Interview with Mat Heagerty, author of Lumberjackula

What's it about:

Jack is in a pickle. His lumberjack mom wants him to go to Mighty Log Lumberjack Prep to learn how to chop wood and wear flannel. His vampire dad wants him to go to Sorrow’s Gloom Vampire School to learn how to turn into a bat and drink blood-orange juice. And Jack has a secret: what he really wants to do is dance.

When he finds out about Tip Tap Twinkle Toes Dance Academy from new friend Plenty, Jack feels he’s finally found the place where he can be his true self. But he’s too afraid of disappointing his family to tell them. What’s a half-lumberjack, half-vampire boy to do?

To summon the confidence to pursue his dreams, Jack will have to embrace every part of himself—his lumberjack toughness, his vampire eeriness, and most especially his awesome dance moves.

The Interview:

 

1.     First of all, congrats about Lumberjackula! I loved this book so much!  But before we get into specifics about the book, would love to know your path to becoming an author!  How did you break into writing comics and graphic novels?

 

Thank you so much, Wendy! Sam and I are so proud of how it turned out!

 

I’m dyslexic, and like many dyslexics, comics were a huge part of how I learned to read. The smaller text blocks and images to help with context clues where huge for me. After reading my first Calvin and Hobbesstrips, I started making my own comics and never really stopped. There were some years where making comics took a backseat to being in punk bands, but it’s never not been a part of my life. 

 

A big moment early on for me was when Andrew Clements (author of Frindle and a ton of other great middle grade books) visited my second-grade class that his twin sons were in. Seeing a real person who was telling stories for a living was massively impactful. 

 

For almost a decade, while bartending, I self-published, crowd-funded, and unsuccessfully pitched a ton of books to every publisher in comics with open submissions. I eventually got a miniseries published by this now defuncted and loathed small comics press-- it was a huge learning experience. Biggest lesson of all was that, as corny as it sounds, I found my voice. In that, the miniseries I made was not my voice at all. I realized that I really enjoyed writing for younger readers and that most of the stories I loved were lighthearted and goofy. 

 

So, I made a light-hearted and goofy pitch for a middle grade graphic novel and submitted it to just one published, Oni Press (a publisher who put out some of my favorite books) and they took it! From there, the doorway inched open a bit and I’ve been trying to force it all the way open since, now luckily with the help of my amazing agent Maria Vicente.  

 

2.     Is one genre easier than another, both to write and break into?

 

I feel like breaking in as a writer for either floppy monthly comics or graphic novels can both be equally soul-crushingly hard, hehe. As for me personally writing them, graphic novels are much, much easier. I like telling stories in big chunks with a beginning middle and end. The lack of pages and serialized structure of monthlies would be really hard for me, I think.

 

3.     How long does it usually take you to write a graphic novel? How much input do you get re: the illustrations?

 

It really depends on the project and how full my plate is with taking care of my young kids, but generally, I can have a book finished in about three months with my schedule. 

 

As for art input-- I’ve only made original books so far and not done any work-for-hire, so I’ve been lucky enough to have a say in picking everyone I’ve collaborated with. I’ll certainly write my ideas in a script and have some thoughts throughout the process of the book being illustrated, but I don’t get too involved because that’s not my job. I choose collaborators because I love what they do, so I try not to get in their way too much, hopefully!

 

4.     Team Marvel or Team DC (or maybe just Team Mat?)

 

Mat’s great for sure. He’s a nice dude. So, I’m Team Mat definitely, but I have lots of love for all comics! No one team for me! Marvel was a huge part of my childhood, specifically X-Men and Spider-Man, but DC was really big too with Legion of Superheroes, Young Justice, and Batman: The Animated Series.

 

5.     Where did the idea of Lumberjackula come from?

 

It started with an idea I had for just a vampire in middle school called Backpackula. Then I just really liked the way that mash-up sounded, but the idea seemed too simple. So, I tried out others like Quarterbackula, Jetpackula, and Quackula, but they were either taken already or not fun enough for me. I landed on Lumberjackula and the visual just really made me laugh. The character for sure came before the story.

 

6.     One of my favourite things about this book is that even though Jack’s parents are trying not to pressure him into favouring their choices over the other parent’s, he still feels pressure to please them both. That’s a thing that every kid goes through. Why was that important to you to show that to your readers?

 

When I was just starting Lumberjackula, I found a picture I had drawn when my wife was pregnant with our first kid. It was of what I thought my daughter would look like as an adult. Even though both my wife and I have always made it a priority to encourage our kids to be whoever they are, I realized I was still putting pressure on my daughter unknowingly. In the drawing, she dressed and looked like my wife pretty much and had a Star Wars shirt on and was holding a guitar. Even as well-meaning and innocent as that was, I realize if she saw the sketch, she would internalize that and think that’s what I want her to be. When the truth is, I want both my kids, or any kid, to be whoever they want to be. 

 

After that, I thought about how my big excitement when my kids express interest in drawing or music puts a pressure on them too. So, I really wanted to work out my thoughts on all that in the story, for young readers, but also hopefully for some parents reading along too. I hope a parent or two realizes, even if they aren’t forcing their kid to be on the football team, they can still be unknowingly pressuring them down a path they aren’t comfortable with.

 

7.     Jack’s mom is a lumberjack, his dad a vampire, so clearly he is a product of a mixed marriage, an issue you handle with sensitivity and creativity in the story. Can you talk about whether that was a conscious decision from the get-go?

 

First of, I’m so glad to hear you feel it was handled sensitively. It was for sure a major concern for me. Even though it’s a fantasy story, I see that the correlation is very easy to draw.

 

When I started, everything was simply, I think Lumberjackula is fun to say and I wasn’t giving the idea of that he was the child of a mixed marriage much thought at all. But as the story shaped it became a very clearly part of everything. As I’m not a member of a mixed family, I made sure to share my work along the way with my friends and extended family that are to make sure I was handling everything with the proper respect and authenticity. My editors were also massively helpful with this too. 

 

Also, I really tried more than anything to focus on Jack’s parent’s interests being different. Something I can relate to in my own family. While I have lots of crossover with my wife of course, there are some things we are both very passionate about that the other doesn’t have much interest in. So, I viewed Jack’s conflict a lot through that lens instead, if that makes sense? 

Totally does!

 

8.     Jack has a special calling all of his own, one he doesn’t feel comfortable sharing with people, even though it fills him with joy. We all want to feel seen, even as we all want to belong. How hard was that to write? You did such a great job!

 

Thank you so much! It wasn’t too hard to tap into at all. While there isn’t much that I’ve ever really felt I needed to hide, I certainly can relate to Jack’s anxiety and fear of disappointing people. I’ve struggled with confidence most of my life and have a pretty unhealthy need to be liked. Well, at least by folks I think highly of. So writing an nervous, insecure kid was all too easy for me!

 

9.     Just as his family makes mistakes, so does Jack. Can you tell our readers about how you decided what and where to include those mistakes in the story?

 

The mistakes Jack and his folks, and his grandparents all make just all seemed so natural for the plot to me. I think pretty much everyone has lied at one point or another to avoid difficult talks. Jack’s biggest mistakes—lying and his treatment of his new buddy Plenty—both just felt needed for conflict in the story. There’s one particular mistake in the third act, where Jack keeps up his lie even though it’s really obviously time to come clean. My editors suggested that in the last round of edits, and I’m so happy they did. I think it just felt there needed to be one last hurdle, the flow was off.

 

10.  Finally, I am in LOVE with Jack’s world! Any chance of more books? 

 

Oh man, I really, really, really hope so! I have ideas for so many more books. I have a pitch for a sequel that should be going out any day now that I’m very proud of. Fingers and toes majorly crossed that our publisher is interested!

 

11.  What’s next?

 

I think the next book to come out will be, a middle grade sports fantasy graphic novel I’m making with Lisa DuBois called Indoor Kid. It’s being published by Oni Press. The dates are moving still on a few books, so maybe something else might be out first. But besides that, I’m pitching and hoping folks let me make more books!

 

Thanks Mat! 

 

Thank you so much, Wendy! This was a lot of fun!

Want to learn more about Mat? Go here!

Interview with Bridget Hodder, Author of The Button Box

Author Interview: Bridget Hodder

I'm a huge fan of Bridget, and absolutely adored her first book, The Rat Prince, so I jumped at the chance to read The Button Box, her latest middle grade novel with the genius who is Fawzia Gilani-Williams!

Let me tell you: the book does not disappoint! I adored all of the characters, and learning about the real history behind the story!

About the Book

After Jewish fifth-grader Ava and her Muslim best friend Nadeem are called hateful names at school, Ava's Granny Buena rummages in her closet and pulls out a glittering crystal button box. It's packed with buttons that generations of Ava's Sephardic ancestors have cherished. With the help of Granny's mysterious cat Sheba, Ava and Nadeem discover that a button from the button box will take them back in time. Suddenly, they are in ancient Morocco, where Nadeem's ancestor, Prince Abdur Rahman, is running for his life. Can Ava and Nadeem help the prince escape to Spain and fulfill his destiny, creating a legendary Golden Age for Muslims, Jews and Christians?

The Interview

Q1: First: hooray for a new book by you Bridget! But would love to know how you and the wonderful Fawzia Gilani-Williams came to work together?

 

Thank you, Wendy! 

 

Fawzia and I have waited so long to bring The Button Box to the world! It's a cross-cultural tale of modern children --one Sephardic Jewish, one Muslim--who are magically transported by an antique family button into a shared ancient past, full of danger and challenges they must face with courage. The kids bring that courage with them back to the present, newly empowered to solve their own problems.

 

To answer your question about how Fawzia and I became co-authors, I have to tell a little story. 

 

I met Joni Sussman, the head of Lerner Books' Kar-Ben imprint, at the Highlights Workshop for Jewish kidlit writers. The workshop featured an opportunity for authors to read aloud from their works in progress. After I read a few pages from my first draft of The Button Box, Joni told me she would be interested in acquiring the book for Kar-Ben. I was thrilled, but I told her the tale would be undergoing some major changes, first. I needed a Muslim co-author to make the book become what it truly needed to be: a celebration of the intertwined elements of the Sephardic Jewish and Muslim past, brought into the present through genuine modern perspectives from both cultural traditions.

 

Joni suggested Fawzia Gilani-Williams, who she'd worked with before on the classic "Yaffa and Fatima: Shalom, Salaam"...and a beautiful partnership soon came into being. 

 

 

Q2: Is co-authoring a book harder or easier than writing alone?

 

I wouldn't say the writing process is necessarily harder when co-authoring, but it does take longer. To achieve the necessary balance of voices and material in the story, and to maintain a good working and personal relationship, much care and thought and extra time is required. You can't rush trust, and trust is the sine qua non of creating art together. 

 

Working across several time zones, with Fawzia in the United Arab Emirates and me in the U.S., it took at least a day to get a response to every email or draft. We put in the "plus time" to make sure we were both okay with every change, and that neither of us felt under- or over-represented in the story. 

 

On the other hand, a co-authorship offers remarkable creative and emotional support! Each of us knows exactly what the other is experiencing. We're able to compare notes and back up each other's opinions. And when an edit comes that is difficult to execute, we can share the burden. Probably the best advice I can give if you want a great co-writing experience is to have Fawzia Gilani-Williams as your co-author.

 

Q3: The book begins with Jewish Ava and Muslim Nadeem being bullied in school because of their religions. How hard was that to write? It is such a painful experience.

 

It was hard, because we were channeling current distressing trends of ever more open and aggressive hate against Muslims and Jews in the U.S. But this theme was central to our purpose in writing the book: to support those children who experience harassment; to give them courage; and to provide empathy and modeling that can create allies among the readership. 

 

To that end, we strove to create the most classroom-friendly book possible, with a historical map, a cross-cultural glossary, definitions and extra resources in the back matter, to aid teachers and students alike as they search for more knowledge on the subjects we raise. The team at Lerner Books and Kar-Ben was simply amazing in how they made our vision come alive in the pages of The Button Box.

 

Q4: The use of the button box is such a lovely and powerful way to talk about the importance of honoring our ancestors traditions and experiences. Was it always a button box or did you have other options? And, did your family have one?  

 

Oh, there was never any question...it was always going to be a Button Box. My mother and grandmother had button jars that I spent fascinated hours with in my childhood...and in my adulthood, too! I buy old button collections whenever I see a really good one at a thrift store or a swap meet and add the loveliest ones to my stash. It's amazing to see the craft of the handmade antique buttons, and the fine materials like mother-of-pearl, burled wood, shiny black jet and even genuine sea pearls.

 

Q5: I’d heard of Sephardic Jews, but knew very little about them, so I loved the history. I also loved how the story uses historical truths to show that our religious differences don’t have to divide us, but can in fact, can build new and wonderful traditions and beliefs if we’re open to that. Are other readers as surprised as I was by this amazing piece of history?

 

They are! Fawzia and I are bowled over by the reaction we've gotten from readers. They are so eager to explore new, exciting eras of history, and our work provides a window into brand new worlds for them. That's one of the valuable things diverse books can provide so easily and so well: a sense of discovery and of wonder at the many precious life-ways our world holds...like shining magic buttons in the Button Box, just waiting for you to be open to experiencing them.

 

Q6: What are you working on now?

 

Fawzia and I have a picture book coming out next year, in 2023, called THE PROMISE! Once again, Joni Sussman at Kar-Ben is our editor. We just received the breathtaking sketches for the illustrations from artist Cinzia Battistel, and we're floored by their beauty. 

 

We can't wait to share it with you soon!

THANK YOU, BRIDGET!

Want to learn more about Bridget? Visit her here!

Want to learn more about Fawzia Gilani-Williams? Visit her here!

 

Review: The Nightmare Brigade, Vol. 1 by Franck Thilliez, Yomgui Dumont

The Nightmare Brigade is SUCH a cool book.

I love a good graphic novel and this one is GOOD, filled with twists and turns and lots of creepy and funny bits to keep the reader engaged. 

 

Synopsis:

The Nightmare Brigade is a dream team lead by Professor Angus. With his two young sidekicks, 14-year-olds Esteban and Tristan, they have one goal: help people vanquish their worst nightmares. With unique skills, the team members can literally infiltrate their patient's nightmare to seek its root and destroy the cause. Things are shaken up however, when they meet young Sarah. The Brigade has a feeling they have seen her before... Before they solve the mystery, an insomniac starts invading other people's dreams. How does he do it and how can he be stopped?

About the Author and Illustrator:

Frank Thilliez is the author of fifteen crime novels, and a screenwriter. 

Yomgui Dumont's worked in cartoons, multimedia, advertising, and the press, and has published more than twenty graphic novels and teen novels.

The book was released first in France and was very successful.

My thoughts:

As I said, this one is good. Esteban and Tristan are likeable characters who derive a lot of satisfaction from helping others. At school they may be bullied, but in the dream world, they're able to be heroes, which is a really interesting premise.

I also liked that Esteban is in a wheelchair in real life and how that plays into the choices he makes and how he behaves in the dreams.

As for Professor Angus, let's just say this: the guy is super mysterious, and readers are often left wondering about his (and other characters') motives, which makes this a great mystery.

And given that this is the first book in the series — Part Two Releases in June — the author leaves us with a real cliffhanger, which I love.

Kids and adults alike are going to eat this up, and there is lots of room here for MANY stories.

Want to Learn More?

Visit here.

Coming of Age: 13 B'nai Mitzvah Stories + Interview

As a Jewish author I was excited to see a book aimed at kids during the time of their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs (the ceremony in which a Jewish child enters into adulthood). It's an exciting and sometimes confusing time in a young Jewish individual's life. I would have loved to have had a book like this to see myself in during that time in my life.

Coming of Age: 13 B'nai Mitzvah Stories is filled with vignettes about B'nai Mitzvahs and no two are alike. It covers everything from international experiences, pandemic bnai mitzvahs, exploring crushes, time travel, and even the Jewish customs on planet Latke with a race full of octopus-like aliens. And each story captures the range of emotions surrounding the important event in many Jewish children's lives as they are called to the Torah and transition into adulthood.

Whether you're Jewish or not, this is a great resource to help kids understand B'nai Mitzvahs in a variety of fun and interesting ways.

I have the pleasure of talking with one of the authors Nancy Krulik, about the anthology and some of the aspects of her story, The Contest.

Nancy it's so nice to chat with you today about Coming of Age: 13 B'nai Mitzvah stories.

Tell Middle Grade Minded readers a little bit about Coming of Age: 13 B'nai Mitzvah Stories and more specifically what your story is about.

Coming of Age: 13 B’nai Mitzvah Stories is a collection of stories about Jewish teenagers who are each havng having one of the most monumental and meaningful experiences of their lives—their bar or bat mitzvah. Some of the stories are funny, some are serious, and some are a little of both. Some take place in the past, some in the present day, and one even takes place in outer space. The one thing all the tales have in common is that they represent the true emotions 13-year-old Jewish kids feel. It is very much a book of shared experiences.  My particular story, T”he Contest,” is about a boy who has a very difficult time sitting still in synagogue.  He also has a whole lot of b’nai mitzvah to attend. So, to make things a little more interesting, he and his friends come up with a contest to see who can be the first one to be asked by the ushers to leave services.

 

How did you come up with the idea for your story? Have you ever been kicked out of synagogue before?

I was a bit of a chatterbox as a kid (I still am, but I can control myself a little better now).  I was definitely asked to leave services from time to time. But the whole concept of an actual contest is actually my son’s experience. The first line of the story is, in fact, the first line of his bar mitzvah speech: “Shabbat Shalom. Welcome to my Bar Mitzvah. Today I promise to make it all the way through the service without getting asked to leave the sanctuary.”  I was pretty mortified by that line when I first heard it, but the rabbi thought it was hilarious. Turns out the rabbi had a lot of trouble sitting still in synagogue when he was a kid as well. 

 

How did you get involved in this book?

I met Jonathan Rosen, one of the editors/authors of the collection, on a trip to Israel sponsored by PJ Library. We traveled with a group of children’s authors, which was a remarkable experience. To see Jerusalem with people who are like-minded and care about the same things I do was very important to me. I’d been to Israel before, but never in this type of setting. I made lifelong friends, and Jonathan was one of them. We had all been thinking of ways to reach out to Jewish kids and Jonathan, along with Henry Herz, came up with Coming of Age. When they asked me to be part of a project as important as this one, I jumped at the chance. 

 

What does it mean to you to be a part of a book that celebrates coming of age in Judaism?

I think it’s incredibly important for Jewish kids to see themselves in literature. It’s important for all kids to feel represented in the culture, particularly in books.  I think it’s also important for people of other faiths to understand what the experience is all about. I think the more we read about the lives and traditions of one another, the less hatred there will be in the world. Let’s face it, today’s 13-year-olds will be tomorrow’s leaders. So why not help them have pride in themselves and understanding for one another?

What do you hope readers get from this collection of stories?

I hope they laugh, and I hope they learn. As for Jewish readers in particular, I hope they take great pride in what they will have accomplished when they stand up at the bimah and read from the Torah. It takes a lot of work and a lot of guts to get up there in front of friends, family, and the congregation.

 

Is there anything else you'd like to share with readers about this story or your other work?

“The Contest” is actually the first Jewish story I ever wrote, and it has inspired me to play around with other ideas based on Jewish protagonists. Still, anyone who knows my books knows that I write funny. It’s just my thing. So although The Contest does take a serious turn, I kept it funny.  Kids who have read my Katie Kazoo Switcheroo, George Brown Class Clown or Princess Pulverizer series know no one loves putting a good burp into a story more than I do.  Kids who read “The Contest” will not be disappointed.

 Hooray! Author Elly Swartz has a new book out today!

      Elly is one of my favourite middle grade authors, so I jumped at a chance to read an advance copy of her latest books and ask her all kinds of questions!

       

But first, a little information about the book:

      When Autumn becomes the secret voice of the advice column in her middle school newspaper she is faced with a dilemma--can she give fair advice to everyone, including her friends, while keeping her identity a secret?

Starting Middle School is rough for Autumn after her one and only BFF moves to California. Uncertain and anxious, she struggles to connect with her new classmates. The two potential friends she meets could not be more different: bold Logan who has big ideas and quiet Cooper who's a bit mysterious. But Autumn has a dilemma: what do you do when the new friends you make don't like each other? 

When Autumn is picked to be the secret voice of the Dear Student letters in the Hillview newspaper, she finds herself smack in the middle of a problem with Logan and Cooper on opposite sides. But before Autumn can figure out what to do, the unthinkable happens. Her secret identity as Dear Student is threatened. Now, it's time for Autumn to find her voice, her courage, and follow her heart, even when it's divided.

The interview!

      Hi Elly - Congratulations on DEAR STUDENT, which is such a heartwarming story!  One of the things that I really loved about this book is that almost nothing in this story is black and white, from Autumn’s family situation to her friendship with Logan and Cooper, to even the animal testing issue. Can you talk about your decision to dive headfirst in gray areas?

 

I love this question. The gray matter was intentional. I feel my readers are the age when you start realizing the world is not neat. It is not all right or all wrong, all good or all bad. There is this middle ground you need to wade through and decipher. This space is blurry. And navigating it really pushes you to find your heart, your voice, and what matters to you.

 

2. Autumn uses a technique called Fearless Fred when she is especially in need of some bravery - do you have similar techniques?

 

Ha! I guess I haven’t thought about it that intentionally before, but I suppose Autumn’s Fearless Fred came from me. Not just me, the author, but me, the person. I do feel there are times I need to dig deep with purpose and find the part of me that fear can boss around. The part of me that’s bigger than my worry. 

 

We all have fears and worries and things that make us anxious. It’s what we do about it in those moments. And for me, like Autumn, I try to find my Fearless Fred.

 

3. One thing that I really love about this book is that it addresses full on the fact that most people think other people have it more together than they do. Autumn starts to realize this when she begins to write the advice column. Was this really important to you, to help kids see that their assumptions may be wrong.

 

 

Yes! Kids today often only see the shiny penny version of their friend’s lives on Snap Chat or TikTok. They see the manicured moments and curated pictures. They don’t see what’s underneath. They don’t see that we all have fears and worries. That we all are working on something. So I wanted to explore this in Dear Student. Take Autumn, for example, she assumes Logan is brave and fearless because she is popular and involved in many activities at school. When, in actuality, Logan doesn’t feel brave or fearless. Her popularity and involvement stems from a place of wanting to fill a void left by her mom’s other commitments. When Autumn realizes this, she is better able to empathize and understand. 

That’s the magic of pealing back the layers and getting rid of assumptions. It allows us to take the perspective of others, helps minimize misunderstandings, and allows space for empathy.  

In school visits, I often share this idea with an activity called, 5 Reasons Why. It goes like this, one’s first conclusion is not always the correct one! Challenge yourself to move beyond your first assumption by coming up with five different reasons why a person might:

●      Be late for school.

●      Not attend the school dance

●      Eat lunch alone.

●      Get in fights.

 

It’s amazing how the empathy and understanding grows as kids are encouraged to look beyond their initial assumptions. 

 

4. An interesting part of this book is that several of the parents are pursuing causes and self-actualization that may not be ideal or even good for their children. Can you talk about the decision to include such complicated narratives?

 

You truly picked up on all the things that touched my heart as I wrote. This decision harkens back to the first question you asked about the gray matter. I wanted to show that not every decision is right or wrong, sometimes it truly is both. For instance, Autumn’s dad is doing something really noble, volunteering for the Peace Corps, and Logan’s mom is doing something incredibly important, fighting for women and girls’ rights everywhere. The world needs people like them, but so do Logan and Autumn. And when I wrote these characters, I respected them as people, but was mad at them as parents. Again, nothing is all one thing. It’s all a delicate balance. 

 

5. At the end of the book, we don’t know that everything will work out for Autumn. How important was it for you to leave some things dangling?

 

Hope and authenticity drove the end of this story. I wanted the conclusion to be hopeful. Autumn not only found, but used her voice to share her heart. To me, that was everything. 

 

As for her friendship with Logan and her temporary house with no lilac bushes, time will tell. It felt authentic to leave some things unresolved. After all, that’s real life. We don’t know how it all turns out. But we can be hopeful!

6. Love Elly books! What’s next????

 

You are so sweet. Thank you. That means so much to me. And I am happy to share there is more on the way.

I have another middle grade novel entitled, HIDDEN TRUTHS, coming out in 2023 with Random House. HIDDEN TRUTHS is a story told in dual pov between best friends Danielle – a star baseball player – and Eric – her forgetful, but kind, goofy, crossword-loving neighbor. 

Their friendship has begun to shift when a terrible accident happens, accelerating their rift. 

At its heart, this story asks how far you’d go to keep a promise to a friend. And if forgiveness can really heal the hurt that comes when trust is broken. 

I’m also working on a picture book and starting a new middle grade that I am bursting with excitement to write.

Lots more to come. Woohoo!

Want to learn more about Elly? Visit her website!