melissa: As a follow-up, your debut MG novel, Jeremy Norbeck: Animal Whiz Kid, came out in 2014. What have you learned about the publishing industry—and about writing—since then?

Sydney: I wrote that story while I was an elementary school teacher, and I used to read it out loud to my students while I was working on it. I wanted to use it right away in my classroom because it fit right in with our unit on animal adaptations, so I published it through CreateSpace (now Kindle Direct Publishing) to have it available immediately. I had already learned a lot about the publishing industry through my experiences with SCBWI, but I learned much more once I signed with my agent and then got a publishing contract for It Happened on Saturday.

My biggest takeaway is that writing is really rewriting over and over, and that you are almost never done, because there will always be something to edit or improve, up until your last look before a book goes to the printer. You work as hard as you can (with help from your critique group if that’s part of your process) to have a story be its very best before your agent sees it, and then you do the same thing with their assistance until it goes to your editor, and then you do the same thing with their expertise and guidance. And when you compare what you started with to the finished product, you realize how amazing it is that the spark of an idea could turn into a finished story, and that you are incredibly lucky to have had so many wonderful helpers along the way.

Confessions of a Pantser

Melissa: While we’re on the subject of writing, what does your writing routine look like? Also, are you a plotter or a pantser?

Sydney: My writing routine varies a lot, depending on what else I have going on. I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately, and I’m trying to learn to work while on the go, such as editing a manuscript while on a flight. At home, I sandwich writing in between my other responsibilities, my part-time work tutoring students, and my activities, and I find I’m always better able to write if I get some exercise first, usually walking my dog, going running, or doing yoga. I am a pantser through and through; I have to start writing a story to figure out who my characters are, what they want, and what obstacles will be in their way.

Sydney’s Writing Advice

Melissa: What advice would you give to fledgling MG authors?

Sydney: I’d say to read a lot of books in your chosen genre and try to think of them as texts showing examples of different ways to start/end a story, describe settings, keep up your pacing between action and dialogue, reveal character, etc. And I’d highly recommend joining a critique group. Writing friends are the BEST. You can provide each other an amazing listening ear, as well as sharing and getting helpful feedback on your work. And you all speak the same language. Non-writer friends might have no idea what you mean when you talk about queries or MG, YA, plotting vs. pantsing, etc.

Melissa: What are you working on now, Sydney? Can you give Mixed-Up Files readers a sneak peek?

Sydney: I’ve been working on a story told from two points of view that involves themes of freedom and standing up for yourself, both within one’s own family and within society.

Lightning Round!

Melissa: No MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so…

Preferred writing snack? Granola bar

Coffee or tea? Tea

Superpower? Flying. I would LOVE to fly, not just to get places quickly, which would be amazing, but also for the experience of soaring through the air with the birds.

Favorite travel destination? Anywhere with a beautiful mountain view

If you were stranded on a desert island with only three things, what would they be? I’m not sure about the rules, but if allowed, I’d bring my dog, my cat, and a horse from the stable where I ride! Exploring a desert island on horseback with my furry pals running along beside me could be kind of fun! 😊

Melissa: Many thanks for joining us today, Sydney, and congratulations on the forthcoming publication of Racing the Clouds. It’s an engaging and heartfelt book, and I’m sure MUF readers will agree!

Sydney: Thank you again for your kind words and thoughtful questions, Melissa! I’m very grateful for the opportunity to share this behind-the-scenes look at Sage’s story with the MUF audience!

Bio

Sydney Dunlap is an award-winning author and former elementary school teacher. She enjoys reading and writing heartfelt, hopeful books that explore tough topics that aren’t often addressed in middle-grade literature. Her 2023 debut novel, It Happened on Saturday, has received several medals and was named a 2025 OLA Masterlist selection and Utah Beehive Award nominee, as well as a Crystal Kite Honor Book. A lifelong animal lover, Sydney lives with her family in a home where the dogs and cats outnumber the people. You can find her online at www.sydneydunlap.com.

Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour: MG Notable Winners + Q&A!

Today it’s our privilege to shine the Mixed-Up Files spotlight on the MG Notable Book winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award. Presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries since 1968, this prestigious award — bestowed annually and named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series — recognizes books for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.

Gold medals are presented in three categories: Picture BooksMiddle Grade, and Young Adult. Honor Books are awarded silver medals, and Notable Books—including the three MG titles featured below—are named in each category.

And now, without further ado…

The Sydney Taylor Book Award MG Notable Book Winners

  • Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II by Adam Gidwitz
  • Benji Zeb Is a Ravenous Werewolf by Deke Moulton
  • Things That Shimmer by Deborah Lakritz

Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II by Adam Gidwitz (Dutton Children’s Books)

Max Bretzfeld doesn’t want to move from Germany to London, where he’s alone for the first time in his life. But not for long. Max is surprised to discover that he’s been joined by two unexpected traveling companions, one on each shoulder, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein.

Germany is becoming more and more dangerous for Jewish families, but Max is determined to find a way back home–and back to his parents. He has a plan to return to Berlin. The problem is, it involves accomplishing the impossible: becoming a British spy.

Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf by Deke Moulton (Tundra Books)

Benji Zeb has a lot going on. Not only does he have a lot of studying to do—for school as well as for his upcoming bar mitzvah—he’s nervous about Mr. Rutherford, an aggressive local rancher who hates Benji’s family’s kibbutz and wolf sanctuary. Plus, Benji hasn’t figured out what to do about Caleb, Mr. Rutherford’s stepson, who’s been bullying him at school, despite Benji wanting to be friends (and maybe something more). To complicate matters, secretly, Benji and his family are werewolves who are using the wolf sanctuary as cover for their true identities.

Things come to a head when Caleb shows up at the kibbutz one night . . . in wolf form. He’s a werewolf too, unable to control his shifting, and he needs Benji’s help. Can anxious Benji juggle all of these things along with his growing feelings toward Caleb?

Things That Shimmer by Deborah Lakritz (Kar-Ben Publishing)

In the spring of 1973, Melanie Adler desperately wants to be accepted by the Shimmers, the popular kids in her class. But the secret of her mother’s PTSD stands in the way. As hard as she tries, Melanie can’t act as effortlessly confident and fun as the Shimmers. She’s convinced no one knows what it’s like to have a parent who’s afraid of everything–until Dorit Shoshani moves to town. Clever, independent Dorit understands Melanie’s home life thanks to her own family’s struggles. The girls become fast friends. But when the Shimmers finally start to pay attention to Melanie, she’s torn between her bond with Dorit and her chance at popularity.


And now, a Q and A with the Notable Winners!

ADAM GIDWITZ

MR: I won’t embarrass you by listing your numerous book-related awards and accolades (who can count that high? 😀), but having Max in the House of Spies chosen as a Sydney Taylor Award Notable book must be particularly meaningful for you as a Jewish author, telling Jewish stories. 

AG: It is. Most anyone who writes from the perspective of a certain cultural group struggles with a certain ambivalence: we want to do something new, something daring; and yet we also want acceptance from our group. With Max in the House of Spies, and perhaps even more with the conclusion of the duology, Max in the Land of Lies, I am taking certain risks—talking honestly about antisemitism in England and Germany, but also complicating every character, the good guys and the bad guys alike—all while telling a rip-roaring spy story. To have the committee recognize the quality of what I’m trying to do is very gratifying indeed.  

MR: Max in the House of Spies is the first book in a duology, and it’s your first work of historical fiction, set during World War II. What prompted your decision to focus on this time period? Also, without giving away any spoilers, what will Max be up to in book #2? 

AG: A close family friend, the late music critic Michael Steinberg, was on the Kindertransport as a boy. His story fascinated me, and I have long wanted to explore the story of the Kindertransport. When COVID hit, and it felt like we were living in a wilderness of lies, fervently defended by the people in power and millions of average Americans, I wanted to explore how a nation could commit itself to lies. It felt like the perfect opportunity to return to Michael’s story. So in the first book, Max is in England, trying to be trained as a spy so he can go back to Germany to look for his parents. In the second volume, he’s back, and while he’s on his mission he is also learning: why? Why are you Nazis? Why do you hate me? (Or would you, if you knew who I really was?). It’s both a spy novel and a novel of ideas—or of questions. 

MR: And finally, Adam, what are you working on now? 

AG: I’m spending a lot of time sharing Max in the Land of Lies with the world right now. But my next book will be a graphic novel adaptation of some of the scary, funny fairy tales I tell on my podcast, Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest. Look for that in 2027. 

DEKE MOULTON

Author Deke Moulton

MR: This is not your first Sydney Taylor Book Award: Don’t Want to Be Your Monster won the Honor category last year. How does it feel to be a two-time winner? 

DM: It’s definitely surreal! I think as any author knows, the ‘second book syndrome’ fears are so real—even as I was writing Benji Zeb, I worried that it wasn’t going to be successful, that I wouldn’t be able to capture the same kind of magic, that everything good I had writing-wise was spent in my first book. So it’s a weird headspace to be in to see that second book doing well, and in ways that Don’t Want To Be Your Monster didn’t. Benji’s also got a running in the Cybils Awards and the inaugural Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Award. It’s ‘validating’ as the kids say.

As a Jewish author, I think it’s even more humbling. I feel like there’s only certain Jewish stories that break out of our group—sadly, it seems like non-Jewish readers are mostly interested in Holocaust books or books where our Jewishness is less observed. So to have Benji Zeb – about a Modern Orthodox boy who is struggling with anxiety and queerness – get this kind of recognition. . . humbling doesn’t begin to explain how I feel. It’s empowering to know our stories, Jewish stories, is being received out in the world.

Getting a notable award from the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee felt so validating as well. In Don’t Want To Be Your Monster, I had queer characters, but they weren’t my main two, one of which is a Jewish character. For Benji Zeb, I sometimes worried that there was going to be something that wasn’t going to land right. I’m religious, and queer, and those are two identities that are often in great conflict—to put that into a book and put that out into the world, you never know how it’s going to be received. Well, I suppose now I know!! It’s just . . . it fills me up with a lot of warmth and contentment. Knowing that I took a huge risk, really put a lot of vulnerability in my words, and it landed. It was received. It’s hard to explain how much that means to me.

MR: The Sydney Taylor Book Award is named after Sydney Taylor, the beloved children’s author of the All-of-a-Kind Family series. If you read the series as a child, do you remember your reaction to the books, and to Taylor’s beautifully rendered characters? 

DM: I actually didn’t read the books as a child! When I was growing up I hated ‘slice-of-life’ contemporary books (which is ironic because I feel like the older I get, the more I appreciate those). I’ve read the All-of-a-Kind Family books as an adult and adore them—but as a kid, all I wanted to read was fantasy. When I first started to write, I didn’t make any of my characters overtly Jewish because I just didn’t see any Jewish characters in fantasy or adventure books. I just didn’t think that’s where we belonged—Jewish characters only belonged in the ‘real world’ of contemporary/historical fiction. It wasn’t until I read Sofiya Pasternack’s Anya and the Dragon that I realized, ‘Wow, there can be a fantasy book with dragons in it, where the main character didn’t have to be Jewish, and that character can still be Jewish just because.’ It blew my mind. I wrote Don’t Want To Be Your Monster like, two months after reading it.

MR: Both of your MG novels feature fantastical characters, like vampires and werewolves, along with a hearty dose of Jewish folklore. What is it about the supernatural that excites you as a writer? And Jewish folklore?

DM: I love the openness to explore what you can do with those kinds of creatures. For a ‘realistic book with humans’ you really are limited, but once you start to play with creatures like vampires or werewolves or X-Men mutants or whatever –you get to have fun with who your characters are. Like, my vampires, I had all the old tropes and ‘rules’ and got to play with which ones I wanted to use (like getting burned in the sunlight) and which ones I wanted to explore more (like why vampires drink blood). It’s just really fun.

I loved being able to meld two passions: Jewish folklore and the more mainstream horror creatures with Benji Zeb. I honestly had no idea that we even had our own werewolf myth until I started researching for this book—a friend suggested I look into Jewish werewolf mythology, and I was like, “Huh, why didn’t that even occur to me?” Even with the excitement to write Jewish characters, even with the ability and the encouragement of my publishing team—I still have work to do, unpacking my own upbringing that tells me we aren’t there.

MR: What’s next on the writing horizon for you, Deke? 

DM: So much!! I have a short story out now in the anthology S’more Spooky Stories with Owl Hollow Press. It’s an anthology of spooky stories that all take place in different National Parks and the proceeds go to the National Park Foundation. So, I’m really happy that that’s in the works.

I’ve got something out on submission, and a proposal out, and books with my agent. So who knows what will be out next, or what will be picked up or not. That’s the strange fun of publishing—it’s a mystery until it’s out on paper!

(For more on Deke Moulton, check out this interview from the Mixed-Up Files archives.)

DEBORAH LAKRITZ

MR: Although this is not your first book to win a prestigious award—your picture book Say Hello, Lily was a PJ Library selection—I’m guessing that having Things That Shimmer chosen as a Sydney Taylor Award Notable book is particularly meaningful for you as a Jewish author, telling Jewish stories. Can you elaborate?

DL: Yes, having Things That Shimmer chosen as a Sydney Taylor Notable book is a tremendous honor! First, it is a story that is emotionally very true and that includes some of the most resonant experiences I had growing up: coming of age in a family that had experienced a serious trauma, navigating a highly charged and socially stratified middle school, and learning what true friendship actually means. One of the things I’m most proud of about is that Things That Shimmer is a very Jewish story that has deep universal themes about friendship and identity, but the Jewish aspect is “normalized.” No one is struggling about being Jewish, no one is experiencing isolation, discrimination, or antisemitism. It’s just a story that has very Jewish elements (the Yom Kippur War, Jewish/Israeli central characters, scenes at synagogue on High Holidays, a friend’s bat mitzvah), that all enhance the story and make it uniquely Jewish, but don’t necessarily define the story.

MR: Rumor has it that All-of-a-Kind Family was your favorite book series as a child. What was it about the series that resonated with you so deeply? 

DL: Although I couldn’t have put it into words at the time, the All-of-a-Kind series allowed me to see myself, or at least something very familiar to me, that I wasn’t seeing in other books. Up until that point, any Jewish books I had read were didactic, usually about a holiday, and didn’t invite me to turn the page to see “what happens next.” With Sydney Taylor’s books I was invested in the characters and their personalities, their desires, their dreams, and their conflicts. And of course, there are all of the sensory details that just live on in my imagination: sneaking ginger snap crackers and chocolate babies in bed, sucking on a scrap of salty lox or tasting a paper cone filled with steaming chickpeas from street vendors, discovering hidden buttons while helping Mama dust the furniture. So many wonderful details! Also, it has been thrilling to learn how any of my fellow Jewish kidlit colleagues were similarly smitten by these books!

MR: Although you’re not a kidlit newbie—you’ve written several picture books—Things That Shimmer is your first MG novel. What prompted your decision to write for a middle-grade audience? Also, did you encounter any particular challenges along the way?

DL: It’s funny, I had the idea for Things That Shimmer from the moment I walked into my first class on writing for children back in the mid-1990’s. At that point I was raising a brood of children and the idea of committing myself to writing seriously for publication was out of reach. Thankfully, my wonderful teacher, Gretchen Mayo, who was a local author, didn’t let me talk myself out of keeping my dream alive. She encouraged me to keep reading award-winning, acclaimed children’s books, and to write whenever I could. I decided that writing picture books was probably a more realistic goal at that point, and it was in that class that I first drafted Say Hello, Lily. I’ve studied the craft of picture book writing and I can honestly say I find it much more challenging than writing novels for kids. The toughest part about it is just keeping at it and believing that you’ll get to the end. And then, of course, you’ll probably start all over and revise it and rewrite pages and pages of it. Some people are just quicker, but I can’t rush the process!

MR: What are you working on now, Deborah? 

DL: Well, I’m querying a Jewish young adult novel right now (my wonderful agent, Susan Cohen of Writers House retired), as well as working on several Jewish-themed picture books. I’m itching to write another middle-grade novel, and I even have a basic outline of it in my head, so that may be happening sooner than later!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ADAM GIDWITZ, DEKE MOULTON, AND DEBORAH LAKRITZ… THE MG NOTABLE BOOK WINNERS!

Bonus!

For lovers of Sydney Taylor’s beloved All-of-a-Kind Family series, check out The All-of-a-Kind Family Companion, which includes a host of thought-provoking discussion questions, produced by the Association of Jewish Libraries in celebration of the one hundredth birthday of author Sydney Taylor, born October 30, 1904.

WNDMG Author Interview with Megan E. Freeman

WNDMG Author Interview with Megan E. Freeman

Globe reading a book being held up by different colored hands representing diversity.

It always amazes me when I can pick up a book and discover something I’ve not been introduced to before. Away by Megan E Freeman is a great example of that! Her story introduces readers to scenarios that get us pondering: what would we do in such a situation?

I had the esteemed pleasure of sitting down to interview Megan. Here’s the inside scoop on both the author and her book…

 

KATE: Our Mixed-Up-Files readers would love the inside scoop on Away – your companion novel to Alone. Can you tell us a bit about the premise?

MEGAN: When an imminent threat alert causes a midnight evacuation in Colorado, four kids relocated to the same shelter become unlikely friends. After they stumble onto evidence casting doubt on the legitimacy of the evacuation, they begin an investigation that causes them to question everything and everyone around them. Through a series of covert and courageous efforts, the friends uncover the facts behind the “imminent threat” and must decide how—and if—they can expose the truth.

 

KATE: This is a multiple POV book – with each of the 4 characters quite literally written differently. Harmony is written in prose, Grandin in verse, Teddy in screenwriter script, and Ashanti in italicized verse. This change in style is new to me and rather exciting to see. How did you come up with this? And how did you know who to bring to page when?

MEGAN: There was a lot of trial and error! I knew I wanted to give each character their own point of view, so I started by thinking about what each of them was passionate about, and I let those interests inform the formatting for their voices. Some days I worked exclusively on one character and then slotted the pages into the manuscript later. Other days I worked on multiple voices in sequence. One nice thing about writing in Scrivener is how easy it is to move and rearrange pages, and I did a lot of rearranging. 

 

KATE: Let’s talk setting. Your characters meet at an evacuation center. I can’t help but think of Covid and being isolated from the world at that time. In Away, however, isolation is an understatement. Talk about some of the creative ways you took to build a somewhat normal life for your characters all the while shutting them off from the outside world.

MEGAN: I read a lot about the Japanese Internment Camps during World War II, and while I was drafting, my local museum had a timely exhibit of Ansel Adams’ photographs from Manzanar. It was extraordinary to see pictures of people holding concerts, playing baseball, and publishing newspapers. The human spirit is resilient, and even when faced with unimaginable injustices, people still find ways to carve out small comforts and little pieces of normalcy.

 

KATE: In the beginning, the 4 characters start off by documenting daily life at the center. As the book progresses, they uncover facts behind the cause of the evacuation and decide to expose the truth. I love how these kids tackle an adult situation. And in doing so, you keep the characters acting and thinking via “kid brain” aka how they interpret what adults have said. How did you nail that MG voice?

MEGAN: Oh gosh, I honestly have no idea. I invented characters, dropped them into a conundrum together, and then listened. I know that sounds kind of woo-woo and I wish I could explain it better than that, but it really is all about listening.

 

KATE: With multiple towns being evacuated, readers meet more than just 4 characters. When choosing who to add to your storyline, were any of them a surprise addition as you fleshed out the plot?

MEGAN: At first, I didn’t see Ashanti as such an immediate presence in the story. I knew she would be an Easter egg for ALONE readers, and in early drafts, she didn’t appear until the other kids arrived at the camp and Teddy’s grandma went to the medical clinic. But some young beta readers told me they wanted more from her, and I did, too. So I revised the early chapters to bring her into the story from the very beginning, and she really stepped into the spotlight. 

 

KATE: It’s often fun to read about the baddies of a book and how they put the protagonist in a corner. But with multiple POVs, Away’s baddie had to be something larger than a singular antagonist. How fun or difficult was it for you to write about a system working against its citizens?

MEGAN: It was so hard! Because—and I know the book will get criticism for this—I had to try to create a massive conspiracy of unprecedented scale while still allowing readers to suspend their disbelief. Not everyone will be able to accept the premise, and I get that. But honestly, all the extraordinary things that happen in AWAY have parallels in historical and current events. And I’m totally sympathetic to readers who will find the conspiracy implausible. It’s hard to conceive of the inconceivable. Until it’s not. 

KATE: I adore how Teddy references movies. As an example, he writes: “How do we expose the wizard? Where’s Toto when you need him?” Such a fun nod to the Wizard of Oz (for more reason than one when readers finish the book). I’m curious if the Wizard of Oz is your favorite book or movie and how other writers have shaped your journey to publication.

MEGAN: My first book, ALONE, was inspired by Scott O’Dell’s book Island of the Blue Dolphins, and throughout that book I enjoyed making allusions to Karana, his main character. For AWAY, I wanted to find another literary classic to weave into the story. Since my characters’ entire goal is to get home again, The Wizard of Oz was perfect. It’s a wonderful book, and the fact that it exists in different formats (book, film, stage play) was helpful in making connections to my different characters. Not to mention that the four characters in The Wizard of Oz become proxies for each of the kids in AWAY, right down to the dog.

 

KATE: What type of research did you have to do when creating the story world and cast of characters? I was super intrigued by Ashanti’s knowledge of mythology and science, mostly because these are not my areas of expertise. Are these aspects of your own interests which you’ve woven into the story?

MEGAN: I spent a lot of time researching, and I definitely wove my own interests into the story, along with the interests of friends and family. My husband grew up on a ranch and informed a lot of Grandin’s scenes, and my brother is a huge film buff who was very helpful with Teddy’s sections. I’ve always loved Greek mythology and I used to teach Ovid, but I had to research many of the goddesses Ashanti references. I watched videos on medical procedures (including how to use a cast saw), and a journalist friend consulted on Harmony’s pages. Another friend who is a former Army officer taught me a lot about military camps and jargon, and I went down the rabbit hole researching state and federal emergency response systems. I learned a lot!

 

KATE: Away is such an amazing companion novel to Alone. Without revealing spoilers, can you describe your writing process: in organizing your books, did you have the ending for book two in mind when you set out to write book one? And, can you give us an example of something you cut, changed, or reworked from draft to publication?

MEGAN: When I wrote ALONE, it never occurred to me that there would be another book. As far as I was concerned, it was a stand-alone story. But at every school visit, readers wanted to know more about the evacuation and the “imminent threat” that caused everyone to leave. After many of these conversations, I knew I needed to write a companion novel, and that’s where the idea for AWAY came from. Originally, I imagined the conspiracy on an even larger scale, involving the federal government and multiple states. But in talking with my editor, we realized it worked better to keep it contained to Colorado, limited to state and local governments. It was also helpful to fictionalize all the locations so that I had the artistic freedom to manipulate the setting. I did the same thing in ALONE, and it made logistics easier to puzzle out.

 

KATE: Thank you for taking the time to share the inside scoop on Away. Is there to be another evacuation you can hint at? Perhaps a new project in the works?

MEGAN: I just sold my first YA novel and it has yet to be officially announced, but I’m really excited about it. It’s completely different from the AWAY and ALONE books, and it’s set both in California and Norway, where I lived as a teen. It’s coming in 2026, and I’ll have more news about that soon. And I’m playing with ideas for a third book in the ALONE/AWAY universe. In ALONE there are three girls, Maddie, Ashanti, and Emma, who are supposed to attend the ill-fated sleepover. Now that Maddie and Ashanti each have their own books, it seems like there may need to be one more for Emma…we’ll see!

 

KATE: Where can readers best find you if they want to reach out?

MEGAN: I’m on lots of socials, and readers can also contact me directly through my website: www.MeganEFreeman.com

 

And….no MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so…

 

Favorite place to write? my home office in Northern Colorado

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? dark

Superpower? teaching

Rollerblades or bike? bike

Dream job when you were a kid? author 🙂

House pet? a goofy yellow labrador named Cowboy

Favorite piece of advice for writers? Find a trusted reader who loves everything you write and makes you want to write more!