On Writing a Mult-Genre Story and Finding the Right Agent: Interview With Debut Author Amber Chen and Of Jade and Dragons Giveaway and my IWSG Post

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Amber Chen here to share about her YA silkpunk fantasy Of Jade and Dragons. I’m really excited to read her book because it combines silkpunk, fantasy, and mystery and has a strong main character interested in science.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming a world-class engineer like her father, but after his sudden murder, her life falls apart. Left with only a journal of her father’s engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, a heartbroken Ying follows the trail to the capital and the prestigious Engineers Guild—a place that harbors her father’s hidden past—determined to discover why anyone would threaten a man who ultimately chose a quiet life over fame and fortune.

Disguised as her brother, Ying manages to infiltrate the guild’s male-only apprenticeship trial with the help of an unlikely ally—Aogiya Ye-yang, the taciturn eighth prince of the High Command. With her father’s renown placing a target firmly on her back, Ying must stay one step ahead of her fellow competitors, the jealous guild masters, and the killer still hunting for her father’s journal. Complicating everything is her increasingly tangled relationship with the prince, who may have mysterious plans of his own.

The secrets concealed within the guild can be as deadly as the weapons they build—and with her life and the future of her homeland at stake, Ying doesn’t know who to trust. Can she avenge her father even if it means going against everything he stood for, or will she be next in the mastermind’s line of fire?

 

Before I get to June’s interview post, I have my IWSG post.

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts this month are: JS Pailly, Rebecca Douglass, Pat Garcia, Louise-Fundy Blue, and me!

Optional Question: What are your favorite writing processing (e.g. Word, Scrivener, yWriter, Dabble), writing apps, software, and tools? Why do you recommend them? And which one is your all time favorite that you cannot live without and use daily or at least whenever you write?

Exciting Upcoming Agent Critique Opportunity for You

Before I answer the question, I want to be sure that you know of an upcoming agent spotlight interview with an amazing critique giveaway coming up on July 29th. I have an agent spotlight interview with Sheila Fernley that day. She is offering a very generous critique giveaway of a full picture book or three-chapter MG or YA critique and a one-hour Zoom call to discuss your project. I hope those of you who write kidlit stories and are looking for an agent will enter the giveaway contest, and you'll all tell your friends who are kidlit writers about this opportunity.

Guest Post at Anne R. Allen’s blog on 7/7/2024

I also want to let you know that I’ll be sharing a guest post on Anne R. Allen’s blog . . . with Ruth Harris next Sunday, 7/7/2024 that could help you in your search for an agent. My topic is Tips on Finding the Right Agent and My Secret Way to Discover Agents You Don't Know About. I’ll post a link to the guest post when it goes live on 7/7. I hope you'll stop by, read my post, and leave a comment.

Now here’s my answer to this month’s question. I keep it simple and just use Word and Grammarly. I have the upgraded version of Grammarly through my job as a writer, which I can open and check anything I write.

Alex has asked that we all start linking our IWSG posts on the IWSG Facebook page so that we can all see who has posted on IWSG dayt.

Interview With Amber Chen

Hi Amber! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

Hello! I’m Amber Chen, a Singaporean-Chinese author of SFF and contemporary fiction, and Of Jade and Dragons is my debut YA fantasy.

I’ve always been a book lover, but I didn’t think of writing my own stories until I was in university. While binging TV dramas (I watch a lot of these) in between lectures and tutorials, I realised that 1) there were so many unsatisfying plot points and endings out there and 2) there was a finite supply of content for me to indulge in, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and start writing my own stories.

2. Where did you get the idea for Of Jade and Dragon?

I really like reading up on history, and one of my hobbies is speculating about the lives and times of historical figures and filling in the gaps in historical records, so that’s what happened with Of Jade and Dragons. OJAD was inspired by the story of the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the woman he loved the most, Harjol, and there are plenty of easter eggs in the book that draw from real historical events during the transitional period from the late Ming to early Qing Dynasty of China.

Of Jade and Dragons was also inspired by the classic Chinese tale, The Butterfly Lovers. In that story, the FMC, Zhu Yingtai, disguises as a boy in order to study at a boys-only academy, because only boys were allowed to receive an education during that time period, and she managed to do all this because she had a supportive father who was willing to indulge her and support her dream. I loved that father-daughter dynamic, and it was what inspired Ying’s relationship with her father in OJAD!

Your Writing Process and Writing a Story That Combines Genres

3. Combining genres when writing a story can make it really interesting. Here you’ve combined three genres: fantasy, mystery, and silkpunk. First, explain what silkpunk is and talk about how you decided to combine these genres and the challenges you faced in doing so when writing your manuscript.

Silkpunk is a term that was crafted by the author Ken Liu for his Dandelion Dynasty series, to represent a “specific technology and literary aesthetic” that draws from the history and culture of East Asia and the Pacific islands. As a member of the punk family, it also encompasses the key themes of rebellion, anti-authoritarianism and a struggle for freedom.

OJAD began as a historical re-imagining, but I thought it would be interesting to invent a Chinese-inspired world that is tech-focused, given that most Chinese fantasies tend to be more magical in nature. That was how the idea for using silkpunk as the basis for the worldbuilding for the book came about. I think one of the main challenges in combining genres was trying to find ways to incorporate relevant technology with the main mystery plotline in a way that made sense for the world and the characters, without them feeling like two very disparate aspects of the story.   

4. I can see how combining them would have been challenging. Share about your world-building process and how you combined this with the true historical events and individuals you based your story on.

The world in OJAD is heavily inspired by Qing Dynasty China, so if you watch plenty of Chinese historical dramas then many of these elements such as the architecture, food, culture, would probably feel very familiar! Aspects like the hierarchical structure, the politics and the way the military is organised also take reference from the way things were in China during the 1600s. In order to create the fantasy world that OJAD is set in, what I did was to use the real historical elements as a frame, and then to layer on the fantastical (technological?) elements on top of that, so that everything feels like a world that could have realistically existed!

5. I love that Ying dreams of being an engineer in a male-dominated profession. Was it easy or hard to develop her as a compelling, strong main character as you’ve done? Why?

I think Ying’s character arc came quite naturally to me, because a lot of her experiences as a girl trying to establish herself in a male-dominated profession resonate very much with my own. The idea of empowering girls to not only take on but also excel in traditionally masculine fields, like engineering, is an important theme in OJAD, and a theme that is particularly close to my heart. When I crafted Ying, one thing that I made sure to keep in mind was to always keep her personal beliefs and motivations as a priority, and have that guide her actions as she navigates the world around her. 

Your Journey to Publication

6. Laura Crockett is your current agent, but not your first. Share about your journey to find an agent that was right for you. What advice do you have for writers in a similar situation as yours?

Laura is actually my third agent! I queried for about nine months before I got an offer of representation from my first agent, Anne Perry. Anne was absolutely fantastic and we went on to sell OJAD at auction only two months after sending it on sub, which I am incredibly thankful for. Sadly, Anne decided to leave agenting to return to the editorial side of the business, and I transferred to my second agent in the same agency who then went on to represent me in negotiating the contract for my debut book. I eventually decided to make the hard decision to part ways with my second agent and plunge back into the query trenches because I felt that the future books I wanted to write might not be a good fit with that agent’s list, and subsequently I went on to sign with Laura J

I think switching agents midway through your writing career is more common than people might imagine, and this could happen for a variety of reasons, like agents leaving the business, agents not being the right fit in terms of working style, agents not representing certain genres you want to write in, etc. It was quite scary being confronted with the possibility of having to jump into the query trenches again, but after I managed to get over that mental barrier, my second experience with querying actually went a lot better than I expected. For fellow writers that find themselves wondering whether or not they should switch agents, I’d say go for it! Having an agent that is a good fit for your body of work is incredibly important!

7. I agree with you authors sometimes have to switch agents. You went on submission and sold your book on auction two months later. What was the experience like for you?

It was incredibly exciting! But also nerve-wracking. You always hear about how slow publishing timelines are and how long it can take to get responses, so I was very lucky to have spent a relatively short time on sub. When my agent notified me about the first offer, I was already over the moon. I honestly did not expect there to be as much interest in my book as there turned out to be, and I’m super grateful to all the editors for seeing the potential in OJAD! I also really appreciated getting the opportunity to speak with all the offering editors to find out more about their vision for the book (they were all fantastic), because it really helped to spark plenty of new ideas for the book and also helped me get a sense of who might be a better fit for me to work with on this debut journey!    

Promoting Your Book

8. It’s interesting how talking to the editors gave you new ideas for your story. How are you planning to market your book and reach out to readers in the U.S. when you live in Singapore?

I’ve always been very sad about being half a world away from plenty of fun bookish things happening in the US! That said, I’m grateful that there are now plenty of opportunities for virtual events and social media is so prolific that there are many ways to interact with readers all across the world, so these will be my main avenues for book marketing and publicity. My publicity team has been very busy helping me to link up with bookstores, book bloggers, podcasters etc. to get word about the book out there, so thank you to them for doing all the hard work! I would love to get the chance to travel to meet readers overseas one day though!      

9. That’s great there are so many online ways you can connect to readers, bookstores, and bloggers. You’re also a contributing member of Path to Publication. Tell us about this group, how you joined it, and how it can help writers on their journey to getting published.

Path2Pub was a blog that was started by my very talented friend Lucia, who has been so passionate about helping fellow authors by gathering and sharing as much publishing wisdom as she can. She approached me and a few other authors who were all at different stages of the publication journey and invited us to become contributors to Path2Pub, and we worked together to maintain a regular updating schedule for the blog where we’d take turns to write posts about different aspects of publishing and our reflections on these topics. Path2Pub also features many interviews with agents and editors, which I love to read because I find these interviews shed a lot of light onto the opaque world of publishing! We’ve stopped updating the site as a group now, but Lucia’s still maintaining the blog with interviews with publishing personnel whenever she can, so I’d highly recommend everyone to check it out because it helps demystify the world of publishing J      

10. What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on edits for Book 2 of the Fall of the Dragon duology, so hopefully we are on track for publication one year after Of Jade and Dragons is released J

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Amber. You can find Amber at ambercwrites.com, and @amberwrites88 on Instagram, X and TikTok.

Giveaway Details

Amber’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of Of Jade and Dragons 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 July 13th. If your email is not on 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 your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or follow Amber on her 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 U.S.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, July 8th I have an agent spotlight interview with Rebecca Williamson and a query critique giveaway

Tuesday, July 16th I’m participating in the Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop

Monday, July 22nd I have an interview with author Sally Pla and a giveaway of her MG contemporary Invisible Isabel

Monday, July 29th I have any agent spotlight interview with Sheila Fernley and a full picture book or three-chapter MG or YA critique and a one-hour Zoom call giveaway

I hope to see you on Monday!

 

Debut Author Interview: Megan Brennan and Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Megan Brennan here to share about her MG graphic novel Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess. It sounds like a fun story that also tackles many issues middle graders go through. I don’t read many graphic novels, but this one looks like one I’d enjoy.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

Fashionable fights, flashy attacks, and friends that are out of this world! This wacky and funny graphic novel series is a love letter to manga fans. With a tongue in cheek humor and delightfully fun action scenes, this series is perfect for fans of Sailor Moon , Cardcaptor Sakura , and Katie the Catsitter.

There's nothing cooler than Magical Girls - pretty superheroes fighting villains with the power of friendship and glitter? What could be better than that! This year in middle school, Kira is going to be cool and popular and have SO many friends because she’s going to be a MAGICAL GIRL! ...Or not.

Frustrated beyond belief, Kira makes a wish on a shooting star that her life will change – and when Catacorn, a cat-unicorn-space-princess, crashes into Kira's backyard, it seems her wish has come true…kinda…maybe… Oh no. Is Kira's dream of being a Magical Girl really possible...or is Catacorn not really what she promises to be?

Follower News

Before I get to my interview with Megan, I have Follower News to share. Follower Elizabeth James has

a new chapter book release, Pippa Speaks Up. Here's a blurb: All Pippa wants to do is blend in at her new school—which isn’t easy when your mom’s new job is President of the United States!  But when her teacher assigns class speeches, Pippa's best-laid plans at blending in begin to crumble and she literally becomes sick to her stomach. She must learn to calm her anxieties and embrace the power of speaking up—before she not only flops the assignment but also buries her true feelings from everyone closest to her, including the President herself.

And here are a few links: 

https://youtu.be/VxEelHTfimM?si=A3r2YD7aG0H65xZm and www.elizabethjameswrites.com/pippa-speaks-up/

Interview With Megan Brennan

Hi Megan! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Te ll us about yourself and how you became a writer.

I always loved writing and drawing, and spent a while as a teen trying make some kind of epic fantasy story, but never really got past the daydreaming stage! I ended up going to school at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and majoring in cartooning, because I knew I wanted to make comics (and luckily had parents who supported me in that). Getting to be in an environment that nurtured young creatives while also pushing them to improve was really helpful for me, because I lacked a lot of confidence in sharing the things I wanted to make.

 After graduation I made my own comics while trying to freelance – doing art assistant work and collaborating with people occasionally. Eventually, after posting my own comics online and doing some smaller jobs, I got a gig writing scripts for Boom! Studio’s Amazing World of Gumball graphic novels. Having to come up with ideas and write whole graphic novel scripts for a property I didn’t create was weirdly great for my growth as a writer! There was an existing framework of characters and world, so I had to focus only on making the plot make sense and feel engaging within that. I learned a lot about the process itself.

2. That’s great that your job helped you with your own writing. Where did you get the idea for Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess?

It’s funny, I originally drew Kira and Catacorn in a 3 page tiny submission to a comic anthology focused on nostalgic shoujo comics (shoujo comics = Japanese comics aimed at young girls, the genre which magical girl stories like Sailor Moon, a huge inspiration for me and for the Kira books) called Hana Doki Kira. I had so much fun coming up with scenarios related to magical girl tropes! After I finished that little comic, I kept coming up with what might happen next. I ended up expanding to three short Magic Girls comics that I self-published over a few years.

Back in 2019 I was trying to pitch a completely different graphic novel that didn’t work out, with a pitch for Magic Girls as a graphic novel as kind of a backup plan. Of course, I ended up struggling with my other pitch, but Magic Girls was more fun and ended up being what Random House Graphic wanted anyway! I feel lucky that the comic I have fun making is the one that seems to also connect with people.

Your Writing Process

3. What is your plotting process like? Do you think this is different than for writers who are only writing the text and not illustrating the story too?

In some ways it’s different for sure, but I think the need to find some kind of structure under the creativity on is the same. Especially since I have to keep in mind that I need to make the drawing and planning process understandable to my editor, so she can see what’s going on.

I usually have to use my sketchbook to think about what should happen, and what kinds of visuals I want to include, but to make it all cohesive I have to make an outline. I think because my previous work in making a graphic novel was focused on the script, I am a little more intense about that stage of the book than some other comic artists. I have to write myself a really detailed outline to get my ideas in order. Some of this is because as I go into the thumbnail stage (rough sketched plans of all the pages) I end up tweaking things. Once you’re working visually, things sometimes come together differently than you planned! So I have to really know what I was intending to happen in each part of the book. But that kind of thing is what’s so magical about writing and drawing the comic myself.

I also have to step back and think a lot about how the reader will view each page objectively, if it makes sense from panel to panel, and if the way the page is set up will lead to reading things in the correct order. I guess a novelist wouldn’t have to think about that on each page!

4. It’s so interesting to learn about your plotting process and what you have to think about creating the graphics too. Writing a graphic novel that is a satisfying middle grade story sounds challenging because you’re telling it through a combination of illustrations and words. What are some of your tips for getting the balance right and telling a complete story?

I think you have to take advantage of each half of the medium - the potential for really funny or cool images, and the power of dialogue (or narration, though I don’t use this as often), and really embrace them. You don’t want to crowd up a page with a ton of text when an image could communicate the mood or action in a more effective way. The art is also part of telling the story, so while it’s more work, it also means I have another tool in my arsenal.

5. Share about how Kira developed as a character and three things you really like about her.

Honestly, the first version of Kira was really just a parody character! She was kind of a generic teenager, who just loved snacks and wanted to look cute. Which is definitely relatable, but I hadn’t given much thought to her as a whole character. The old version of the comic was all jokes. As I tried to expand it into a graphic novel, I ended up having to think of her as a person, what kind of kid she would be.

I like that she is really determined, and even though she is SO easily embarrassed, she still is pretty sure of who she is and what she wants. I like that she is also is really open to trying things, even if she might complain a little about it.

Your Road to Publication

6. Linda Camacho is your agent. How did she become your agent and what was your road to getting a publishing contract like?

Graphic novels usually require a kind of proof of concept packet/etc to communicate what the book will be, instead of an entire manuscript. Obviously it’ll vary with each publisher, but that seems pretty standard, in my experience. was really lucky, in that I had a version of my pitch in talks with Random House Graphic before talking to Linda! I already knew Whitney Leopard from comics shows and from working with her at Boom!, so we were in an ongoing conversation about pitching things. She wound up being interested in the Kira books! But I had to go on a panicked search for an agent to negotiate for me.

I had previously been trying to find an agent and didn’t hear back from anyone at the time. One of the agents I queried actually was Linda, but it was with a totally different comic pitch, that worked less well. Thankfully Linda was able to take me on when I emailed her that I had an offer and needed help with negotiating specifically, which I am so grateful for! I was interested in working with her because I knew a few of the other graphic novelists she works with, and I thought my work would fit on the same shelf, if that makes sense.

7. It’s cool that you had a connection with your publisher through your job. How long did Linda and you work on revising your manuscript before you went on submission? What are your tips on working with an agent on revisions?

Honestly I’m an anomaly and mostly skipped this stage of the process with this project! I’m interested myself in how it will work in the future. Linda has been great at helping me navigate all other complicated parts of the process and being a cheerleader.

My revision conversations are with my editor. I’m pretty open to making changes to my work, so I think trying to weigh what are necessary changes vs things that might cloud the vision I have for the story is the thing I keep trying to keep in mind. I want all the changes I make to make the overall story more clear and cohesive.

Promoting Your Book

8. How are you planning to promote your book after it is released? What advice do you have for other authors who have an upcoming release on marketing their book?

I’m planning on attending some comic festivals with my book, which will be an exciting way to meet readers and potentially get new readers who are seeing it for the first time! I’m on social media, and will be using that to talk about the book, but getting to see people in person and feel the enthusiasm for comics hits different.

9. What are you working on now?

I’m currently midway into the follow up to Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess. I’m finally at the stage where I’m working on the final version of the line art (we call it inking), so the book is starting to feel real to me!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Megan. You can find Megan at www.Megan-Brennan.com or on Bluesky under the username @MeganBrennan

Giveaway Details

Megan’s publisher is generously offering an ARC of Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess 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 March 9th. If your email is not on 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 your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or Megan on her 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 ARC giveaway is U.S.

 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

Friday, March 1st I’m participating in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, March 6th I have an interview with author Rajani LaRocca and a giveaway of her MG fantasy Sona and The Golden Beasts and my IWSG post

Monday, March 11th I have an agent spotlight interview with Rebecca Lawrence and a query critique giveaway

Saturday, March 16th I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop

Monday, March 18th I have an interview with debut author Anne Rellihan and a giveaway of her MG contemporary/mystery Not the Worst Friend in the World

Wednesday, March 20th I have an agent spotlight interview with Stuti Telidevara and a query critique giveaway

I hope to see you on Friday!

 

Author Interview: Mary Averling and The Curse of Eelgrass Bog Giveaway and IWSG Post

Happy New Year and Happy Wednesday! Today I’m excited to start out 2024 with an interview with debut author Mary Averling about her MG fantasy The Curse of Eelgrass Bog. It sounds like it has great world building and memorable characters. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse.

Nothing about Kess Pedrock’s life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum), not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons), and not her best friend (a talking demon’s head in a jar named Shrunken Jim).

But things get even stranger than usual when Kess meets Lilou Starling, the new girl in town. Lilou comes to Kess for help breaking a mysterious curse—and the only clue she has leads straight into the center of Eelgrass Bog.

Everyone knows the bog is full of witches, demons, and possibly worse, but Kess and Lilou are determined not to let that stop them. As they investigate the mystery and uncover long-buried secrets, Kess begins to realize that the curse might hit closer to home than she’d ever expected, and she’ll have to summon all her courage to find a way to break it before it’s too late..

 

Before I get to Mary's interview, I have my IWSG post.

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts this month are: Joylene Nowell Butler, Olga Godim, Diedre Knight, and me!

Optional Question: Do you follow back your readers on BookBub or do you only follow back other authors?

I’m not published and not on BookBub so I can’t answer this question. Sorry.

I don’t have much else to talk about this month. I haven’t been on a good writing schedule for months because of other commitments and some lack of discipline. I hope I get into a better writing groove this year. I just started writing regularly last week. So far, I'm doing good.

Interview With Mary Averling

Hi Mary! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

Thank you for having me! I currently daylight as a PhD student in Ontario, though I’ve lived across Canada and England. It might sound clichéd, but writing isn’t something I chose—it’s something I’ve always loved, and I couldn’t tell you exactly where it started. I wrote my first middle grade novel during my undergrad at the University of Victoria, and was fortunate enough to be chosen as an Author Mentor Match (AMM) mentee by the fantabulous Heather Kassner. Even though that book never sold, it connected me to me wonderful agent, Kelly Sonnack. And the rest is history!

2. That’s awesome that you were chosen for the author mentor match program. Where did you get the idea for The Curse of Eelgrass Bog?

I was always a “look at this!” kind of kid, and was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by wild places: forests, muddy fields, sluggish old rivers. I remember pretending I’d found unicorn horns and unnatural creatures in the field behind our house. I knew I wanted to write a story about a “look at this!” girl, but in this case, I wanted the strange things she discovered to be real. The rest was stitched together from some of my other favourite things—museums, secret societies, mysteries, hidden worlds—then I added a talking head sidekick (for good measure), and the book unspooled from there!

About Your Writing Process

3. You’re also working towards your PhD, which I’ve heard is a very time-consuming process. What is your writing schedule like? How do you stay productive, especially now that you most likely have to write a manuscript on contract?

It does often feel like juggling eggs! My schedule tends to shift depending on uni deadlines—often, I’ll do school work during mornings and early afternoons, then write as much as I can in the evenings. Perhaps counterintuitively, I think the best thing for my productivity has been giving myself permission to be more flexible. My second contracted book was written on deadline, and as a chronic snail writer, I was petrified by the prospect of having a ticking clock behind me. Luckily I have a very understanding editor! But I realized that some weeks I’d have a “school brain” where I didn’t want to write, and other weeks I’d be head-over-heels for my creative projects—so instead of trying to squash myself into a strict schedule, I listened to those feelings and let myself work wherever the passion was! Of course, I still need to be aware of deadlines and expectations, but trusting the process helps keep my love of writing alive instead of turning it into a chore.

4. It’s reassuring to know you were able to juggle it all, especially since I’m a slow writer too. Share about your world-building process. What tips do you have for other writers creating a new world or new town as the setting of their story?

Always, above all, have fun with it! My worlds are inevitably stitched together from things that make me excited or curious—bogs, museums, wild places, in-between spaces. Readers are remarkably attuned to an author’s passion for certain settings, no matter how familiar or strange. If you write what you find fascinating, readers will latch onto that excitement too! Especially when writing for children, I think it’s also important to consider how your character might view their surroundings. What might draw their attention? And what would they likely not pay attention to at all? My protagonist, Kess, is forever keeping any eye out for unnatural objects like bones or magical fossils—she loves worms and crawly things, but she probably wouldn’t notice more mundane details like car models or out-of-date kitchen appliances. Keeping this perspective in mind definitely helped me ensure my world-building felt cohesive!

5. What was a challenge you faced in writing The Curse of Eelgrass Bog when you were working on it with your agent or editor? What did you learn from it?

Endings are the bane of my existence. Even when the rest of the book was in submission-ready shape, I had to work through several extra rounds with my agent to stick the landing. One day, I’ll know how to end something without wanting to throw my laptop out the window! Another challenge was ironing out the magic system—both my agent and editor encouraged me to really think about how the eponymous curse functioned. It made me realize that “just because” is never the most interesting answer when thinking about why magic and supernatural elements work the way they do. There’s so much possibility for thematic tie-ins! When all the pieces click into place, it really does feel like magic.

Your Road to Publication

6. Kelly Sonnack is your agent. How did she become your agent and what was your road to publication like?

Kelly! My superstar! I first started querying in 2018 after working through AMM; the landscape was very different back then, but I was lucky enough that after six months, I found myself with four offers of representation. I’d initially queried a different agent at Andrea Brown Literary after a referral from one of my professors, who was also represented by ABLA. That agent wasn’t looking to sign more novelists at the time, so she graciously passed my materials to Kelly—and I’m so glad she did! All four agents were brilliant and it was a difficult decision, but ultimately, Kelly’s enthusiasm, business acumen, and vision made me certain that she was the perfect partner.

Unfortunately, that first book never sold. We made it to acquisitions and received an R&R that fell through after the editor left the industry, but after a year, we decided to pull it from submission and focus on EELGRASS BOG. That book was a whole other story! We received a pre-empt after six weeks, which ended up turning into an auction. I’m still pinching myself that multiple editors wanted my weird little bog book!! In July 2023 we officially sold to Gretchen Durning at Razorbill, and I haven’t stopped smiling since.

7. What an awesome road to publication story. Share a few tips on how to get through going on submission from your own experience getting a publishing contract.

I think this is the default advice, but seriously—keep working on something else. Drafting EELGRASS BOG while on sub with my first book was a lifesaver, and it meant we could immediately switch focus after it became clear that my first book wouldn’t be my debut. It’s also important to surround yourself with people you trust, so you can share commiserations and celebrations throughout the trenches. It’s a lonely process—and it can be hard to remember to keep your eyes on your own paper sometimes—but community is so, so precious and important. We’re all in this together!

Promoting Your Book

8. What are doing to celebrate the release of your book and to promote it in general?

Since release day is happening over the holidays, I’m lucky enough to be at home with my family. My lifelong dream is to walk into a bookstore and see my story on a shelf—and that’s the plan for release day! I’m hoping to visit a few of my favourite local indies (followed by a ridiculously decadent dessert somewhere, of course). My university department is also planning a launch party later in the month—should be exciting!! Apart from that, I’ve been reaching out to schools, libraries, and festivals in my area, and doing the usual social media trumpeting. Oof, and I’ve got a couple of podcast interviews scheduled in a few weeks … we shall see how they turn out!

9. What’s your advice to aspiring authors and those who have their first publishing contract on building their social media platform and getting ready for the release of their first book?

Do whatever makes you happy. Seriously. Except in very select cases, social media won’t “move the needle” and it isn’t worth burning yourself out for those extra clicks and views—unless you enjoy it, of course. It’s also so, so important to support your fellow authors. If you want boosts, boost your colleagues! Shout about the books that make you excited! Social media is a much more joyful place when we uplift each other, and ultimately, it’s the best way to get people excited for your story, too.

10. What are you working on now?

I was fortunate enough to have a two-book deal with Penguin Kids, so I’ve been working with my editor on my next middle grade (slated for release Spring 2025)! I can’t share much yet, except that it’s a dreamy, surreal, spooky ghost story about doorways and endless summertimes and unspoken things. I can’t wait to share more soon!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Mary. You can find Mary at: @maryaverling on Twitter, Threads, and Instagram, or at maryaverling.com.

Giveaway Details

Mary is generously offering a hardback of The Curse of Eelgrass Bog or 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 January 13th. If your email is not on 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 your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or Mary on her 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 U.S. ad Canada

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

Monday, January 8th I have an agent spotlight interview with Leah Moss and a query critique giveaway

Tuesday, January 16th I’m participating in the Winter Wishes Giveaway Hop

Monday, January 22nd I have an interview with debut author Anthony Nerada and a giveaway of his YA contemporary Skater Boy

Monday, January 29th I have a guest post by author Shutta Crum

Wednesday, January 31st I have an agent spotlight interview with Laura Gruszka and a query critique giveaway

I hope to see you on Monday!

 

Author Interview: Joanne Rossmassler Fritz and Ruptured Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m thrilled to have Joanne Rossmassler Fritz back to share about her new MG novel in verse Ruptured. Joanne’s debut MG book was Everywhere Blue, a beautiful novel in verse dealing with a mystery about how Maddie’s older brother disappeared. I interviewed Joanne when her book was released, and here’s the link to her interview. I’m especially excited to read Ruptured because this topic hits home. My daughter and I had to navigate my late husband’s near-death experiences more than once, and I wish I had this book to share with my daughter back then.

Here's a blurb from Goodreads:

Is it wrong to grieve for someone who is still alive?

Claire's mom and dad don't talk to each other much anymore. And they definitely don't laugh or dance the way they used to. Their tense, stilted stand offs leave thirteen-year-old Claire, an only child, caught in the middle. So when the family takes their annual summer vacation, Claire sticks her nose in a book and hopes for the best. Maybe the sunshine and ocean breeze will fix what's gone wrong.

But while the family is away, Claire's mother has a ruptured brain aneurysm--right after she reveals a huge secret to Claire. Though she survives the rupture, it seems like she is an entirely different person. Claire has no idea if her mom meant what she said, or if she even remembers saying it. With the weight of her mom's confession on her shoulders, Claire must navigate fear, grief, and prospects for recovery.

Will her mom ever be the same? Will her parents stay together? And if the answer to either question is yes, how will Claire learn to live with what she knows? This beautifully written novel speaks to kids' fears and credits their strength, and stems from the author's incredible experience surviving two ruptured aneurysms.

Hi Joanne! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Tell us how you became a writer and what it was like to be a debut author.

Hi Natalie! Thank you so much for having me back. Like many writers, I spent years reading widely, and realized while I was still in school that I wanted to write books like the ones I loved. But it took me a very long time to get there! I spent many years trying to write picture books, and essays and short stories, before finally turning to novels after my first brain aneurysm rupture. And it took me more than ten years of writing novels to get an agent and then an offer from a traditional publisher.

I loved being a debut author. A lot of it was confusing, I’ll admit, and publishing can be a brutal business, but most of it was wonderful! What surprised me the most was how close I became to some of my fellow 21ders, my debut author group.

2. That’s great that you enjoyed your debut year. Where did you get the idea for Ruptured?

I’m a survivor of two ruptured brain aneurysms, twelve years apart. Yes, I’m very lucky! But most people don’t realize only about half of those ruptures lead to death. The other half survive! We may have some deficits, but they’re mostly inside, where you can’t see them. Ever since my first rupture in 2005, I looked for a kids’ book where the mother lives after a brain aneurysm rupture, instead of dying, as so many of them do in fiction. Eventually, I realized I needed to write it myself.

About Your Writing Process

3. How long did it take you to write and revise Ruptured before submitting it to your editor? What advice do you have for other writers who have to learn to write a manuscript on a publishing deadline?

Ruptured, as my second book, was different from the first, which took four and a half years to write before I ever got the agent. My wonderful editor, Sally Morgridge at Holiday House, offered me a contract this time based on a proposal and the first very rough 5000 words of a verse novel which I had started in April 2021. It was so rough I’m embarrassed that I ever showed it to her. But Sally saw something there, a spark of an idea, that she thought could become a novel. I don’t recommend submitting a rough, unfinished novel to anyone, but luckily, she gave me some pointers and four months to finish the rough draft. I finished it in October 2021. Then we spent all of 2022 revising. By the fourth draft (the one you’ll read), we had a finished novel that is very different from that first terrible rough draft!

4. It’s great to hear that your editor worked with you for so long on your edits. Ruptured is in part drawn on your own experiences surviving two aneurysms. How did you make this Claire’s story and not yours?

Excellent question, Natalie! It was hard. There were times I started to stray into an autobiographical tone, and Sally would nudge me back. But by inventing the Sloan family in the first place, and writing from Claire’s POV, it gave me the distance I needed to write the story as a story, not a memoir. In real life, I don’t have a daughter. I have two grown sons. And my own family is very different from Claire’s family.

5. I love the first line of the blurb: “Is it wrong to grieve for someone who is still alive?” How did you come up with it? What’s your advice on creating captivating sentences like this one in your blurb?

I wish I could give you advice for that, but that tagline was the very first sentence I wrote. Originally that was how the story started, followed by a few lines like “This is a story/about a girl/ and a mother/and a father.” Those lines were quickly axed, but I liked the first line so much I asked Sally if we could use it as a tagline. I think that line encapsulated all the pent-up feelings I had held inside about my second rupture and how I learned from my family that I’d been out of my mind for six months. I have no memory of Sept 29, 2017 to early April 2018. If I was to try to give advice to writers about coming up with captivating sentences, I’d say go with your gut and your emotions and let it spill out into words.

Your Road to Publication

6. You had a literary agent who left agenting, and now you are unrepresented. How has it been entering into a publishing contract and navigating all the business aspects of your contract? What advice do you have for other writers wanting to submit to publishers directly?

It was quite different! Luckily, Holiday House is friendly to unagented authors. And in my case, Sally offered me almost exactly the same contract that I’d had with Everywhere Blue. Very little changed. It also happened just three weeks after the publication of that first novel! I didn’t have much time to worry about it, to be honest. I was floored that they would make an offer like that, and of course thrilled. As for advice for other writers, do your research into the publishers that accept unagented submissions. There are quite a few. Bitsy Kemper has a list. But please be respectful: these publishers get a lot of slush pile stuff. Try not to overwhelm them. And don’t nudge them to ask if they’ve read it yet! Be patient.

7. That’s great advice and thanks for the link to Bitsy’s list. Share some tips you’ve learned from getting published the first time that you used in working with your editor on this book.

I knew from working on Everywhere Blue that Sally is very good at what she does, and I should probably just listen to her! However, I did occasionally disagree with her during revisions this time. For instance, I insisted on one minor thing about describing the rupture itself. When Mom grabs her head and moans about the pain and the pressure, Sally wanted to delete the lines about pressure. I had to insist that the pressure inside her head was just as important as the pain. Any brain aneurysm rupture survivor will tell you that!

Promoting Your Book

8. What would you have done differently in terms of developing a social media platform and marketing your debut book now that you’ve gone through the experience of being a debut author? What advice on this do you have for authors who will debut in the next year?

I already had one social media platform and added Instagram before my debut. I believe I did all that was possible, considering my health and my family obligations. A good publisher does a lot of the marketing and publicity for MG books, even if it’s things we don’t see because they’re aimed mostly at schools and libraries. So I don’t know what I would have done differently, other than try to relax and enjoy it more! And that would be my main advice to authors: you only get one debut. Try to savor it. Another small piece of advice: Expect the unexpected! Realize that something will inevitably go wrong, whether it’s a terrible typo in your book, or an error on the copyright page, or people getting your title wrong. Try to accept the things you can’t change and move on.

9.  I really like your tip to relax and enjoy it. How are your marketing plans for Ruptured different from for Everywhere Blue? Why did you make these changes?

I’m not doing as many interviews/guest posts as I did for Everywhere Blue. This is more because of my family situation (my husband has cancer, so I need to be here for him, and not be spending all my time on marketing my own book). I’m also not sure all those interviews I did for the first book led to many sales, anyway!

10. I’m sorry to hear about your husband, but I’m glad you’re keeping your focus on him. What are you working on now?

I really can’t talk about it because it’s not very far along. I have a character and a setting but no real story problem yet! It’s living in my head at the moment.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Joanne.

Thanks for having me, Natalie!

You can find Joanne at www.joannerossmasslerfritz.com 

@JoanneRFritz on X/Twitter

@joannerossfritz on Instagram

Giveaway Details

Joanne’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of Ruptured 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 December 31st. If your email is not on 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 your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or Joanne on her 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 U.S.

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

Monday, January 1st I’m participating in the New Year New You Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, January 3rd I have an interview with debut author Mary Averling and a giveaway of her MG fantasy The Curse of Eelgrass Bog and my IWSG post

Monday, January 8th I have an agent spotlight interview with Leah Moss and a query critique giveaway

Tuesday, January 16th I’m participating in the Winter Wishes Giveaway Hop

Monday, January 22nd I have an interview with debut author Anthony Nerada and a giveaway of his YA contemporary Skater Boy

Monday, January 29th I have a guest post by author Shutta Crum

Wednesday, January 31st I I have an agent spotlight interview with Laura Gruska and a query critique giveaway

Happy Holidays! I hope to see you on Monday, January 1!