Author Interview: M.K. England and Riley Dare: Slightly Witchy Sleuth Giveaway

 Happy Monday, Everyone! Today, I’m excited to have M.K. England back at Literary Rambles to share about their new MG mystery, Riley Dare: Slightly Witchy Sleuth. I interviewed M.K. in 2018 when they were a debut author. I’m super excited to read their newest middle grade because it’s a mystery, and it’s witchy! 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

 

Queen of Mysteries Riley Dare has her first real-life case to solve!

Riley Dare is a master of solving puzzles. After all, she helps run her aunt’s beloved escape room, Level Up, and makes it extra special thanks to the flicker of magic she’s gifted with. Need some extra shadows? Some spooky lighting? She’s got it covered.

But when a celebrated author of children’s mysteries vanishes during the latest, greatest escape room she’s designed with her aunt, one themed after the biggest unsolved heist in her small town’s history, things get complicated fast.

Not only is the author missing—and oh, maybe there’s a ghost inside the escape room—but with reservations being canceled left and right alongside the police investigation, there’s a chance Level Up might not survive. Riley will have to team up with her closest friends to figure out what’s going on, and how all this might be tied to that same unsolved heist from twelve years ago. A heist that happened on the day she was born . . .

It’s her greatest puzzle yet, and Riley Dare is on the case. 

Hi M.K.! Thanks so much for joining us. 

1. Tell us about yourself and your life as an author. 

I’m your run of the mill nerd, filling my time with board games and Dungeons & Dragons and video games and fandom, with a little twist of country. I live out on 2.5 acres with huge gardens, and I’m always covered in dirt. 

I’ve been at this author thing for a little while now, and I’m lucky enough to do it full time these days. My debut came out in 2018, and now Riley Dare is my twelfth book, and my fourth in middle grade. I’m a notorious genre and age category hopper, writing in fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and mystery for kids, teens, and adults alike. Maybe it would be smarter to stay in one lane and have a brand, but I don’t think I’m actually capable of doing that! 

2. It’s great you are now a full-time author. Where did you get the idea for Riley Dare: Slightly Witchy Sleuth? 

I originally developed this concept years ago when a publisher put out a call for a “modern Nancy Drew,” but Riley quickly grew beyond that original prompt quickly. I wanted to write a kid detective who was a little gender-bendy and who could use gamer skills in solving mysteries. Riley Dare was born! 

3. I loved Nancy Drew as a kid and am excited to see more middle grade mysteries these days. How did you plot out Riley Dare: Slightly Witchy Sleuth? Was the process any different than your other novels, especially ones that weren’t mysteries? 

The process was definitely different from my other novels, mostly because I am not a natural mystery writer! The beats of sci-fi, fantasy, and romance are pretty ingrained in me, but for whatever reason I just have not internalized mysteries and thrillers to the same degree. I’ve really had to sit down and study a variety of sources on plotting a satisfying mystery. (Also, book 3 is currently kicking my butt—when I overcome that problem, I’ll let you know!) But my overall process was still very much the same: I outline ahead of time and figure out solutions to all my plot problems before I ever write a single word. 

4. What made you decide to add the magical elements to your story? How did you balance that out with the main mysteries to be solved? 

I actually wrote Riley Dare as a straight-up non-magical mystery at first! It always felt like it was lacking a little something, though. Once I added Riley’s little flicker of magic to the story, it blew the whole thing wide open, and it quickly became essential to the trilogy’s overall plot and enriched the world so much. I think the fact that the core mystery was developed without magic in mind makes it stronger, though; it’s robust enough to stand on its own, and the magic only enhanced it. 

5. Share a bit about Riley, your main character, and what makes her unique. Did you draw on anyone you know or yourself in developing her as a character? 

Riley is my favorite sort of spunky kid protagonist. She’s smart and quirky and so much her own person, with her own sense of style (bow ties!). She’s very secure in who she is and what she likes, which is both really tough and really brave at that age. Having nerdy community that embraces and celebrates you as you are makes such a difference. I definitely drew from my own experiences with her, both with her gender-bendy-ness and her nerdy community, though I wish I had been as confident and secure as her. 

6. This is a trilogy, which is not as common for a mystery as it is for a fantasy. What made you decide to write it as a series? 

The series part sort of naturally evolved from Riley herself, and from the fantasy elements of the work. The core mystery itself is resolved, but there are things about Riley’s backstory and about the magical parts of the mystery that I could have left alone… but it was way more fun to play them out. She’s got parents she’s never met who she’s pretty sure are secret agents or witches or secret agent witches, and that just screamed for some follow-up. The magical elements also provided great fuel for a longer arc. 

7. Eric Smith is your agent. How did he become your agent? 

Eric is actually my second agent. My first agent and I parted ways when we couldn’t connect on any other projects past my original two-book deal for The Disasters and Spellhacker. I did a short round of querying and, lucky for me, Eric had already read my existing work and was interested in the newer stuff I had to offer. He’s been a fantastic partner for the past six years and I really think I ended up exactly where I needed to be. 

8. That’s great that you were able to find an agent with whom you work better. This is your 12th book since The Disasters, your debut book, was published in 2018. How have you been able to grow your career as an author so much? What tips do you have for other writers on going forward after their debut novel is published? 

I recognize that my career is kind of unusual and what I have to say might not apply to many people, but for me the key to a sustainable career was to diversify my writing across age categories and genres. I like and prefer doing this anyway, but it also meant that low sales in any one particular area wouldn’t necessarily kill my entire career. I hopped around, I used pen names when publishers asked me to, I said yes to some IP opportunities when they were offered to me, but all along I followed where my own interests took me. I just don’t have whatever that focus and fire is that lets people settle into one genre and live there, so I’ve had to let myself pursue what I most wanted to write and let Eric worry about the selling part. Having a trusted partner in Eric makes a huge difference. 

9. That’s great advice on how to grow your career. How are you planning to promote this book? How has your approach to marketing changed since your first book was published? 

My approach to marketing has changed a ton since my debut. As a debut author, you feel such immense pressure to do All The Things and make swag and do giveaways and post on social media constantly. I learned that 1) that’s not sustainable, especially when you have multiple books out in a year, and 2) it’s not all that effective for most books, especially not in the middle grade space. No marketing will ever matter anywhere near as much as what your publisher does unless you’re able to sink a lot of money and time into it. So, I’ve largely decided to keep my head down and focus on the part of the job I have the most control over, which is writing the best book I can. Because this is my full-time job and I’m typically putting out 2-3 books per year, I am constantly on deadline and just don’t have the bandwidth for my own huge marketing campaigns or constant social media posting, which I’m not very good at anyway. For Riley, I’m sticking to a few interviews and working with a local bookstore on school visits, which is much more directly impactful. 

10. It’s great that you don’t have to do too much marketing. What are you working on now? 

I just wrapped up copyedits on the second book in the world of my adult cozy fantasy, Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous, and I’m diving into edits on my as-yet-unannounced middle grade graphic novel debut. After that, it’ll be time to write Riley 3! 

Thanks for sharing all your links, M.K.! You can find M.K. at www.mkengland.com and on Instagram at @mk_england. 

Giveaway Details

M.K. is generously offering a hardback of Riley Dare: Slightly Witchy Sleuth for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by September 26th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow M.K. on their social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is US-only.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog. 

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Wednesday, September 16th, I’m participating in the Falling Into Leaves Giveaway Hop 

Monday, September 21st, I have an agent spotlight interview with Tali Shammas and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, September 28th, I have an interview with Isaac Fitzsimmons and a giveaway of his MG Astra Fox and the Rise of the Wonderworkers 

Thursday, October 1st, I’m participating in the Scaredy Cat Giveaway Hop 

Wednesday, October 7th, I have an interview with Ryan Douglass and a giveaway of his YA Night of Madness and my IWSG Post 

Monday, October 12th, I have a guest post by Shifa Saltagi and a giveaway of her MG Sisters Alone 

Wednesday, October 14th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Jenny Lewis and a query critique giveaway 

Friday, October 16th, I’m participating in the Silly Pumpkins Giveaway Hop 

Monday, October 19th, I have an interview with Kate O’Shaughnessy and a giveaway of her MG Brittle Magic 

I hope to see you on Wednesday!