It’s a Mystery, Pig Face! Author Interview and ARC Giveaway

In Wendy McLeod MacKnight's It's a Mystery, Pig Face! eleven-year-old Tracy Munroe has three goals to accomplish:

1. Figure out an end-of-summer adventure with her best friend Ralph.

2. Make sure her little brother Lester, aka Pig Face, does not tag along.

3. Get the new boy next door to realize she exists.

But when Tracy and Ralph discover a bag full of money in the baseball field dugout, (and Lester forces them to let him help) they have a mystery on their hands. Did someone lose the cash? Was it stolen? Can the truth be discovered before they are accused of the crime themselves?

Wendy, I absolutely loved this fast-paced middle grade mystery! Where did you get the idea for this book?

Thanks! When I was a kid, my friends and I were always looking for mysteries to solve. We had a bit of a Harriet the Spy thing going – keeping tabs on everyone – but we were always thwarted. The first draft of the book was a real throw-back, the bad guys were grown up, lives were in peril, but thanks to some good advice, I went a little more nuanced. Not that this is a nuanced book by any stretch of the imagination… As for the name Pig Face, I may have called my brother that a few times when we were young a few times and when I was trying to think of a name Tracy might call Lester when he’s being particularly annoying, it popped right into my head.

Tracy and Ralph have a strong friendship. Their relationship faces some tests, yet survives. How do you develop such realistic, well-rounded characters?

I liked the idea of what happens when relationships are tested. Tracy makes some bad decisions, and who hasn’t made bad decisions in their life? And Ralph isn’t immune to making the odd mistake himself. I think that friendships are so important and sometimes so fragile in the upper elementary/early middle grade years, and kids often stumble around because they are afraid of speaking their truth.

I worked a lot on all three of the characters – back story, what they liked and disliked, their private hopes and dreams, most of which didn’t make it into the book, but by the time I was writing in earnest, I knew who they were and how they would react to what was happening around them. Forgiveness and acceptance is a huge theme in this book, and that comes from the characters, not the plot. I will say that my agent, Lauren Galit, and my editor, Alison Weiss, both pushed me to dig deep.

Can you tell MG Minded readers about your publication journey? Is this your first book? How many drafts did it take you to land an agent and then a publisher?

I’m the poster child for IT’S NEVER TOO LATE! I wrote the first draft of this book in 1986 (yes, dinosaurs walked the earth and we had just discovered fire!) I am embarrassed to say I did one revision and then sent it to a Canadian Publishing House, who were very enthusiastic and asked me to send them other things. But I never did. I put it in a drawer and got a job and had a great career for the next twenty-five years, rising to the level of Deputy Minister of Education and Early Childhood. Then one day I woke up and got brave enough to leave to pursue the one regret I had in life – not pursuing my writing career. I took some courses, immersed myself in the MG world again (well, truth be told, I never left it!) and pulled out that old manuscript. And polished and rewrote completely. I think I’d done six drafts by the time I landed my agent, Lauren Galit of LKG Agency. By then I had queried 48 agents. I could tell I was getting close because after the sixth draft, I got all kinds of requests for full manuscripts and the week I signed with Lauren I had two or three agents interested in signing me. The lesson I learned through the process of selling the first book is this: good enough is NOT good enough. Until you can say in your heart that it is as excellent as you can make it, there is no point in submitting. I am still mortified about the first 15 queries I sent out…

Any advice for blog readers wanting to write a middle grade mystery?

Ah, that’s a hard question! I struggled with the mystery aspect for so long: not giving too much away, tossing out lots of red herrings, ensuring it all makes sense. I think you can’t ‘pants’ a mystery, which I am sorry to say I did for my first couple of drafts, and it was a disaster! I would map the mystery out very carefully in advance. You can always tweak it as you’re writing, once your characters come to life and start sending you places you never thought you’d go, but thinking of things on the fly is usually not very successful, I am sorry to say. Unless you are a genius, then have at it! Oh and one more thing: I heard a lot of “There are too many mysteries out there” when I was writing and submitting, but kids love a mystery (as do adults) and there will always be room for mysteries in middle grade fiction!

Thanks so much, Wendy! Great advice!
For a chance to win an ARC of It's a Mystery, Pig Face! leave a comment and your email address below. A winner will be drawn at random.

Middle Grade Minded 300!

We have something a little special to present today — our 300th post here at Middle Grade Minded! (Cue the applause, balloons, confetti, and high fives.) To celebrate this momentous occasion, some of our contributors are offering quick reflections on what being a part this blog, and this team, has meant to us. Be sure to read to the end, since we’ve got a pile of giveaways to share!

Jamie:
I’ve had the privilege of being a blogger for Middle Grade Minded since its inception. When the group of us started the blog, we were not just a bunch of MG writers trying to enter a contest, but we were all looking for a MG community. There were tons of YA groups but not many MG ones. And let's face it MG writers are a rare breed in the best possible way. They face a unique set of challenges with respect to market and voice. It was a pressure we all felt but didn't know how to tackle. What I didn't anticipate though, was how much of a network I would gain. I've connected with so many amazing MG writers, and MG Minded has become a support system. I've learned so much from my fellow bloggers and the MG community that has formed around the blog. And if gaining this community wasn't awesome enough, I've also learned discipline. I've always been goal oriented, so actually having the pressure of a blog full of readers waiting on my post has kept me writing something even when I felt like I couldn't write anymore. For all of those reasons I'm so thankful for this blog. When we started this journey we couldn't imagine what this blog would become. But it's so much better than I ever could have imagined. So here's to 300 posts down and hopefully many many more to come. Thanks to the loyal readers of the blog, we wouldn't still be here without you!

Wendy:
When I was getting started on my publishing journey, I scoured the net looking for MG blogs, because there are so many YA and I really needed a community. I think I found MG Minded thanks to Brooks Benjamin, and kept revisiting because there was great information and lots of folks sharing their journey and that really appealed to me. I still blog on my own website, but I like being here because it's nice to feel like you're part of something bigger, which is wonderful, especially if you spend most of your time writing alone at home like I do! I'm looking forward to sharing more and learning more and expanding our number of visitors! And inspiring people to write and read more middle grade books!

Stefanie:
MG Minded has strengthened my own writing. I have had the opportunity to review wonderful books, and in reading them and interviewing authors, I have learned a great deal about craft. Plus, it's been fun to give away ARCs and swag and make connections with other writers. This is a wonderful community. I am lucky to be a part of this group.

Tom M.:
I came up as a writer in a very solitary way; no real network to speak of, little support or acknowledgement of my efforts beyond my family and a few trusted friends. When I took my first baby steps onto Twitter and discovered a wide, diverse, and vibrant writing community already thriving, I looked for ways to participate. I followed the early Middle Grade Minded since I knew a few of the people involved from contests we’d all been in. When the opportunity came up to be a part of the team, I jumped at it. Being a part of this group has brought me friendships I otherwise wouldn’t have had, as well as the chance to challenge myself to share ideas and thoughts that hopefully contribute to this wider writing community I’ve been so fortunate to find.

Kim:
I'm excited to introduce more adults to middle grade literature. It's so easy to get bogged down in the mundane realities of everyday life, that we forget to look for the extraordinary. Middle grade lit is a great reminder that wonder and whimsy are hiding behind every corner, if we'll only slow down long enough to notice it.

Stacey:
I was one of the original members of Middle Grade Minded and boy is it incredible how far we've all come! We started Middle Grade Minded there were a bunch of amazing YA blogs but not many MG ones and we had a strong desire to fill that hole. We started as kind of a ragtag group of aspiring authors who met during blog contests but it couldn't have been more perfect. Middle Grade Minded has been exactly what we all wanted and needed it to be. A community! Friendships with others who love, read and write Middle Grade. It allowed us to reach more MG lovers! Each of our publishing journeys have been so very different but we've all grown SO much! It's been hard for me, at times, to focus on the blog when so many other things are happening but it was an important lesson in discipline (one I'm still learning) and that when you dedicate yourself to something you will find a way. I'm still here! Still learning and still growing! Boy has it been fun!

Shari:
I joined the Middle Grade Minded bloggers last spring, and it's been wonderful getting to know everyone. Middle grade fiction is such a treasure--full of wonder and magic, and rich with emotion--and I love how both kids and adults can connect so deeply with MG stories. It's a joy and privilege to share book-love with all of you, and I look forward to offering more book recs for readers and more encouragement for writers. Yay books!


To celebrate our 300th post, we’re offering these prizes to help give back to the community that’s been so supportive:
*2 query letter critiques, anything MG
*2 ten-page critiques, anything MG
*1 first chapter critique, MG contemporary
*1 first chapter critique, anything MG

If you’d like to enter, leave a comment below. Tell us your name, some contact info, such as your Twitter address, and which prize you're hoping for. We’ll leave the thread open through the end of February to give people time to find the page and enter. We’d also love to hear any thoughts you’d be willing to share about the site, whether you’re entering or not.

Thanks for sticking with us! We hope you’ll be around to see what happens during our next 300 posts!

Why I Write Middle Grade Fiction

An Age of Discovery

The years between eight and twelve hold a special kind of magic, because this is the age when children can fully articulate their questions about the world. In short, it is an age of wonder. What happens after we die? What does it mean to love someone? Can courage triumph over evil? Middle grade novels delve into the deepest questions of human existence. Their pages teem with mysteries, marvels and new discoveries, because, for these readers, there is an entire world out there yet to be explored.

One of my favorite novels that exemplifies this sense of discovery is Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. The main character, Nobody, wanders into a graveyard after his parents are killed, where a host of nocturnal beings emerge to teach him the skills he needs to survive into adulthood. He strays from the path and confronts real danger, but this is all part of the experimentation process that defines childhood.

Why Adults Should Read Middle Grade

How powerful then, as adults, to open our minds once again to wonder. For adults, middle grade fiction has even more to offer than the adventure and romance of young adult. Yes, you will find adventure and friendship and courage in middle grade literature, too, but you will also find an invitation to be young again. To view the world through eyes that look at a dark closet or a sun-streaked blanket of snow and still see possibility. Does a monster lurk in the shadows behind grandma’s box of antique dolls? Does the snow conceal the tracks of a never-before-discovered species? Come along, dear reader, and find out. Give yourself permission to go on a journey of pure imagination, and you might be surprised what you find there.

Harry Potter, of course, is a wonderful example of the ability of great middle grade novels to transport readers of all ages to new and transformative worlds. Try, too, the gentle, heartfelt storytelling of that middle grade titan, Kate DiCamillo. My favorite is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Yes, it is the story of a china rabbit trying to find a forever home, but, if you can open yourself up once again to childlike wonder, I guarantee you will cry ugly tears in the end.

Good Stories, Simply Told

More than anything, the best middle grade novels are good stories, simply told. Simple in the sense of being sublime. It is the task of middle grade authors to cut directly to the heart of the story. To find the perfect moment, the perfect detail, the perfect phrase that will resonate with readers’ emotions. Readers who, far from being limited, are actually, by virtue of being children, that much closer to the divine. Finding a way to communicate directly with them requires the ability to see through extraneous details to the emotional center of a story.

And, oh, do middle grade novels have heart. Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan may be told through the clipped, simplistic phrasing of Ivan the Gorilla, but her words carve out readers’ hearts and invoke their deepest emotions. I said it before, but I’ll say it again…ugly tears. The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is another fantastic example of a book so packed full of complex emotions, it transcends any one audience or reading level. Like so much middle grade fiction, it is simply a great story, well told. 

Finally, a Note of Advice

My advice to aspiring middle grade writers is simple. More than anything, middle grade writers, like their readers, need a clear sense of wonder, the ability to see the extraordinary in the everyday, and, of course, a hint of magic.

A Little About Me
I am the author of Skeleton Tree, a middle grade novel coming out with Scholastic Press in September 2017. I'm a fan of whimsy, British mysteries and reading books to my dog (she's partial to Roald Dahl, in case you were wondering). I'm super excited to start writing for Middle Grade Minded and to share the love of middle grade literature with the world.

"Make it into Art"

You know those "me at the start of 2016" memes that went around? This was my favorite, partly because, as far as reflecting my feelings, the images were spot-on. And partly, of course, because it was HP. :-)

Ah, 2016...To borrow a phrase, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I know there’s good and bad in every year, but personally, I found the events and emotions of 2016 particularly conflicting. The highs were awesome; the lows, devastating. I'll spare you the full rundown of the past twelve months of my life, but I would like to share a couple things, so you know where I’m coming from. 2016 was the year I sold two books and saw the first of them launch—a long-chased-after dream, finally come true; it was also the year my daughter was diagnosed with cancer.

As you can imagine, finding out my precious daughter has cancer shattered my heart. I teetered on the brink of depression for months. Of course, the whole time, the world still went on around me. When I managed to open my eyes to it, I saw news of violence, unrest, and injustice. I heard stories of natural disasters and loss. I know there were some best of times happening too, but gosh, they were hard to see sometimes, surrounded as they were by the worst sort of things. My heart ached, not only for my daughter and our family, but for the world.

And yet this morning, when I sat down at my desk to answer a few emails, I glanced out my office window and was awestruck by the gold and pink sunrise, and I was reminded that it is a good world, a glorious world, full of beauty.

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God…” 

– Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Conflicting feelings continue to perform a complex dance within me—fear and despair twirling until they transform into joy and gratitude, then twirling again, changing again. It's a wild ride, this life, isn't it?

The Golden Globes were on earlier this month. I didn't watch them, but I did see a clip of Meryl Streep’s speech at the event. She concluded by sharing the words of her friend, the late Carrie Fisher: “Take your broken heart—make it into art.”

Can I do that? Can I take the raw material of my heartache, my fear, my pain, and turn it into art? Maybe. I feel myself on the edge of hope—like I can almost grasp it. Oh glorious hope! The possibility, the potential…isn’t it exciting?! All the brokenness of my world and of my heart…I can write through that. Write of it, and in it, and through it, and maybe, just maybe, it can become art that speaks to another heart, that touches a tiny corner of the world in a positive way.

It makes me feel less helpless in the face of everything. And yet, I write for children—what place does injustice have, or violence…what place is there for grief, for cancer, for loss…what place does any of that have in children’s stories?

Front and center.

It all has a place. It all belongs in stories, and yes, even in children’s stories, because children live in this world too. Children feel heartache and fear and hope and gratitude, just as we do. Children suffer or bear witness to abuse, injustice, prejudice, and racism. Children lose loved ones to cancer, to violence, to mental illness, and even to busyness. And they need stories that speak to them of such things. So write them.

Write about beauty, too, and love. Write about friendship and first crushes and overcoming obstacles. Tell stories that remind us of the goodness in the world, but remember that kids know it’s not a perfect place.

So go ahead. Take your broken heart, and make it into art. Kids are waiting.

---

Need some examples to inspire and encourage you? Here are a few suggestions of middle grade books dealing with various "tough topics", compiled by your friendly neighborhood MGMinded bloggers. :-) Please feel free to add more suggestions in the comments. 

• 9-11 - NINE, TEN: A SEPTEMBER 11 STORY, by Nora Raleigh Baskin; TOWERS FALLING, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• addiction - THE SEVENTH WISH, by Kate Messner; RULES FOR STEALING STARS, by Corey Ann Haydu
• abusive parent - OKAY FOR NOW, by Gary D. Schmidt
• death & dying - THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH, by Ali Benjamin; BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, by Katherine Paterson; MS. BIXBY'S LAST DAY, by John David Anderson
• divorce - GERTIE'S LEAP TO GREATNESS, by Kate Beasley; BIGGER THAN A BREAD BOX, by Laurel Snyder; ROOT BEER CANDY AND OTHER MIRACLES, by Shari Green
• poverty - CRENSHAW, by Katherine Applegate
• racism - FULL CICADA MOON, by Marilyn Hilton; STELLA BY STARLIGHT, by Sharon M. Draper; THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM - 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis
• transgender issues - GEORGE, by Alex Gino; LILY AND DUNKIN, by Donna Gephart
• war - THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley; PAPER WISHES, by Lois Sepahban; NUMBER THE STARS, by Lois Lowry

(I think) The Writing Isn't Supposed To Get Any Easier

I'm currently revising my third novel.

Wait - let me revise that (pun intended!): I'm currently revising my sixth novel (not sure if the  other three will ever see the light of day).

This novel already has a home, so you'd think that would be easier, but:

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via GIPHY


Truth be told, each time I write a novel it's like I've forgotten everything.

I do some planning, then fast draft and then face revisions.

I like revisions. But not early on. Early on the book feels like an immense wall that I don't have the tools to climb.



via GIPHY

Everything feels torturous. I question how I ever sold other books. There is teeth gnashing, soul-searching, dark-night-of-the-soul moments.




via GIPHY


This is often a good point to ask for some advice. Share a bit of the work with others. Get their ideas. Weigh them against your intentions.

Reread your favourite authors for inspiration.

And then there is this funny thing that happens - you find the solution yourself. It's like their advice jogs a part of your brain and you know how to fix the plot, the voice, the arc. You don't know how you know, but you do.

(BTW - I call this the back burner phase - all your thinking has gotten your self-concious into overdrive, seeking a solution)

The more we write, the more we want to write WELL. And we want the writing to be easier.

And maybe it is for Stephen King or Neil Gaiman, but for the rest of us mortals...

Each book must be better, more polished, more YOU. But sometimes the pressure that we put on ourselves when we do that is actually the thing that stifles creativity.

My advice?

Let it go awhile. Ask for help. Be kind to yourself.

Because yes, you owe it to your reader to give them the best work you can create, but also: you owe it to yourself to not torment yourself along the way.

If writing was easy, everyone would do it and do it well.

Whether you are a yet-to-be-published author or a published one, know this: everyone struggles to get the story out of their head and onto the paper.

There's no embarrassment in that.

And YOU will get there. So will I.

Until then...



via GIPHY

Believe In Yourself (A non-success Story)

In September I jumped back into the query trenches for the first time in two years. I had previously found a great publisher without an agent and ran with it. I knew I would want an agent eventually but for right now, I didn’t need one.

But a few years later I was ready to try again. I’m ready to try for new avenues, while not closing my previous opportunities—I still plan on publishing with Entangled. I’ve enjoyed my time there, but those opportunities are limited. There are several things that I want to write that they don’t publish.

So I picked up a MG fantasy book that I’ve adored and believed in but put aside for the sake of my YA contemporary career, and decided to query again!

At first, I was hopeful. I loved this book and now I had some publishing experience! In the first two weeks I got a few quick full requests and I was super excited! It was going better than I’d expected!

Then the requests stopped coming.

I was stalled. Months went by with almost nothing new. No requests from new queries. Just… silence. Even the rejections were MIA. I started wondering if the book was ready. If I needed to make more changes. If the best I could hope for was an R&R.

I had a really close call with one agent but a few weeks later it ended in rejection. It stung.

More time went by.

Most of my open queries had passed into “Closed/No response” territory and since another full rejection I received sited market, I figured I was dead in the water. All hope seeped out of me. This beautiful quirky book of mine wouldn’t find an agent.

Funny that, even in my case, where I knew I could have a great career without ever finding an agent, so really, the stakes are lowered—I still felt hopeless.

I stopped trying.

Stopped researching agents. Stopped sending queries.

The only thing I did do was nudge one agent that had had my full for several months. She responded saying my book got “great reader reports” and she was exciting to get to it soon.

Hmmm… that, also sounds promising. At least, in terms that, well, maybe this book *was* good enough.

I then got another full request.

So I sent out a handful more queries. Another request.

I took a good look at my queries and realized that even though my requests were a bit lopsided, with few at first and then none in the middle, my request rate wasn’t so bad!

Maybe, just maybe, I had given up a bit too soon. Maybe things weren’t quite as bad as they seem!

No, this story doesn’t end in an offer of representation. Not yet, anyway.

Instead, this story should show you a few different things. 1) that even published authors, or people who you might think have it all together still struggle—they just don’t always show it. I know many previously agented authors who have gone through very similar experiences.

2) Sometimes we get so worked up about what’s happening *right now* that we missed out on the big picture.

But here’s one more I’d like for you to take from this, something I’m probably still learning myself.

It’s okay if you fail.

Even if I don’t sign an agent with this MG book, I will with another. Some day. The time between sucks. The questions, the doubts, they’ll still be there. But one day, things will fall into place (even if not how you expect).

When that day comes, I’ll be sure to let you know. Whether with this book or my next, or the next.

Developing a Critical Eye

One of my most favorite writing events is returning in a couple of weeks, WriteOnCon. What is it you ask? Well it’s an all virtual kidlit writing conference where the events are either free or for a small fee. And by small fee, we are talking anywhere from $1 to $10. Sounds pretty cool right?

Well even better, industry professionals, agents, editors, and authors write blog posts, host live question and answer sessions, and take pitches. And if that’s not enough, there’s a free, yes I said FREE, critique forums where you can post your work, get feedback from writers, find potential critique partners AND possibly get agent feedback or requests from the ninja agents sneaking through the forums. It’s all pretty amazing.

But with all that awesome, surprisingly that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about today. One of the most valuable things I’ve gotten out of WriteOnCon in the past wasn’t just the feedback, or industry advice (and don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic and super helpful), but it’s the forums themselves. And no I’m not talking about the ninja agents, sure they’re exciting and a lucky few people will get feedback and some EXTREMELY lucky writers will get requests, but there’s something valuable right in front of us writers and we don’t even know it.

The actual queries and first pages.

So let me back up a second. Writers join the forums and then post their queries and first 5 or so pages. Then they can read through the forums and critique other writers. So just by having your stuff out there and helping others, you’re likely to get feedback and maybe even find a new critique partner. But the thing I learned the most from was by reading hundreds and hundreds of queries and first pages. And I mean HUNDREDS.

For an entire weekend, you can pretend like you’re an agent reading the slush pile. There’s no better way to learn how to construct an awesome query letter and gripping first pages then by reading a ton of them. The more you read, the more you start to see what works and what doesn’t, what’s common and what’s unique, what mistakes others often make and what comes off stellar.

When looking at our own stuff, it’s often really hard to see where the issues are, but by reading tons of other people’s work, you learn how to improve your query and first page writing. You can read other work, form an opinion and then see how others are responding as well. This activity more than any other, really helps you develop that critical eye. Even better you can see where agents have commented and see if you agree with what they said.

So go out there and enjoy WriteOnCon, and all the amazing advice and activities. But don’t forget to spend some quality time on the forums with the queries and first pages there. You’ll be glad you did! And be sure to tell us in the comments what you are most looking forward to during WriteOnCon.

WriteOnCon is a three-day online children’s book conference for writers and illustrators of picture books, middle grade, young adult, and even new adult. For more information visit http://writeoncon.org/