Category: Middle Grade (Page 15 of 17)

Reading with Beverly Stowe McClure Author of STAR OF THE TEAM

November 14, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Beverly Stowe McClure is an author, a former teacher, and a wonderful, supportive member of the kidlit writing community. Today she is sharing her MG contemporary STAR OF THE TEAM with a post about how she wasn’t always a reader. Welcome, Beverly!

JOHN NEWBERY AND A CLASSROOM OF FIFTH GRADERS

by Beverly Stowe McClure

When I was very young, I was not a reader. I listened to the radio instead. A program called “Let’s Pretend” came on every Saturday morning. This was BTV (Before TV). I loved Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs and all the others. Even though I never read the books, perhaps I absorbed the stories that years later I would remember how much I enjoyed them.

I squeaked through high school, reading only what I had to. After graduation I worked at various jobs, none of them exciting. When my sons started school, I decided to attend the local university so I could find a job with a future. This meant reading, lots of it. Four years later, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree. And, now get this, I became a teacher. What was I thinking? Teaching meant more reading. I also made an amazing discovery. Not only did I love teaching, I loved reading children’s books.

One of the requirements we had for our fifth-graders was a book report every six weeks. This was before the AR program many schools have today. Our students had to read Newbery winner or honor books. Memories surfaced of how much I hated book reports in my school days, so I hoped to make them more pleasant for my boys and girls. I also had to read the books so I could tell they’d read them. Sigh. I wish someone had introduced me to these stories when I was in school. Maybe they did and I wasn’t listening. For whatever reasons, I was hooked. My students’ reports were amazing. Sometimes, they dressed like the characters and acted out the stories. Other times they wrote reports with illustrations or in story form. Most of them had fun. The teacher had fun. Reading was fun. Remember the saying: “You’re never too old to learn.” It’s true.

So today, I thank John Newbery, the wonderful books that have won his award, and my classroom of fifth-graders for showing their teacher the beauty of a good book.

STAR OF THE TEAM blurb:

A girl.

A dream.

An accident.

A dream shattered.

Eleven-year-old Kate Taylor dreams of being the star of her basketball team, Angels. When Kate’s tooth is knocked out at one of the games and her mother, who is also her coach, says she can’t play until the tooth the dentist replants heals, Kate’s dreams are in jeopardy. Add Emily, the new girl at school who claims she’s the best, and Kate faces a challenge to prove that she is the star.

Will Kate succeed? Or will Emily ruin Kate’s plans?

Find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the Author:

Most of the time, you’ll find Beverly in front of her computer, writing the stories little voices whisper in her ear. When she’s not writing, she takes long walks and snaps pictures of clouds, wild flowers, birds and deer. To some of her friends, she is affectionately known as the “Bug Lady” because she rescues butterflies, moths, walking sticks, and praying mantis from her cats.

For twenty-two years Beverly taught children in grades two through five how to read and write. They taught her patience. Now, she teaches a women’s Sunday school class at her church. To relax she plays the piano. Her cats don’t appreciate good music and run and hide when she tickles the ivories.

For more about Beverly visit her blog or website.

Following Inspiration With J.C. Whyte Author of KARMACK

September 26, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Today I’m lucky to have the lovely J.C. Whyte, author of the MG fantasy KARMACK (I just love the cover of her book!), on the blog. She’s discussing how important it is to pay attention to those little flashes of inspiration that hit. Welcome, J.C.!

I used to think Thomas Edison got it right, that “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

Now I’m not so sure. Because I learned something valuable about inspiration while trying to get my first book published. That dream came true last year with the release of Karmack, my middle grade novel.

At the time, I had no intention of writing a children’s book. But as I lay awake one night trying to construct a scene for what I believed to be an important teen novel, inspiration struck. Yet it had nothing to do with my teen novel. My mind had drifted to more fanciful ideas. I was thinking, what if a little sprite started boomeranging bullies in true karmic fashion? The idea struck a cord with me. And I knew this would certainly be fun to write about!

So I did write about it, if only to amuse myself. Every time I encountered writer’s block with the teen novel, I’d add a couple more chapters to the children’s book. And before I knew it, Karmack was not only finished but thoroughly edited.

Well, that’s what happens when a writer gets inspiration. Ideas begin to flow, sometimes coming so fast there’s barely time to get them all down. This is probably what possessed Charles Dickens to write A Christmas Carol in six short weeks! And that masterpiece has never gone out of print. Of course, I’m not comparing my work with that of Dickens, but anyone who’s had inspiration understands how this shortcut can operate.

With Karmack complete, I began investigating sources for publication. MuseItUp Publishing promised that if the manuscript was rejected, the editors would let me know why. So I submitted Karmack to Muse, hoping to at least get valuable feedback. But to my surprise, Karmack was not only accepted but published within six months’ time!

Originally released as an ebook in 2013, Karmack continues to receive great reviews and most recently won First Place in chapter ebooks in the 2014 Purple Dragonfly competition. Muse has also scheduled a new paperback edition, which should appear in online stores soon.

Next year, Muse will be publishing a second of my books, an adventure story for adults. This book was also a lark for me to write, especially because two of the characters get trapped in an invisible dimension and are forced to communicate through a psychic’s spirit guide. Most of the action takes place aboard a cruise ship crossing the Pacific, and the narrator is the spirit guide himself. Watch for this one to be released next spring.

My teen book, however, didn’t fare as well – the Muse editors strongly disliked (I should say loathed) that manuscript. I tried endless revisions, but continued to receive only more rejection from publishers and literary agents alike. Eventually I gave up, accepting the fact I’m just not suited to write for the teen market.

The moral of my story? Pay attention to those fanciful ideas which pop into your head. Because that one percent of inspiration may not only point you in a new direction, it could also eliminate needless perspiration. And that’s what I call genius.

KARMACK blurb:

For years, Sully and his gang have tormented students and teachers alike at Higgins Elementary. And for the most part, they’ve gotten away with it. But all that begins to change when a strange little creature appears on the scene. And from that point on, pranks start coming back like boomerangs, smacking Sully and his gang right in their fifth grade butts!

Aimed at children ages 8 to 12, Karmack is also perfect for classroom read-alouds. It’s available at most online stores such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as from the publisher at http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museityoung/karmack-detail.

To see reviews of Karmack, go to its website: www.karmack.webs.com. Or check out its Goodreads page, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18080078-karmack.

About the Author:

From the age of eleven, J.C. Whyte knew she wanted to be a writer. But by the time she reached college, she realized an author’s income seldom paid all the bills. So she got her degrees in Journalism and Communications Management, and for many years channeled her creative energies into the field of Public Relations.

Marriage, kids, and several more degrees and occupations later (including stints as a travel agent and paralegal), J.C. entered law school – mostly for the challenge of writing creative arguments for the court. While in law school, she became a columnist for the student newsletter, writing humorous pieces on the strange and quirky life of a law student. She was absolutely thrilled when one of these articles was chosen for publication in The National Jurist, a magazine distributed to law students throughout the US.

But after graduating and passing the Bar, J.C. realized within a few years that creative writing was still what made her heart sing. So now, as a grandma, she’s returned to writing. And with publication of her middle grade novel Karmack, she’s finally fulfilled her life-long dream!

Visiting Gillette’s Castle for the Great CT Caper

September 23, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Last week I dragged the whole family up to the Connecticut River Valley for a trip to Gillette’s Castle. Okay, there wasn’t really any dragging involved. I mean, who wouldn’t want to visit a medieval-style castle overlooking a gorgeous river valley? And the kiddos are still too little to protest much over what family activities we do. 🙂

I was there to do research for writing my chapter of the Great CT Caper, which starts next week! So far all I know for the story is that the castle is going to go missing…and the rest is up to us writers to create.

There’s nothing quite like physically experiencing the place you are writing about, so off we went. The morning rain scared away all the tourists (plus it was a Tuesday), so we had run of the place almost to ourselves. I had already done 664 (1) some research on William Gillette who designed and lived in the castle.

Gillette is probably best known for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage. Seems he had quite the sense of humor and was a natural entertainer because his home was set up to simultaneously awe his guests and tease them. He had strategically placed mirrors so he could spy on his guests from other rooms, one of which he used to observe his guests struggle with a trick liquor cabinet that Gillette designed. He also had a secret shortcut on his main stairway so he could beat his guests up to the great room and surprise them.

All in all I took a million pictures (many a little blurry because The Prince was strapped to me via the Moby wrap and it made it hard for me to keep my phone steady) and learned way more information than I’ll ever be able to cram into a whole story never mind a single chapter. But I also got really inspired and earned a whole new sense of the castle that I never would have gotten from pictures and descriptions of it. I do hope I get to incorporate a little of that into my small part in the story.

Character Driven Stories With Madeleine McLaughlin Author of BEGGAR CHARLIE

September 12, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Another great MuseItUp author guesting on the blog today. Madeleine McLaughlin is the author of the MG adventure BEGGAR CHARLIE and is here to talk about writing character driven stories. Welcome, Madeleine!

MuseItUp, along with other publishers, likes character-driven stories. So the most important part of any story for the modern writer is the ‘character’ of the characters. It should be easy, right? Every person you meet in the real world has a character. All the writer needs to do is copy, yes? No.

A character driven story means that some personality trait of the character leads directly into the plot twists. For instance, a man who acts mean to someone who then goes to kill someone. The first guy has a problem, the writer gets to decide which one. A bad marriage, etc, something that will explain his character. The murderer has a neurotic character perhaps and the story goes along with that. Not so easy.

All sorts of things can suggest character. I once looked at an old England census of my ancestors and found that Dorcas Fletcher had written down her occupation as ‘Gunsmith’s Daughter’. That could suggest a very loving and proud daughter, secondary characteristics are to the writer’s and story’s taste.

Like the father can be demanding but fair, so she feels secure. Or insecure, whatever the story needs.

A trait in a person you know can be helpful. I’m lucky that I had a family with a lot of characters in it. All you have to do then is use your imagination to ‘visualize’ what your character would do. Not easy. No. Writing is never easy but when you do it right there’s a great feeling of satisfaction and also of excitement that others may like what you wrote them.

Knowledge of psychology is a great help, too. That can help you come up with plot twists and motivations. I have a diploma in Child Psychology so I know a bit about how children develop and what they need to grow up happy. I was able to use this in Beggar Charlie. The need for children to have a home and how they go looking for one when they don’t have one.

In studying child psychology, it’s good to study normal and abnormal, just so you can understand what a character may need.

So if you’re in the writing market of today, you’ll have to make lists. Lists of character traits, even of yourself. Or you can start with yourself. What I Like About Myself on one side, What I Dislike About Myself on another. Do this for other people, too. Then try and juxtapose the lists. One Like list against a Dislike list of another person. Can you think of a story to go with it?

Some writers ‘interview’ their characters. This helps them get a better picture of what they may be going through.

It’s not easy, but as I said, it’s satisfying and even calming. You’ve done something, you’ve created. The best feeling in the world.

BEGGAR CHARLIE blurb:

After begging on the streets of London, Beggar Charlie is kidnapped by press-gangers and given over to a merchant ship. He finds himself in a storm off the coast of China. The captain promises him shore leave and sends him, along with Hickory Dick ashore in the morning.

They find themselves in a hostile environment except for one Chinese boy who is friendly. When a rebellion starts and people start dying around them, they run back to the ship only to see it sink under the waves. Then Hickory Dick hatches a plan to get them all home.

Find BEGGAR CHARLIE at Amazon, the MuseItUp bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and wherever ebooks are sold.

About the Author:

Madeleine McLaughlin was raised in a small city by the Pacific Ocean. She left after she graduated from high school and spent a year in Vancouver. She moved to Ottawa in 1979 and has lived there ever since and has a room mate in an apartment downtown.

After working at all kinds of jobs she settled down to write and has poems and flash fiction, along with short stories published. Beggar Charlie is the second story published by MuseItUp Publishing.

Follow her on Twitter @Madoxane or her blog http://madworldca.blogspot.com/.

Join Me on the Great CT Caper

September 9, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Finally the time has come to let you all know about that collaborative project I’ve been teasing you about. (I know, you’ve just been dying of curiosity, haven’t you?) Drum roll, please…

Join me, 11 other Connecticut authors, and 12 Connecticut illustrators as one of our own state’s cultural treasures is about to go missing. The Great CT Caper is on! The plot will develop as each author tackles one chapter at a time, but it all starts with the missing treasure, which was on voted on by the people. And they selected Gillette Castle!

Gillette Castle was designed by William Gillette, who was actually Sherlock Holmes (on stage anyway!), as a private residence and is now part of a state park. High above the gorgeous Connecticut River, I can’t imagine a better place for a mystery to take place. As part of my research, I’ll be visiting it later this month and I’ll be sure to share my experience here on the blog.

With the Great CT Caper, the Connecticut Center for the Humanities will be the first to publish a state-specific version of a serialized story for young readers modeled after a national one done by the Library of Congress. Starting in January 2015, the story will be published online one nail-biting chapter at a time.

I think it’s going to be an amazingly fun project to work on. I’ve never collaborated on a story with so many different writers and I’m really excited to see what kind of story comes out of it. Have any of you ever co-written or done a collaborative book?