Posts Tagged middle grade reading

Author Spotlight: Sandy Stark-McGinnis + a GIVEAWAY!

Like many modern friendships, mine with author Sandy Stark-McGinnis began on Twitter. The date was June 4, 2017, and Sandy was about to go on sub for her debut novel, EXTRAORDINARY BIRDS (Bloomsbury, 2019). We shared an agent at the time, and Sandy asked if I could share my insights into the submission process.

Three years later, Sandy and I are still exchanging messages on everything from our shared obsession with The Golden Girls, to our favorite wines (Sandy and I both enjoy reds, particularly Pinot). On a more serious note, when my dad was diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease, Sandy was there with love and support. Her dad suffered with Alzheimer’s as well, before passing away in 2010. This shared struggle brought us closer, and it gave me an even deeper respect for Sandy, and for her latest middle-grade novel, THE SPACE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND (Bloomsbury, April 28, 2020)—a novel that features a parent’s struggle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Described by School Library Connection as “…{a} beautifully told novel of family and friendship that is brimming with love and feelings,” THE SPACE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND is available now from Bloomsbury Publishing. Here is a summary:

“Cassie’s always looked up to her mom, a vivacious woman with big ideas and a mischievous smile. Together they planned to check off every item on a big-dream bucket list, no matter how far the adventure would take them. But then Mom was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and everything changed.

Now, Cassie tries to keep Mom happy, and to understand some of Dad’s restrictive new rules. She tries to focus on math lessons and struggles to come up with art ideas that used to just burst off her pen. When Mom’s memories started to fade, so did Cassie’s inspiration. And even worse, she’s accidentally pushed away Bailey, the one friend who could make it all okay.

After the worst Mom day yet, the day she forgets Cassie’s name, Cassie decides to take action. It’s time for one last adventure, even if it means lying and taking a big risk to get there.”

 

MR: Hi, Sandy. Before we start, I must tell you how deeply moved I was by your novel. It really hit home, because my dad—like yours—had Alzheimer’s. How did your experience with this disease provide insight into your characters, particularly Cassie’s mom? The dad? Cassie…?

SSM: Thank you! My experience with my dad was extremely influential and definitely defined the way I portrayed the characters, from the way my dad behaved at different stages of the disease, to how my mom coped on a day-to-day basis, to how we–my brothers, sister and I–processed and navigated our way through the slow but very real loss of the man we called “Dad.”

MR: As above, THE SPACE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND focuses on a deeply personal topic. As you were writing and memories of your own experience with your dad’s Alzheimer’s surfaced, how did you keep your head above water emotionally? What advice would you give to other writers who choose to tackle emotionally difficult subjects?

SSM: I think the best way to go about facing any personal topics is to be in a place where those feelings are still strong but you can be objective about them, enough so you’re in the space (head and heart) of being able to portray characters and situations honestly. I think the hardest scene for me to write was when Cassie and her dad go to the assisted living facility to take a tour. I can still remember so vividly the day we took my dad to a facility. It was heartbreaking because his favorite place to be in the world was home, and to take him away from that, well… But, we (my family) knew it was what was best, because my mom could no longer take care of him.

MR: THE SPACE OF LOST AND FOUND is interspersed with flashbacks; the present day, and the years before Cassie’s mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. What was the purpose of using this stylistic device?

SSM: The use of flashback scenes was my editor, Allison Moore’s, idea. I think the purpose was to have a balance of emotion and to show what the family’s life was before the Alzheimer’s. I think the flashbacks also do a great job in establishing what Cassie and her father were saying goodbye to—the memories as a reminder of Kim’s (Cassie’s mom) energy and love for life.

MR: I know you’re familiar with the subject of Alzheimer’s Disease, but what kind of research did you have to do for this book? How did it affect your portrayal of Cassie’s mom? Of Cassie’s reactions to her mom’s disease?

SSM: Well, I mostly drew upon my experience with my dad. There are only a few ways early onset is different than other types of the disease. According to scientists, people who suffer from early onset have more of the brain changes that are linked to Alzheimer’s, and early onset is also linked to a defect in a certain part of a person’s DNA.

MR: Cassie’s mom, Kim, loves dolphins and swimming. I know you were a competitive swimmer back in the day (for 13 years!), but what’s the dolphin connection? Are you a dolphin lover, too?

SSM: In the story Kim’s best stroke was the butterfly, so I think I made the connection to dolphins that way. But I also found through research that dolphins have amazing memories. So, I thought someone’s love of dolphins and the fact they were suffering from Alzheimer’s was an interesting dynamic to explore.

MR: In addition to dealing with her mom’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Cassie is having friendship troubles with her ex-best friend, Bailey. Specifically, Cassie doesn’t feel able to talk to Bailey about her mom. As a teacher, what advice would you give to a middle-school student about talking to their friends about personally painful topics?

SSM: Friends can be a great support system. Sometimes when students are going through emotional issues at school, or at home, they just need a friend, or friends, to listen to them. But it’s also wise to have friends who will encourage you to reach out to an adult if you need help.

 

MR: As a teacher and a mom, I can only guess how hard it is for you to sneak in writing time. What’s your secret? Do you have a specific routine?

SSM: I do have a routine! I’m a morning person (thanks to getting up at four o’clock every morning in high school for swim practice), so I get up early to write. I usually set a goal—five hundred, a thousand words—and try to be as consistent with reaching that goal as I can.

What are you working on now, Sandy? Can you give us a teaser?

SSM: Right now, I’m working on a third middle-grade novel that’s based on something that happened to me—an experience that had a great impact on the way I see the world–when I was eight years old.

MR: And finally, since you and I are HUGE Golden Girls fans, I thought we’d finish this interview with—you guessed it, my friend—a GOLDEN GIRLS LIGHTENING ROUND! Are you game?

SSM: OH, YEAH!

Okay, here we go…

Dorothy, Blanche, Rose or Sophia? Rose.

Sicily or St. Olaf? St. Olaf.

Shady Pines or the Rusty Anchor? The Rusty Anchor.

Sophia’s lasagna or Rose’s beef tips on toast? I’m going with the lasagna.

Stanley Zbornak or Glenn O’Brien? Good ole Stanley.

Favorite guest star: George Clooney, Burt Reynolds, Sonny Bono, or Bob Hope? Burt Reynolds

“Johnny No Thumbs” or “Mr. Terrific”? Mr. Terrific!

Favorite episode? “Ladies of the Evening.”

It’s your birthday! Choose a gift: Rose’s piano-playing chicken, or “The Men of Blanche’s Boudoir” calendar? The chicken!

How do you like your cheesecake: Chocolate, or plain? Plain.

MR: Thanks for joining us on the Mixed-Up Files today, Sandy! I really loved your book and can’t wait to read the next one!

And now… a fabulous

GIVEAWAY!!!

Sandy has generously offered to gift a lucky reader with TWO autographed books; the paperback edition of EXTRAORDINARY BIRDS and a hardcover copy of THE SPACE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND. Just comment on the blog for a chance to win!

SANDY STARK-McGINNIS was born in California. Early childhood dreams: Play quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams or work as a forest ranger. Instead, she became a teacher, a job she found deeply fulfilling. Currently, she teaches fifth grade, and is amazed and inspired by her students every day. She spends her time reading (of course), and traveling with her husband and two children. Sandy believes her thirteen years as a competitive swimmer trained her to have the discipline and perseverance to journey through a writing life. You can find Sandy at her website and follow her on Twitter and Instagram

 

Subtext in MG

(For study purposes and maybe a potential future post, I am putting together a list of middle grade books that excel in the use of subtext. Please feel free to add any titles in the comments section that you feel belong on this list. Thanks!) 

We recently had a #MGLitChat on the topic of subtext. I signed up to co-host and was scared to death of this chat. My concern was embedded in the fact I felt I didn’t know enough about subtext and figured I needed to do a lot of research to be able to hold my own. Lo and behold, I harkened back to my own middle school days and didn’t study. Fortunately, I was able to play the comic relief to the intellect of my co-host for the night, Lee Gjertsen Malone. When the chat was over, not only did I feel a whole heckuva lot smarter, but I had a whole new appreciation for subtext, especially in middle-grade literature.

What exactly is subtext? The important part that is not there is what subtext is. The stuff which exists in space between what we perceive and is there without being told or shown it is there. I came across a cool quote from Ernest Hemingway about subtext:

“If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of the movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.”

With the iceberg image painted firmly in our reader and writer mind, we get a solid idea of what subtext is. The words we read in a story are the part floating above the water. The tips of the story icebergs act as the guideposts, while the space in between the guideposts, Hemingway’s 7/8ths, becomes the meaning and character and flavor existing below the surface which makes for a richer narrative. Subtext gives us stories that are more than they appear to be on the surface. Subtext gives us satisfying stories with more of everything.

The four basic types of subtext.

  • Privilege – The reader has information the characters don’t.
  • Revelation – Reveals a certain truth over time.
  • Promise – The story goes the way a story supposed to go and the way the reader expects it to go.
  • Question – As a story advances, the reader begins to ask questions about where the story is going.

K.M. Weiland did a recent Helping Writers Become Authors post and podcast about subtext. It is an excellent resource to assist the writer or the reader through the literary dark forest that is subtext. She presents five steps to work subtext into your writing.  

(1) Story subtext arises from the space between to known, fixed points. The writer builds a framework of dots and lets the reader connect the dots as they read. When the reader connects all the dots, a rich and full story picture emerges. The writer should tell the reader what they need to know, not tell them everything single thing. That’s not very entertaining.

(2) Story subtext must exist below the surface and (3) remain existing under the surface. The writer needs to know the whole iceberg in order to design the tip that paints the picture of the whole iceberg in the reader’s mind with telling every single detail.

(4) Story subtext is created by the dichotomy between the interior and exterior behavior. Once something rises to the exterior, it can no longer be considered subtext. In practice, it’s simply, as K.M Weiland says,  “avoid presenting characters and situations for exactly what they are”.

(5) Subtext exists in the silent spaces. Use your character’s silence to leave out things in order to make sure they don’t tell each other every single thing.

Maybe the most important thing we can do when working on the skill of subtext is to trust the reader. The reader will be able to put together the shape and scope of the submerged story information iceberg. The reader will be able to connect the dots and then put these connections together to reveal the story picture to themselves. Even a middle-grade reader is deserving of this trust and can rock at the art of subtext, as long as the subtext relates to the reader while remaining appropriate for the characters and the story.

Experiment with subtext in your writing. Learn how to spot it being used in your reading. Most of all, learn to trust your reader to connect the dots you place and see the pictures you intended them to see.

That is reading and writing magic.

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=730855

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=730855

Indie Spotlight: Fountainhead Bookstore, Hendersonville N.C.

You have to love independent book shops!  Can you image the buyer at a chain bookstore  saying, “The main thing we look for is good writing”?  Those are the very words of  Valerie Welbourne,owner/manager of The Fountainhead Bookstore in Hendersonville, North Carolina (www.fountainheadbookstore.com).
MUF: Valerie, how did your shop get its name and get started, and what keeps you going? Fountainhead logo
Valerie:
The Fountainhead is a nod to Moby Dick, with the fountain coming out of his head . One of our logos has the spout coming out and if you look closely it says “books books books” over and over.  Our loyal customers keep us going.  They offer not only financial support, but moral support as well.  Nothing is better than bookstore customers!  They are such nice people.
MUF:Describe the atmosphere and layout of your store. What happens when, say, an eleven-year-old comes in looking for a good book?
Valerie: I think our atmosphere is fairly casual.  When an eleven-year-old comes in, I get very excited if they say they are looking for some ideas!  I will ask them some questions first about their preferences, and then pull out several choices I think they might enjoy.  Parents really appreciate this too, because it helps them avoid a “power struggle” with their kids over what to read.

MUF: As middle-grade authors, we’d love to know how you choose what books to carry in your shop?Fountainhead readers
Valerie: We consider many factors.  The main thing that we look for is good writing!  And we also take into account if the book matches our particular customer base.  And finally, we read lots of ARCs.  If someone on the staff loved it, it’s in!

MUF: Can you tell us a few titles, new or old, fiction or nonfiction that you are recommending to middle-graders right now?
Valerie: Middle Grade kids can run the gamut of ability levels and interests, so we take that into account when making recommendations.  If a child is on the younger end of the spectrum and indicates they like more realistic, situational fiction, I recommend anything by Donna Gephart.  If they are older and looking for a new and serious fantasy series, I would recommend the Chaos Walking trilogy.  The Inventor’s Secret is a new steampunk book out for kids that I found very intriguing.  Also, I’m reading the ARC for The League of fountainhead disappearanceSeven by Alan Gratz right now that I am really enjoying.  It is also steampunk.Fountainhead: Inventor's secret Here are a few more I really am a big fan of:  Snicker of Magic (lovely!), The Shakespeare Mysteries (page turners and I learn something), Disappearance at Hangman’s Bluff (coming out this August – great!), fountainhead snicker of magicShark Wars,  and What I Came to Tell You by Tommy Hays.  Actually, I could go on and on…I really am a Tween Fiction enthusiast.  In fact we are starting a Tween Book Club for adults this June at the request of adult customers.

MUF:You have some enticing children’s book camps coming up this summer, most all Fountainhead campof which sound like they’re right up the alley of middle-graders. Please tell our readers a bit about them. Valerie: Our book camps are great fun.  One of my favorites is the one based on Treasure Island.  We have sword fights, do popcorn reading (great language for reading aloud), write our own backstories for some of the characters, do illustrations, scavenger hunts, etc.  I think I have more fun than anyone there.

MUF: What have been some of your favorite events at Fountainhead Books? Have you had some visits from middle-grade authors?
Valerie: We just hosted a Tween Panel Extravaganza, Futainhead tween paneland it was so much fun.  We got amazing feedback from the attendees, which included kids, adults, librarians, and teachers.  Everyone said please do this again!  It helps that we had some incredible authors participating.  They were:  Deron Hicks, John Thompson, Alan Gratz, Donna Gephart, Tommy Hays, and Natalie Lloyd.  I’ve attached a photo of the event.

MUF:If a family visited Fountainhead Books from out of town, would there be family-friendly places nearby where they could get a meal or snack after shopping? And if they could stay awhile, are there other unique sights or family activities in Hendersonville that they shouldn’t miss?
Valerie: Here are some cool places to take kids when visiting Hendersonville, after of course a visit to The Fountainhead Bookstore. These are all within two blocks of the bookstore: * Kilwins ice cream – the best! * Dancing Bear Toys * Hands On Children’s Museum

Thanks, Valerie, for giving us a glimpse into your shop.  It’s always a pleasure to “meet” children’s book store people, because  you’re book readers and curators as well as sellers. Readers, have any of you visited Fountainhead Bookstore (yet)?

Sue Cowing is the author of the middle-grade puppet-and-boy novel You Will Call Me Drog (Carolrhoda 2011, Usborne UK 2012)