MG Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Interview with Joanne Levy

I'm pleased as punch to bring you today's interview with author Joanne Levy who penned the hilarious just-about-to-be-released Small Medium at Large.

First of all, I'll wait while you marvel at that astounding title.

Secondly, you should know the book itself is as funny, charming and wonderful as the title suggests.

Thirdly, Joanne and I have a lot in common. We're both in the Class of 2K12. We're both Bloomsbury MG authors. And we both have sassy ghosts* in our debuts! Currently, we are hard at work trying to make #sassyghosts a trending topic on Twitter.

*Term coined by the fabulous Christina of A Reader of Fictions.

The only other thing I'm going to say is that Joanne has one scene in her book involving a seance and a dead clown that had me rolling on the floor laughing.

Here is a little bit more about the book:

After she’s hit by lightning at a wedding, twelve-year-old Lilah Bloom develops a new talent: she can hear dead people. Among them, there’s her overopinionated Bubby Dora; a prissy fashion designer; and an approval-seeking clown who livens up a séance. With Bubby Dora leading the way, these and other sweetly imperfect ghosts haunt Lilah through seventh grade, and help her face her one big fear: talking to—and possibly going to the seventh-grade dance with—her crush, Andrew Finkel.

And without further ado, here is my interview with Joanne. And since I know that synopsis (and that dead clown tease) piqued your interest, one lucky blog reader will walk away with their own, shiny copy of Small Medium at Large! Just scroll down after the interview for the giveaway.

To borrow (and modify) a question from James Lipton, what’s your favorite middle-grade appropriate “curse word” or insult?
Joanne Levy: Hmm. Since I was raised among wolves (read: older brothers) I’m used to the real thing, so my MG appropriate swears aren’t all that original. Probably Oh Crap! would be the one I use most.

What's the first book that you remember LOVING as a child?

JL: Someone asked me the other day about picture books I loved and Ferdinand popped into my head. I went to look at a preview of it online and it took me back to where I was seriously tearing up over the pictures, because I remember them so vividly. I must have read that book so many times as a kid and I’m sure it was dog-eared and torn. I’m not sure what it was about that book that resonated with me, but looking back, I love that Ferdinand wouldn’t be swayed and did what he enjoyed, even if it wasn’t what other people wanted from him. And, you know, in this day and age, sitting among the flowers and just being sounds pretty okay to me.

If you were a medium, which three ghosts would you most want to hear from? 
JL: The real bubby Dora, my great grandmother, who, even though she was over 100 when she died, left this planet way too soon. She was a remarkable and VERY funny woman and I wish I’d been a bit older when she was around so I could have appreciated her more. Jim Henson, just to tell him how awesome I think he is/was, and whoever it was who invented Mac & Cheese, because I’d like to shake his or her hand on a job well done.

Small Medium at Large? Probably one of the BEST titles I've ever heard. What are some other books that really grabbed you solely because of their titles. 
JL: Oh, good question. I picked up Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (Christopher Moore) based on the title. Also, although I’ve never read it, I’ve always loved the title A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by David Eggers.

What are two MG books you'd recommend and why? 
JL: Besides yours? I’d have to say a couple of recent reads: How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg (illustrated by Kevin O’Malley) because it’s morbid and interesting and VERY entertaining. And The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate about a gorilla and his friends who are living their lives stuck in a roadside zoo. The voice of the gorilla is so amazing – funny but a bit gruff yet at the same time gentle—exactly what you’d expect from a gorilla. Based on true events, it’s a great read that I think kids and grownups will enjoy.

Thank you, Joanne!
Thanks for having me!

GIVEAWAY:
And now for the giveaway! Simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below to be entered to win one hardcover copy of Small Medium at Large. You get 1 free entry and +1 entry for commenting on this blog post, following me on Twitter, or following Joanne on Twitter. You get +2 entries for tweeting or Facebooking about this giveaway and +3 entries for blogging about it. The giveaway will be open until Friday, June 29th at 11:59 PM EST and is open internationally!


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MG Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Interview with Lizzie K. Foley

Friends, I am remarkably thrilled to bring you today's interview with Lizzie K. Foley, the hilarious author of the stunning middle-grade novel, Remarkable. It's one of my very favorite reads of all time. OF ALL TIME. And you really don't have to take my word for it because...

Kirkus "The World' Toughest Book Critics" Reviews say, "Foley tightly weaves the outlandish threads into a rich, unforgettable story that’s quite simply—amazing."

And The New York Times (!) calls the book, "a cascade of intrigues that suggest a broad theme: Gifts get labeled eagerly and early on, but it’s more fun if characters can elude expectations."

You may be wondering to yourself what on earth the supremely talented Lizzie K. Foley is doing on my little ol' blog. Rest assured that I wonder the same thing. Regardless, here she is! AND to celebrate that fact I am giving away a signed copy of Remarkable. Just scroll down after the interview for the giveaway.

A wonderfully whimsical debut that proves ordinary people can do extraordinary things

In the mountain town of Remarkable, everyone is extraordinarily talented, extraordinarily gifted, or just plain extraordinary. Everyone, that is, except Jane Doe, the most average ten-year-old who ever lived. But everything changes when the mischievous, downright criminal Grimlet twins enroll in Jane's school and a strange pirate captain appears in town.

Thus begins a series of adventures that put some of Remarkable's most infamous inhabitants and their long-held secrets in danger. It's up to Jane, in her own modest style, to come to the rescue and prove that she is capable of some rather exceptional things.

With a page-turning mystery and larger-than-life cast of characters, Lizzie K. Foley's debut is nothing short of remarkable.

Photo Credit: Ana June Creative

To borrow (and modify) a question from James Lipton, what’s your favorite middle-grade appropriate “curse word” or insult?
Lizzie K. Foley: One of the best parts of writing Remarkable was learning pirate curse words. “Spog” is delightful. It’s an insult for a new pirate recruit, but I think it has real possibilities for other situations as well. “Scupperlout” also has a nice impertinent ring to it. “Argh!” is always a good standby curse word for a number of situations. And apparently “bink” is a piratey expression of surprise, but I’ve found shouting “Bink!” just confuses people.

If you could pick one thing to be remarkable at, that you consider yourself mediocre in now, what would it be?
LKF: Cooking! I am the worst cook ever. And it’s not just that whatever I cook tastes bad (because believe me, it does), it’s that I’m actually dangerous in the kitchen. I’ve set fire to both grilled cheese and pancakes on several occasions (and am no longer allowed to make either one). I’ve melted spatulas on the stove (and no one wants soup with melted spatula in it). And just recently, when I finally thought I was going to successfully grill vegetable in the oven, the pan I was cooking them in exploded in my hands and sent hot shards of glass all over the kitchen. I dropped a phone in a boiling pot of spaghetti once too – which didn’t do the phone or the spaghetti much good. Right now, people ask me NOT to make cupcakes for their birthdays because my cupcakes always end up tasting like frosted evil. I once had one of those (non) brilliant early morning flashes of (non) genius about writing a bestselling cookbook centered around making ice – but I have to be honest with myself here. I am not even that good at ice.

There are a surprising number of pirates in your book. If you had a pirate name, what would it be? Also, be honest, no landlubber could capture the pirate voice so well. Are you actually a pirate?! And, if not, what sort of shenanigans did you get up to do research?
LKF: I think my pirate name would be Squint, because I am big on squinting – especially with my right eye. And let’s be honest, nobody squints enough these days, what with all the fancy sunglasses, Lasik surgery, and contact lenses in the world.

And yes, I am actually a pirate. It’s true I don’t like boats or water or even stealing stuff very much, but I don’t let that stop me from being one. And I conducted the research shenanigans to prove it, too. I actually drank orange juice so I wouldn’t catch scurvy (true story!) and I thought about keeping a library book out past its due date (I chickened out on this one, though – I’m not actually brave enough to anger a librarian – no pirate is).

As far as the pirate voice goes, however, I think you should cast a suspicious eye on my editor Nancy. She is the one who kept sending back my manuscript with notes saying things like “A pirate would not say this!” or “Pirates would never eat that!” or “Seriously, this is not how pirates deal with things!” In every single instance, she was right – and I’ve always wondered how she got to be such an expert…and don’t even get me started on my copy editor Rosanne. I made up a type of nautical knot called a “bowline quintey.” I thought it sounded pretty convincing, but Rosanne called me out on this immediately (“That is not a real pirate knot!”). It’s suspicious, I think. And Rosanne is just as good a pirate name as Nancy.


You thank your writing groups in your acknowledgments. Could you give us some of your thoughts on writing as part of one and what the benefits are?
LKF: For me, writing groups are a great way to gain confidence in my work. And while I feel like most people seem to use them as a way to find out what’s not working in a story, I tend to use them as a way to find out what is. I tend to over-revise. I will work and rework a scene into oblivion if left to my own devices. The wonderful people in my writing groups have been instrumental in teaching me how to stop this process before I drain all the life out of something I’m working on. Without the encouragement and support of my writing groups, I would never ever ever stopped revising long enough to finish a book and send it off into the world.


What are two MG books you'd recommend and why?
LKF: Well, you know I recommend yours every chance I get (and I'm not just saying that to kiss up to the interviewer here or to make her blush). I loved Mapmaker and the Ghost, and my son (who is nine) has read it at least four times. He’s even talked about some of the situations he’s seen at school in terms of situations that Goldenrod went through in your story. To me, this is the mark of an excellent kid’s book. It works on a level that kids really relate to – and this isn’t an easy thing to accomplish. Also, he’s tried to bribe me with a sandwich (a technique of parental management he learned from Goldenrod) and any book that encourages someone else to make food for me is brilliant as far as I’m concerned.

The other book I’m going to recommend is called Run Away Home by Elinor Lyon. The book was originally published in 1953, and I was lucky enough to find a copy at my local library growing up. It’s the story of an orphan living in Birmingham, England who is inspired by a faint memory of seeing the ocean to run away to Scotland and attempt to connect with her past. I must have read this book approximately 10 kajillion times. It’s got a great protagonist (named Cathie), who is incredibly resourceful as she tries to piece together her past. She’s got a great set of sidekicks (named Sovra and Ian) who help her. And there are actual adults involved in the story too – and the way that the kids interact with the adults is satisfyingly tense and realistic. Oh yeah – the writing is also amazing. One of my happiest days was when I was able to buy a copy off of eBay. I was also thrilled when I found out that it (along with a lot of excellent British children’s books) was being reprinted by Fidra Books in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1) I think I need to pick up Run Away Home ASAP. 2) After that interview, you want to read Remarkable ASAP, too, right? I think I actually want to read it again right now. 


GIVEAWAY:
The giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much to everyone who entered and the lucky winner of REMARKABLE: Lori!

MG Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Interview with Anne Nesbet

I'm beyond delighted to speak with author Anne Nesbet this month. Anne's magical, wonderful debut MG novel The Cabinet of Earths just got released a month ago. It's filled with gorgeous Parisian locales, dark secrets, and a finely woven mystery. What's not to love?

Read on after the interview to find out how to win a copy of The Cabinet of Earths!

All Maya really wants is for her mother to be well again. But when her baby brother James goes missing, 12-year-old Maya has to take on the magical underworld of Paris, in which houses have bronze salamanders for door handles, the most beautiful people are all hooked on the sweet-smelling “anbar,” and a shimmering glass Cabinet of Earths has chosen Maya to be its next keeper. With the Cabinet’s help, Maya may be able to do for her mother what doctors cannot: save her from death, once and for all. But now that the clock is ticking for James, the price the Cabinet demands may be too high.

To borrow (and modify) a question from James Lipton, what’s your favorite middle-grade appropriate “curse word” or insult?
Anne Nesbet: I lean toward Surprised Exclamations rather than insults (perhaps because 
my feeble brain can't come up with sharp edges fast enough): "good 
heavens! good grief! golly gee! heavens to Betsy!" I know, I know, I
 know. Ever since preschool, the adjective that clings to Anne has been
 "quaint."



What's one game you played a lot as a child (could be a board game, a
 made-up game, or anything)?


AN: My mother presented my sister and me with "Teacher's Kits" when we were
 much too tiny to be in any school, and we loved to squiggle out some 
homework or to make the teddy bears and long-suffering dolls sit in a row
 and behave. Later on we played the most murderous games of Monopoly: 
they went on for days and ended in (figurative) bloodshed and (very real) 
tears. Plus there was a game called "The Emperor of China" that fulfilled 
a kid's natural longing for world domination. And it was important to 
climb the pine-tree behind the back fence from time to time, just to see
 what the world looked like from up there.



There’s a very important, ornate building at the center of your book and I was surprised to read in your author’s note that it really exists! 
How did you come across it and did it inspire your whole story or just a 
part of it?
AN: Actually, the first part of the story to appear in my head was poor,
 drained, unreadable Cousin Louise, and when she first popped into my mind,
 I had no idea she was French. But then we moved to Paris, and I really
 did walk by the Salamander House (not its official name in real life)
 every day when taking the kids to school. You look at that front door and
 you KNOW strange things must be happening inside! The exterior of the 
building may be real, but fiction takes over once the story goes in
 through the gate: I made up all the indoor rooms, and I warped space in a
 very reckless manner to allow there to be all those twisty-turny passages 
leading to the Alchemical Theater.



Paris is the City of Lights! What are three other words you think
 could replace ‘lights’?


AN: Paris is the City of Very Old Stone, of Tucked-Away Magics, and (most
 especially) of Warm Chocolate Croissants.

What are two MG books you'd recommend and why?


AN: Oh, but I'm always the person who fails the
"quick-what-book-goes-with-you-to-the-desert-island" quiz! I can't
 choose. I love too many, and the ones I love most change from minute to
 minute.  Right this very moment I might say Tove Jansson's Finn Family Moomintroll, because its combination of magic and strangeness and loss and
 charming domesticity; and The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall, because
 when I read this book I rejoiced rejoiced rejoiced that such a story
 (family! humor! summer!) could still be written, even in this new century; 
and The Story of the Amulet, by E. Nesbit, because who can forget the London children's
 shocked reaction to the blue sky and clean air of the Past; and Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, because of the lunchbox tree.  Oops, you said two?
:)


Thank you so much, Anne! And now on to the giveaway!

GIVEAWAY:
Entering is simple (this time I mean it!) Just follow the instructions in the rafflecopter form below. You'll get +1 entry for leaving a comment on this post; +2 entries each for tweeting (up to once per day) or Facebooking about this giveaway; and +3 entries for blogging about it. The giveaway is open internationally and will run until Friday, February 10th at 11:59 PM EST. Good luck!



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MG Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Interview with Jenny Lundquist

It's a brand new year and time to spotlight some more of my favorite middle grade authors!

For January, we have Jenny Lundquist whose sinfully adorable debut novel, Seeing Cinderella, comes out on March 20th. Got a girl with glasses in your life? How about any kid who's ever felt a little awkward? Alternately hilarious and sweet, this book is destined to be an instant favorite!

Jenny has also generously donated a signed ARC for me to give away in conjunction with this interview! Read on to find out how to win it.

Calliope Meadow Anderson is terrified to start seventh grade. Not that the summer has been so great— her overachieving best friend, Ellen, is slipping away, her parents’ marriage is falling apart, and to top it all off, she has to get glasses the day before school starts. Life isn’t going too smoothly.

But things get unexpectedly weird when Callie meets her wacky optometrist and receives a pair of glasses so ugly they make braces and headgear look cute. But pretty soon, Callie makes a freaky discovery. Her glasses have magic powers: they can read people’s thoughts (and she’s pretty sure they repel boys, too).

Callie uses her new glasses to navigate middle school life and learns things she never knew about the people around her. That overachieving Ellen isn’t so super confident, after all. That neither of her parents are who she thought they were. That it’s a good idea to make sure your crush Knows Your Name before you spy on his thoughts. But when the glasses show Callie that Ana Garcia—a new student from Mexico and Callie’s Spanish tutor—has become a real-life Cinderella in her uncle’s house, she has to make a choice. Will she stay in the shadows and hide behind her magic glasses, or step out of the background and stand up for her friend?

What's the first book that you remember LOVING as a child?J
Jenny Lundquist: As a child I loved the Trixie Belden series. She always seemed so brave and strong to me, and I wished I could become a member of the Bob-Whites of the Glen. And I kept waiting for her and Jim to get together already!

To borrow (and modify) a question from James Lipton, what’s your favorite middle-grade appropriate “curse word?”
JL: That's an easy one! Merlin's Beard, from Harry Potter, as I think it's by far the most creative.

If you had a pair of magic glasses, what one superpower would you wish they had?
JL: That would depend upon the day. Yesterday, I would've liked my magic glasses to tell me the exact location of my son's missing shoes. Today, I’d love a pair of glasses that can teleport chocolate cupcakes my way at the exact moment I require them. But for the record, I wouldn't actually want glasses that can read minds—when it comes to people's private thoughts I tend to think ignorance is bliss!

What’s your favorite version of Cinderella (book, movie, remake, adaptation) that you’ve ever read or seen?
JL: I would have to say Margaret Peterson Haddix's Just Ella. I loved her realistic take on the downside of happily-ever-after when you find yourself engaged to a dim-witted prince and spend your days learning embroidery and etiquette.

What are two MG books you'd recommend and why?
JL: Hmmm, that's a tough one. I mean, I could say your book, The Mapmaker and the Ghost [and...this is where I blush]. Or I could say, The Cabinet of Earths, by Anne Nesbet. Then again, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. But then there's always Thirteen by Candice Ransom—one of my personal favorites when I was in middle school. And who could forget Little Women? I mean, the possibilities are endless! (Do you like how I just cheated?)

Thanks so much, Jenny! For the record, I definitely don't mind cheating when it involves adding fabulous MG books to everyone's TBR piles.

GIVEAWAY:
This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered!

MG Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Interview with A.J. Hartley

I'm so pleased to have this month's MG author on my blog. A.J. Hartley is a New York Times bestselling author and a Shakespearean professor. His first middle grade novel came out just last month. It's called Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact and it's filled with adventure, fantasy and a great, great friendship at its core. It also has a British protagonist (and, you might know, I'm a bit of an anglophile) and is a novel suitable for boys and girls of all ages.

Read on after the interview to see how you can enter to win a copy of A.J.'s book!



Eleven-year-old Darwen Arkwright has spent his whole life in a tiny town in England. So when he is forced to move to Atlanta, Georgia, to live with his aunt, he knows things will be different - but what he finds there is beyond even his wildest imaginings!

Darwen discovers an enchanting world through the old mirror hanging in his closet - a world that holds as many dangers as it does wonders. Scrobblers on motorbikes with nets big enough to fit a human boy. Gnashers with no eyes, but monstrous mouths full of teeth. Flittercrakes with bat-like bodies and the faces of men. Along with his new friends Rich and Alexandra, Darwen becomes entangled in an adventure and a mystery that involves the safety of his entire school. They soon realize that the creatures are after something in our world - something that only human children possess.

To borrow (and modify) a question from James Lipton, what’s your favorite middle-grade appropriate “curse word” or insult?
A.J. Hartley: As a Brit, all my favorite curse words are a bit obscure. My current favorite is "chuff": a nicely flexible Northen English curse which can mean happy or pleased (as in "I'm right chuffed that Chelsea lost on Saturday") but is also a less specific intensifier: "He's a right chuffin' idiot, he is." Or "What the chuff do you think you're playing at?" "Chuffin' 'eck!" is the exclamation form. It's a chuffin' useful word to have in your arsenal.

If you could step into a magic mirror and go anywhere, where would you go?
AJH: I have favorite places in the world. Delphi, in Greece, for instance. Uxmal, in Mexico. Kenilworth castle or the Castlerigg stone circle in England. But I think if I had a truly magical mirror I'd want to be surprised. Take me somewhere completely unknown. Somewhere impossible.

You're already a bestselling author, but Darwen Arkwright is your first children's book. Were there any challenges you didn't expect in writing for a younger audience? Were there any similarities in your process?

AJH: It really is a completely different process in some ways, and not at all in others. I hope that in the end children's, YA and adult books are all finally about story, character and good prose, but the MG market is entirely new for me and in many respects what I've tried to do with DARWEN feels like an entirely different entity from anything I've written before. At first I worried that I might be pitching the language at too sophisticated a level, but I talked to R.L. Stine about this and he assured me that if I considered "dumbing down" the book, I would be making a huge mistake and that my readers would sniff out that they were being condescended to. In the end, I took the path of a great storyteller like Dickens, who knows how to be absolutely clear and straightforward without simplifying his ideas. Shakespeare too, though his language seems more arcane to us now, is often at his most powerful when he is most simple in his word choice.

One of the things I love about writing middle grade books, though, is that I don't have to worry quite so much about genre, since MG is defined by age group rather than literary categories. When I write adult books I'm accutely conscious that I'm often blurring or straying entirely from the genre I'm supposed to be working in, and that this will irritate my editors and readers. I don't feel that in MG. So long as the story makes sense according to its own internal logic, I don't worry if the tone shifts, or that some scenes are closer to horror than to fantasy, humor to sci-fi etc. I'm also delighted that I don't have to DECIDE not to write literary fiction for younger readers, or that sensational story lines might disqualify me from being a 'serious' writer :)

Like Darwen, you're an Englishman who now lives in the South. Do you remember the first American phrase/idiom that really caught you off-guard?
AJH: Tricky. Like most Brits I've been exposed to American language use through film and television from an early age, and British English continues to morph towards an American standard. No one where I grew up would ever use the word "guys" to describe a group including women, and when I first spent time with Americans I found it bizarre to the point of irritation. I now use it all the time regardless of gender. I still refuse to use "momentarily" to mean "in a moment" rather than "for a moment." I just can't get away from the grammatical logic of the thing no matter how many times I am told someone will be with me momentarily. But then I also wince when people (everyone, now, it seems) use "impact" as a verb... I know, I know. I'm a fuddy duddy. Which is ironic, when you think about it. No one says fuddy duddy anymore except fuddy duddies.

What are two MG books you'd recommend and why?
AJH: John Masefield's The Box of the Delights, because it's old and reminds me of childhood Christmases, and is one of those archetypal Travels to Other Worlds stories (like my own) which I always loved as a kid. The resolution of the story feels a little dated now, but I love the villainous card-sharping curates on the train who, when looked at the right way, look like foxes...

Right now I'm just discovering (somewhat behind the curve) the delights of Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles. Fun stuff. I love the bickering narrators and the sense of ancient magic.

Oh, and can I add Joseph Delaney's Last Apprentice series? Tales of seventeenth century Lancashire witchcraft. I grew up in the bleak hills which are the core of the stories and he manages to master an understated creep factor which really gets under your skin. The first MG books to actually give me nightmares for a very long time!

Thank you A.J. for an awesome interview. My goal for the year is to find a way to use 'chuffed' in daily conversation.


GIVEAWAY:
And now, I'm right chuffed to present this giveaway! (Mission...accomplished)

The giveaway is now closed! Congratulation to winner, Aiecha, and thanks to everyone who entered!

MG Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Interview with Greg R. Fishbone

This month's Middle Grade author spotlight and giveaway is extra special because it's also part of a much larger blog tour for Greg R. Fishbone's new book, Galaxy Games: The Challengers!

In this blog post you get:
- an interview with Greg
- a chance to win Greg's book plus a bonus book (courtesy of me)
- a chance to gather a puzzle piece for Greg's blog tour filled with other fabulous prizes
- to marvel at the fact that Greg R. Fishbone has the best children's author name ever

And all for the low, low price of...nothing! It's a bargain.

First, here is a bit about Greg's book.

Things are looking up for Tyler Sato (literally!) as he and his friends scan the night sky for a star named for him by his Tokyo cousins in honor of his eleventh birthday. Ordinary stars tend to stay in one place, but Ty’s seems to be streaking directly toward Earth at an alarming rate. Soon the whole world is talking about TY SATO, the doomsday asteroid, and life is turned upside down for Ty Sato, the boy, who would rather be playing hoops in his best friend’s driveway.

Meanwhile, aboard a silver spaceship heading for Earth, M’Frozza, a girl with three eyes and five nose holes, is on a secret mission. M’Frozza is the captain of planet Mrendaria’s Galaxy Games team, and she is desperate to save her world from a dishonorable performance in the biggest sporting event in the universe.

What will happen when Ty meets M’Frozza? Get ready for the most important event in human history—it’ll be off the backboard, around the rim, and out of this world!

INTERVIEW
To borrow (and modify) a question from James Lipton, what’s your favorite middle-grade appropriate “curse word?"
Greg R. Fishbone: M'Frozza likes to say "smazzroot" when there's something really good that she can't quite have. Smazzroot literally means "rotten fruit" because of a famous Mrendarian story about a child whose deliciously rotten fruit rolls into a ditch and out of reach.

Describe your elementary-school self in three words.
GRF: Imaginative, helpful, and friendly. But my daughter has those three traits down even more than I ever did.

If you were chosen to lead an intergalactic sporting event, which sport or event would you hope it was?
GRF: The Galaxy Game, of course! Any other game you can think of can be part of it, and the rules are different every time.

If aliens invaded the earth, what’s one technology you would hope they’d bring with them and share with earthlings?

GRF: If they've already taken control and it's not purely a social visit? In that case I'd hope they've come because they think we'd make cute and cuddly pets, and not because we all look so delicious... Maybe the aliens would bring a technology to provide us with endless hours of excitement and entertainment, like the way we use laser pointers with our cats!

What are two MG books you'd recommend and why?
GRF: There are so many! Readers looking for other books that combine science fiction with humor will enjoy The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. I'd also recommend the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer--the books seem like fantasy at first, because there are fairies, dwarves, and centaurs in them, but they're all creatures of science and advanced technology. Colfer takes tired old myths and reworks them in an original and refreshing way.

Thank you, Greg! Read on for how you can win out-of-this-world prizes. (Yes, I had to go there.)

BLOG TOUR
Here's the info you need for Greg's blog tour! An exclusive puzzle piece is below. Go to http://galaxygam.es/tour/ to find out how you can gather more pieces.

MY GIVEAWAY
Is now closed and the winner is Suzanne. Thanks to everyone who entered!

MG Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Interview with Stephanie Burgis

I am very excited to present a new monthly feature on my blog: the MG Author Spotlight and Giveaway! Every month, I will be featuring an interview with a Middle Grade author along with a giveaway of the author's book.

And I am extra, ginormously, stupendously excited to present the first author to be a part of this: Stephanie Burgis, author of Kat, Incorrigible. If that title sounds familiar, it may be because you read me raving about it just a couple of weeks ago.

First, a little about Stephanie's wonderful book:

Katherine Ann Stephenson has just discovered that she's inherited her mother's magical talents, and despite Stepmama's stern objections, she's determined to learn how to use them. But with her eldest sister Elissa's intended fiancé, the sinister Sir Neville, showing a dangerous interest in Kat's magical potential; her other sister, Angeline, wreaking romantic havoc with her own witchcraft; and a highwayman lurking in the forest, even Kat's reckless heroism will be tested to the upmost. If she can learn to control her new powers, will Kat be able to rescue her family and win her sisters their true love?

And now for the interview:

To borrow (and modify) a question from James Lipton, what’s your favorite middle-grade appropriate “curse word” or insult?
Stephanie Burgis: Since I'm a Regency author, of course my answer has to be: "Dash it!" ;)

If you could be BFF with any Jane Austen character, who would you pick?
SB: Definitely Elizabeth Bennet! There might be other Austen heroines that are even more admirable, but none that would be more fun to hang out with - and she's loyal to her friends even when they make choices she hates, so that's just one more bonus!

If you had only five minutes with Kat's mother's spellbooks, which spell would you look up and try to master?
SB: Since I'm often wrangling a toddler nowadays, I'd love to be able to make teapots and other practical things move without using my hands!
 

In your acknowledgments, you mention you have a "writing club" with your brothers. Tell me more about that. Did your relationship with them inform the relationship between the three sisters in the book?
SB: I'm the oldest in my own family, with two younger brothers, both of whom are also writers. (My brother Ben has published several science fiction and fantasy short stories for adults, while my brother David works in film and also writes screenplays.) So of course we had a secret writing club as kids! It was great to have a critique group within my own house as I grew up, and now that we're adults, we still read and critique most of each other's stories.

When it came to writing Kat, I didn't base any of the characters on real people, but the fact that I come from a noisy, loving, close-knit family definitely influenced the way I wrote Kat's noisy, loving, close-knit family! Kat's the youngest of four, with two older sisters, whereas I'm the oldest of three with no sisters at all...but her siblings, just like mine, all bicker, laugh, irritate, enjoy and love each other deeply.

What are two MG books you'd recommend and why?
Maryrose Wood's The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book One: The Mysterious Howling made me laugh out loud several times. It's incredibly funny and just so much fun to read!
 
And Sheela Chari's Vanished is a wonderful, globe-trotting MG mystery about music and curses that's also a beautifully-written novel about family and growing up. I absolutely loved it.

Thank you so much for the interview, Steph! I can't wait for Renegade Magic, the sequel to Kat, Incorrigible, which will be out in April.

GIVEAWAY
The giveaway is now closed. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who entered! I had such a blast reading all your comments.

After the random.org drawing, congratulations to...Heidi Grange! Heidi has won a copy of Kat, Incorrigible and one copy of Sheela Chari's Vanished (Stephanie's MG recommendation).

Stay tuned for next month's MG Author Spotlight and Giveaway. It'll be a good one, I promise!