Today, let’s give a hearty Mixed-Up Files welcome to
Maddie Frost. An award-winning author and illustrator, Maddie has been praised as a “powerhouse creator,” making over a dozen books for kids. Her first middle-grade novel,
Really Rubie, which Kirkus hailed as: “Humorous, frank, and guaranteed to reassure,” is out now from Aladdin.
Really Rubie: A Summary
Eleven-year-old Rubie Fox can’t wait to go to sleepaway camp for the first time with her best friend, Riley. She and Riley will be at Camp Pineview for an entire month, and Riley’s crush, Owen Griffon, will be across the lake at the boys’ camp. But when Riley can’t go to camp because she broke her ankle, Rubie has to go by herself. How can she survive without Riley? But camp might be more eventful, and more exciting, than Rubie ever thought, including her first-ever crush on a boy.
Q&A with Maddie Frost
MR: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Maddie. Huge congrats on the publication of Really Rubie. I went to sleepaway camp as a kid, so of course I loved your book. I gobbled it up in two sittings!
MF: That’s amazing. I hope it didn’t give you any gas.
MR: Um… 🙂
Getting Campy with Rubie
MR: Your book is based on your own experience at sleepaway camp. How is Rubie’s experience similar to yours? How is it different? Also, what are the similarities and differences between you and Rubie?
MF: The biggest difference between me and Rubie’s camp experience is that my best friend came with me. Looking back, I always sort of wondered what kind of experience I would have had if I went alone. Rubie was the product of that curiosity.
All the fears, insecurities, and discomfort Rubie goes through at camp, I felt too. It was the first time I had left home for that long, and same for Rubie. It was like being flung onto another planet (with tons of woodchips). We both realized that a whole other world exists beyond the bubble of home. Amazing, and terrifying.
Rubie and I are both emotional and anxious, and we both try to find the humor in life’s struggles. Humor has always been a coping mechanism for me, especially in art. Rubie’s diary entries and doodles reflect that too. But we’re also super aware, and we take in everything all at once. Our feelings, our friends feelings, vibes and moods, exciting moments, awkward moments, people’s energy. I think all great writing comes from being hyper-aware to life.
MR: As a follow-up, what advice would you give to 11-year-old Maddie?
MF: “Hey Maddie, it’s Maddie from the future. Listen, I know it’s rough seas out there in middle school. You’re probably feeling A LOT of things right now and it’s okay. What doesn’t make sense now will later. I promise. Oh, BTW, you turn it all into a book series. I know, right?! Keep going, you got this.
Dear Diary
MR: Really Rubie is written in diary form. What informed this stylistic decision? Did you keep diaries as a tween?
MF: Um, of course I did! I don’t know how you didn’t as a tween girl. There’s so much going on internally and you CAN’T talk to your parents about it. No way! A diary was the safest place to let my thoughts and feelings out. I’ve always wanted to try and make a middle-grade diary. My drawing style and personality lends itself well to this age group. I’m forever a tween at heart. I wrote in a diary at camp, so there was some “research” to be done before I started outlining this book.
I have always considered myself an artist first, author second. I came to writing books by illustrating them. The two art forms have operated like best friends throughout my career. They riff off of each other. What one lacks, the other makes up for. So I knew that if I wrote a middle grade novel, there 100% would be art. Ergo, a diary was the perfect format for me. Also it’s just so fun to write a stream of chaotic conscious and time travel back into my eleven-year-old brain.
Tween Friendships
MR: After Rubie’s BFF, Riley, breaks her ankle and has to withdraw from camp, Rubie is forced to navigate the experience on her own. Did something similar happen to you at Rubie’s age? Also, what were you trying to say about the nature of tween friendships?
MF: Often times, we stay “close to the pack” because we feel safe. But there isn’t much personal growth that happens when we are afraid to venture outside of our comfort zone. If I look back, my biggest personal growth happened when I was EXTREMELY uncomfortable; aka, trying anything new alone. There’s a big world out there, and when you’re a kid, it’s sooo hard to grasp that. Friendships will grow and change because you grow and change. It’s all part of your process and progress as a human. I wish what happened to Rubie happened to me much earlier in my life. I wish I had made a friend like Eliza back then, who proved that the Universe will always meet you halfway.
The Art of Creating a Graphic Novel
MR: In addition to writing the novel, you created the illustrations. What was the process like for you? Did you do both at the same time or add the illustrations later? Also, how does being an artist influence your writing—and vice-versa?
MF: I write the manuscripts for all my books before I do any art. This goes for picture books and graphic novels too. If the story stinks, it doesn’t matter how good the art is. Kind of like if the plot of a movie is horrible but the actors are award-worthy. Does not matter. The writer in me always trusts the artist in me. I never try to avoid writing something for the sake of having to draw it. Unless of course it’s something I don’t like drawing. Like large crowds, or realistic horses.
Jane of All Trades
MR: In addition to Rubie, you have written and illustrated a slew of popular picture books. What prompted your decision to write for a middle-grade audience? Did the creative process differ from your experience as a picture-book author/illustrator?
MF: I’m always craving the next challenge. The same thing happened when I went from picture books to graphic novels. I asked myself if I could do it, and then I tried. I’m not afraid of failing, so it makes the attempt super relaxed. Rubie came from a combination of that, plus being bored with the genre I had been working in for almost a decade. As artists, sometimes it feels like we need to put ourselves in a box to get more “recognized.” Like, oh this girl is a mystery writer, that guy only does THIS type of graphic novel. Ugh, it’s so suffocating as a creator to limit yourself. I don’t want to be type-casted! I want to be a Jane of all Trades, Master of all. I mean, all women are, right? Wink, wink.
Sharing the (School Visit) Love
MR: Rumor has it you enjoy doing school visits. Can you tell MUF readers more about this?
MF: The rumor is true. I love making it to the other side and sharing my work with readers. Authors work in a hole, we need the reward of humans engaging with us and our stories. We also have sensitive egos. It’s the best feeling when you connect with an audience.
Maddie’s “Aha!” Moment
MR: What has your path to publication been like? Smooth sailing or bumpy seas?
MF: My road to publication was an unexpected one, let’s say that. I really never thought about it when I was younger. I knew there we authors and illustrators that made books, but had no idea that it could be a career choice. I went to college for Animation because I loved cartoons. I’m a 90’s kid and grew up watching Nickelodeon in it’s prime. While I was there, I won a freelance contest to illustrate a picture book for a local hotel. It paid nothing but it was an aha moment for an alternate job path. It was everything I loved about cartoons, just in book format. After I graduated, I wanted to work at Disney. But being a New Englander, I had no idea how one does that. Do you just call up Mickey Mouse? “Yo, Mickey, you got a job for me?” (Said in Boston accent.)
So I started teaching elementary art until I couldn’t ignore the itch to make my own art any longer. I followed a few book illustrators on social media and reached out to find out how to get an agent. Long story long, I got an agent and took on small, boring book projects for babies (literally) while honing my craft, and my voice. I worked my way from the bottom up with zero training or direction. The only thing I knew I had to do was work hard. And I haven’t stopped working hard.
The Magic of Writing
MR: What is your writing and illustrating process like, Maddie? Do you have a specific routine or word-count goals? Any rituals? Also, are you a plotter or a pantser?
MF: Writing process for Rubie always takes place somewhere in the morning after my daughter goes to school. I can’t write Rubie on anything else but my tablet (I have a laptop and computer) but it MUST be on the tablet or the magic isn’t there. So weird, I know. I think I just like the sound of my keyboard, it must make me write better. Tap, tap, tap.
For illustrating, I work in my office at all/any times of the day on my computer. I make my art in Photoshop with a Wacom and stylus pen. No specific routine, since I have a three year old. What is a routine again? And when I’m cleaning it means I’m procrastinating.
What’s Next for Maddie
MR: Really Rubie is the first in a series. Would you mind sharing a bit about what readers can expect in the books that follow?
MF: In Really Rubie book two, she turns twelve and starts sixth grade. There’s a new girl in town and also the person Riley has spent half the summer with in secret. She also happens to be super annoying. Meanwhile, Mom is acting a little *sus* and Rubie is convinced she’s dating. I don’t want to say too much, but there’s a big art scandal, a new crush, breaking and entering a classroom, more sneaking out at night, and a whole lot more awkward drama.
Lightning Round!
MR: Last thing: No MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so…
Preferred writing snack? Is coffee a snack?
Coffee or tea? Coffee because it’s a snack?
Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay? Live it? Nay. Write it? Yea.
Favorite camp activity? Making friendship bracelets.
Most embarrassing moment at camp? Oh no not an MEM! Okay, this is true. I took sailing at the camp Rubie is based on, and one time I capsized the boat and it completely turtled over. Like it went upside down in the water. The “Hot Ben” in my situation had to come out on a motor boat and rescue me. Mega embarrassment viiiiibes.
Superpower? Flying
Favorite place on earth? My home. And maybe Disney World I guesssss.
You’re stranded on a desert island, with only three items in your possession. What are they? A sketchbook, pencil, and water. What more do you need?
MR: Thank you for chatting with me, Maddie—and congratulations on the publication of Really Rubie. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I know MUF readers will too.
MF: Thanks for having me! Happy Reading! <3 Maddie
